A healthy sleep routine can help the person with dementia to feel better, be less confused, be more co-ordinated and have more energy in the daytime.
Sleeping more and more is a common feature of later-stage dementia. As the disease progresses, the damage to a person's brain becomes more extensive and they gradually become weaker and frailer over time.
Independent of known risk factors for dementia, including age and nighttime sleep duration and fragmentation, longer and more frequent daytime naps were a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's in cognitively normal older men and women.
But sleep isn't just good for your memory; it can actually reduce your risk of dementia — and death. Although it has been known for some time that individuals with dementia frequently have poor, fragmented sleep, two new studies suggest that if you don't get enough sleep, you are at increased risk for dementia.
Hospital delirium is very common in people with dementia.
In other words, experiencing delirium is common, and can really speed the decline of Alzheimer's or another dementia. This can be scary for patients and caregivers to realize.
Results from a population-based study of almost 2000 older adults, all of whom were free of dementia at baseline, showed that risk for dementia was 69% higher in those who slept more than 8 hours daily vs 7 to 8 hours daily; and it was twice as high for those who went to bed before 9 PM vs at 10 PM or later.
The most common cause of death among Alzheimer's patients is aspiration pneumonia. This happens when, due to difficulty in swallowing caused by the disease, an individual inadvertently inhales food particles, liquid, or even gastric fluids.
In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events.
Yes, dementia can suddenly get worse. Dementia and its symptoms are unpredictable. A person's symptoms might be stable for a long time, then suddenly get worse. Alternatively, they might steadily worsen at a slow rate, or a mixture of both.
For example, a sudden deterioration or change may be a sign that an infection has led to delirium. Or it may suggest that someone has had a stroke. A stroke is particularly common in some kinds of vascular dementia and may cause the condition to get worse in a series of 'steps'.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that gradually worsens over a period of four to 20 years.
Take a walk with the person to help reduce their restlessness. Talk to the person's doctor about the best times of day for taking medication. Try to limit daytime naps if the person has trouble sleeping at night. Reduce or avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, which can all affect the ability to sleep.
Sleeping more and more is a common feature of later-stage dementia.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
Is Alzheimer's passed on by mother or father? Alzheimer's is not passed on by the mother more than the father, or vice versa. A mother or father may pass on an “Alzheimer's gene” or mutation that increases your risk. Even if both your parents pass on a risk gene, your Alzheimer's risk is higher, but not certain.
During the later stages of Alzheimer's disease, a person may lose the ability to move and spend much of his or her time in a bed or chair. This lack of movement can cause problems such as pressure sores or bedsores, and stiffness of the arms, hands, and legs.
The longest stage of Alzheimer's disease is the middle stage, also known as moderate Alzheimer's disease. This stage can last for several years, and it is characterized by a decline in cognitive function, memory loss, and changes in behavior and personality.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
In the late stage of Alzheimer's, the person typically becomes unable to walk. This inability to move around can cause skin breakdown (pressure sores) and joint “freezing.”