Sleep and Alzheimer’s.

Posted by beckboop13 @beckboop13, Aug 13 10:52am

My husband is 85 years old and has had Alzheimer’s form about 10 years. Lately, he has been sleeping from about 9 PM until noon. The next day. He sleeps well, And is good when he gets up. He may have a little bit of hallucinations somewhere in the night, but gets back to sleep. Is this OK? Or an indication of something new. Thanks for your input.

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Teri | @tsc | Aug 14 2:15pm

Hi @beckboop13, my husband has Alzheimer's - diagnosed five years ago. He's 80 years old. He goes to bed between 7-8pm, then gets up at 6 am for breakfast, then goes back to bed for a few hours. He also rests during the day. The neurologist told me that the brain needs time to rest with Alzheimer's.
I notice, too, that if the weather is dreary my husband spends more time in bed, napping. Also, if he experiences trauma, he sleeps a lot. He fell one day when we were walking. He bloodied his knee, but that was all. He spent the next three days in bed, though.
If something is going on outside (new houses being built below us) or he's engaged in doing jigsaw puzzles, he sleeps and rests less, so I think boredom contributes to excessive sleeping time as well. For the most part, I just let him be. He's pretty content and has a good disposition.