. One Of The Hardest Parts Of Dementia Caregiving

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Hey guys, you know, one of the things I really want to talk about and I know it drives all of you guys crazy is that sundown.

[00:00:07]Let me tell you what I do for my mom with the sundown. We'll go out during the day and um even it's days sometimes I don't feel like going out, I'll take her out anyway cuz you got to remember it's just like you're dealing with a child. You wear them out the whole day, then they come in and they get tired. Only sometimes that works with our patients though, but um sometimes it works with her. So, what I do is I have her out all day and I even have her walking and um pushing a cart, doing all kinds of stuff cuz she likes to be active and I try to keep her active.

[00:00:42]And I try to wear her out because that sundown is no joke.

[00:00:48]Uh it always happens and uh it even can go through the night. Um they start to get agitated. What it is is that the brain itself cannot digest everything that just life itself, things what's going on, the noises. Um if you have um the TV is too loud. It's just certain things that just triggers them. And a lot of times I noticed that I had to keep my mom away from big environments like um we had a Thanksgiving and um dinner um and she tends to act up. Christmas she tends to act up. So, now I tell my family, I'm like, "Listen, we can't come over and do this no more. We have to do it in a different way because it overstimulates her brains, can't take it. It feels like she's in a strange place."

[00:01:35]But, that sundown, just make sure when you go in your house, you turn pull on down your blinds, your shades, close your blinds, whatever it is, and make it kind of dim in there, make it calmer, make it less noisy. Um and also make sure it's like dark because I noticed one of the things is that dark is their comfort, it's their comfort zone. Is their safe zone. I used to think it was weird every time she would go into the bathroom or be sitting up in the dark.

[00:02:05]Mom, what are you doing? But it's comfort. They're trying to find their self and it's very soothing to them. So we will not correct them when they're going through sundown cuz they get agitated, they get very aggressive. My mom has actually called the cops on me so many times and it was because we had big environments. 1/4 of the life we were out having a nice time. I had people over and next thing you know, she was calling the cops on me saying, you know, I won't let her go home and just telling a whole bunch of lies and you know, and in sundown too, they'll accuse you of things, taking their wallet, taking their money, taking all types of things. But we got to be mindful that it's not them, it's the disease.

[00:02:46]Have a blessed day.