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Mum often ends up falling asleep on her recliner chair in the living room as it’s a much warmer room and I’ve been sleeping on the couch myself since my brothers passed away so obviously she maybe feels more secure this way. I’ll be honest in saying it also makes my life easier as it’s easier to keep an eye on her this way, ie toileting etc. I wake up if she’s walking around whereas if she’s downstairs, it’s a different story. She’s often made a mess before I notice she’s awake, ie removed her incontinence pants. Downstairs is also carpet whereas upstairs is not so I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.



ANYHOW, I do note it’s not ideal for her posture / body to sleep in a recliner so I do try to alternate and take her to her bedroom to her bed too.



What I’ve noticed though is that her confusion is much worse when she wakes up from bed compared to the recliner. You’d think it would be the opposite! As in she’s been able to lie flat and have a proper deep sleep but for some reason this is not the case.



Does deep sleep cause more confusion? Im guessing she’s having a deeper sleep in bed as she actually snores.



Her sundowning is also completely the opposite. She’s at her peak in the evening/night and worst in the morning/lunch.

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Maybe totally off base, but could it be similar to how toddlers often wake up sort of discombobulated and confused? It takes them a bit to reorient to where they are and feeling comfortable and happy again
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Cappuccino42 Sep 2022
I have thought of this,.. whether it’s really her feeeling kinda scared / uncomfortable alone and then it takes its toll on her confusion the next day
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If she is used to dozing off in her chair and she sleeps more often in her chair than in her bed it might be the way I feel when I wake up in a hotel room when I am on vacation. You sometimes have to take a minute to realize where you are. Problem is with dementia the minute I take to realize where I am it may take 3, 4, 5 minutes for someone with dementia to process where they are.
Have you thought of moving her bed? If it is easier for you to care for her where the chair is now a Hospital bed placed there would be easy as well. Her chair can be near it if she is used to that.
The other advantage to having a bed in a room that is more used than the bedroom is as she sleeps more or becomes bedbound having a bed where there is activity is nicer than being isolated in a room on another floor of the house. And it also makes it easier for the caregiver so you do not have to go from room to room and floor to floor.
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Cappuccino42 Sep 2022
Yes she could potentially be going through cycles of confusion all night and sleeping in the same room as me gives her comfort/confidence. Moving bed upstairs to living room is not an option because there’s simple not enough room but also the upstairs is where I work from home and I’m often on video calls :)
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You just covered symptoms of sleep apnea. Disoriened waking can be from high carbon dioxide levels from periodic breathing. Some people compensate by sleeping more upright. You can ask the doctor about a sleep study, however if she has dementia, she will not wear the prescribed therapy.
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Cappuccino42 Sep 2022
She actually did the sleep apnea study ages ago before getting dementia, maybe 10yrs ago, was given a mask to wear at night but she never got used to it and then it was just forgotten about. I don’t know the full details but recall taking her in for the study and recall her having the strange machine that would thrust air. She complained to me about the machine, I didn’t play much attention. I remember her saying the machine would make her feel like she’s choking as it would suddenly push air into her and wake her up. Then it ended somewhere in a corner hehe.
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Maybe laying flat she does not get enough oxygen to the brain. Reclining maybe it circulates better. But the confusion is Dementia related. I allowed my Mom to wake up on her own, reason our appts were in the afternoon. She seemed to lay there until she was oriented. I never woke her up because if the confusion. Ur Mom could have some Carotid artery problems. It could be blocked to a point. My Dad had this problem and it would take him about a half hour to get oriented. I think they can do an ultrasound to see if it is clogged. I would not allow an operation. My GFs father suffered from ALZ. I think it was thought the operation would help, it didn't he worsened.

My MIL slept in her recliner every night because of her hips. Lying flat caused her pain. So I see nothing wrong with that. But, my MIL was still mobile. If your Mom is in the recliner all the time, pressure sores may happen. Better to prevent them than try to heal them. So she needs to move around.
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Cappuccino42 Sep 2022
Thanks that’s a lot of insight and I’m kinda glad to hear she is not the only one sleeping in a recliner and that it’s not necessarily bad because I have felt guilty about allowing her to sleep there but she insists. She is still relatively mobile (no issue walking) and she goes to shops with me etc.
She did have sleep apnea earlier I recall because she went to all these tests years ago and had this little mask. She could never get used to it though and it was eventually forgotten. So in saying that, it could be that she needs to be somewhat elevated, that perhaps she isn’t getting enough oxygen.
we used to do the whole she gets up at her own time and it was handy for me as I’d get uninterrupted time to work from home. However, her getting up and removing her incontinence wear became an issue
:(
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