How Sundowning Can Be Prevented?

In many senior citizens who deal with Alzheimer's disease, sundowning is a significant problem. The word relates in large measure to a number of symptoms that occur after sundowning in older patients. To control the same, you can talk to the experts of assisted living in OKC.

Sundowning refers to a broad spectrum of symptoms, such as anxiety, restlessness, aggression, pacing, crying and visual hallucinations. Sadly, sundowning is recognized as a prevalent cause for institutionalizing elderly patients with dementia because it may present many issues for self-residing elderly people.

What Is Sundowning?

Sundowning is a prevalent Alzheimer's disease symptom. It is a disease in which an individual experiences restlessness, agitation, irritability or confusion in the late morning and early afternoon. Unfortunately, the issue starts or deteriorates with sunsets often when a caretaker has to take a break.

Sundowning may often go on into the night and make it difficult for Alzheimer's people to fall and sleep. This can trigger issues not just for the Alzheimer's patient but also for his caregiver, as stated previously.

Causes

A number of possible reasons may cause sundowning problems, but none are confirmed. One way of going to the sun is that Alzheimer's problems may influence the biological clock of a person, which may lead to problems with the circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycles of a person.

Sundowning can also be caused by overly tiredness, starvation or thirst, anxiety, pain, and boredom.

Coping Tips to Sundowning

There are a number of modifications in your loved one's daily routine to cope with problems relating to sundowning when you notice indications of sunset in the late afternoon or early evening. Some of these indications of sundowning include enhanced confusion or anxiety and behaviors, such as pace, walking and screaming.

Tackle Calmly

Listen calmly and work to tackle these questions or frustrations when you see that your loved one is becoming more agitated. You can work to make sure the person's all right. You can distract from stressful settings by doing a number of different things.

Noise Reduction

Noise reduction is one way to assist sleep to make sure your beloved person is in a calm and peaceful setting. It can assist them to solve the problems associated with sundowning.

Distractions

You can do several stuffs to distract an individual who has sundowning, such as giving them their favorite snack or turning up one of their favorite TV shows. These things can assist to distract people so that issues such as sunrise and confusion do not occur.

Creating a Routine

Create a sleep timetable, one of the best methods to assist you to sleep and remain asleep. This can also be done by playing relaxing music before bed or doing other activities, such as walking and reading a book. All this helps to relax and induce your beloved to sleep. In addition, doing this stuff each night at the same moment will assist build a routine.

Get Rid of Excess Light

Investing in darkened shelves or blinds can assist minimize shadows and prevent confusion for elderly people as the sun starts to set. It can also help you to sleep and not wake up from light in the center of the night.

Prevent Sundowning

Along with these tips for a loved one who has sundowning, you can take prevention steps to prevent the issue altogether. To prevent this scenario, you may find some methods:

Bright Light Exposition — It's an excellent way to reset the clock and enhance the circadian rhythm, particularly by exposing the body to bright light.

Exercise— Exercise and physical activity not only enhance your general health, but also have an enormous effect if you are a loved one who sleeps. Training functions to tire your body and individuals, on the other hand, tend to sleep quicker.

Avoid Power Nap - It is best to keep your naps short if you cannot avoid it.

If you're trying to prevent sundowning problems, there are some things you should avoid. For example, to prevent sundowning, less intake of coffee, cola, and other coffee beverages late in the day is suggested. Also, methods to get through are consuming low alcoholic beverages and not planning too many operations during the day.

You can contact Heritage Assisted Living for proper assisted living care in OKC.