We have our "Mama Flo" on a scheduled (recommended by her primary physician). She goes to bed at 10:00 p.m. and gets up at 10:00 a.m. She still wants to doze all day long. We are continually having to wake her up. She is NOT on any medications that would make her sleepy. Someone is always with her, or at least in the house with her, whether it be my husband and/or I, or our caretaker who helps when we are both away. We are continually waking her up. We recently started putting her to bed at 9:00 p.m.--that seemed to help at first--but, she is STILL wanting to sleep!!! Help!! How much sleep does she need? She generaly takes 30 minute to 1 hour nap after her lunch at 2:30. It just doesn't seem to be enough...????
my dad is 87 yrs old , sleeps all day and all evening and allnight . only time he cans tay awake is when we re going for a joy ride , stays awake long enuff to watch lawrence welk or hee haw , or if he s hungry .
infants sleeps alot then they get older and stay awake more and be a hand full till they grow into 40s or 50 s gotta have a nap then when they retired , nothing sounds good but sleep . then they become a infants stage and then they dont wake up anymore . its a cycle of life . sleep sleep till its time to sleep forever .
Now this does not mean that ALL elderly people sleep all the time. I don't want to get angry responses from people arguing that their mother/father/MIL/aunt/whoever is out dancing every night. Good for them! My 95-year-old aunt is still going strong too, but she does sleep more than she used to and tires more easily.
I remember when I was young I volunteered in a nursing home. I used to hate to walk the halls and see elderly people sound asleep in their wheelchairs all over the place. I thought it was a sign of neglect on the part of the staff. But then I started taking care of my folks and realized that something as simple as getting up and getting dressed and walking out to the family room will wear my dad out so much that he falls asleep immediately. I have to wake him up to feed him breakfast. Then he falls asleep again. I give him the morning paper to read and he falls asleep holding it. He gets up to use the bathroom, then goes back to his chair and falls asleep. When he had his physical a few months ago the doc said that he is very healthy for a man his age, and the sleep thing is perfectly normal.
So don't worry about your mom sleeping, and certainly don't give her stimulants to make her stop. Enjoy the quiet time, for heaven's sake!
My Mother's geriatric specialist said their biological clocks get turned around--want to stay up at night and sleep in the day-- but it sounds like your Mother sleeps day and night.
My Mother is 93. I wish she would take just a 10 minute nap during the day and not jump up every 5 SECONDS, so we could go to the bathroom, do the dishes, take a shower. If she did not take Seroquel at night, she would probably not sleep then either.
Have you tried "engaging" your Mother in conversation? Really stimulating her? Maybe she's bored? Play music, get a puppy to lick her face--anything to keep her alert! Good Luck!
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