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I can't get her to do anything. My mother was with my sister in N.C for 8 mos. She will be with me now. All she does is sleep day and night. I can't get her to do anything. Is this normal? I am very worried and frustrated. I have trouble also getting her to eat. The Dr. say it is ok to let her sleep but I find it hard to believe as back in Oct she was not doing this. She has deteriorated since she has been with my sister in N.C. I just feel that all this sleep is not normal and there is something else that I could be doing to help her get past it. Please does anyone have suggetions?

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ThomThumb everyone is different. Look at all those elderly people who keep rocking! It's not impossible. It's different for everyone of us.
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Or, people just get old and die.

I am a senior and I am wearing out. I sleep more and can't go on 10 mile hikes like I did.

Doctor can't find anything wrong....just getting worn out.

In accepting that I am getting old I have become much happier.
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My dad has done the same thing for the lat two days. His doctor says he is in good health. My dad is so lazy that he was to lay down and eat. I have to fuss at him to get him to set up and eat. You are not alone I am going through the same thing.
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Sue627, Your mom is going so much at the day center that she's exhausted when she gets home. Kind of like a kindergartener. It's probably ok as long as she is getting up in the morning. I would be more concerned if she was not being so active and still only wanted to sleep. What are weekends like? Was she always a good sleeper when she was younger?

In any case, at least with Alzheimer's, it is possible for the person to sleep and sleep and sleep towards the end. It does not sound like that's where she is at all.
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My mom is 91 years old. She attends a day care for the elderly, where she is a real go-getter. Always walking around with her walker. She loves the exercises they do in the morning directly following breakfast. Mom is gone all day, Monday through Friday, 9-3:30. When she gets home, she immediately falls asleep. Which is fine with me as I see this as the first chance she's had to relax all day. However, I will wake her for dinner, around 5:30, she'll eat and the next thing I know she's off again. She doesn't wake up until I wake her up for bed, which is about 8:30. I've discussed this with some of the admins at the day care. They said she's such a go-getter all day, it's like having a 9-5 job for her. She's always pleasant and they always bring the new clients to my mom for 'orientation'. I just worry. It just seems that dinner breaks up her sleep for the hour it takes her to eat...then we're back to sleep.
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I'm taking my husband to day care at a memory care facility 3 days a week. He sleeps all day and night at home but not at daycare. Boredom? Or just the excitement of having lots going on. Hard to say but the stimulation does seem to help.
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To keep my mother from withdrawing I gave her Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract (from Host Defense). About 4ml per day. I got incredible results even as she had worsening Alzheimers Disease. I wish I could have tried it earlier.
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My mom will be 88 in July. She is the same way. I think it normal for them to sleep. I do take her for rides several times a week and try to get her to walk with me to the corner. She does climb 22 steps everyday by herself. I have to make sure she eats but I do give her small meals a few times a day when I'm there and I encourage her to do the same when I am not there. This seems to work for keeping her nourished. I also give her ensure and Gatorade. She's still likes her junk food ice cream etc. Doctor said let her eat all she wants
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My 70 years old sister has dementia, for the past two months she is sleeping all day and wake at night. I am very worried because she was a happy person, now she is so weak and drowsy everyday. She is in the hospital and they have her on all kinds of medications. What do I do and where do I turn for help. She needs twenty four hours care, the family cannot afford it, we apply at nursing homes to get her out of the hospital. There waiting list is from two years to six years. Now her lifestyle has change into long hours of sleeps.
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Dramlouie's experience is much like my Mother's and mine as far as she wanted to sleep all the time. Don't give up trying to engage a parent. If they are sleeping toomuch, take it slow. Get a blood screen and whatever testing they need. Are they dehydrated? anemic? malnourished? low on potassium? monitor their vitals. Whatever state they are in try to get them to do a little more. Sitting up. Mom can stand in front of the vanity while I make her up. It engages her. She likes to sing-a-long. work it out. Mom is at her mental peak in the 2 years we have been together. Her singing voice has gone from weak and scratchy to lovely to harmonize with her. She is singing in a higher clearer pitch than she used to. If she is only up for meals in the Dining room at her Personal Care Unit and maybe 2 or 3 other hours a day, that is progress. When we go out to a Dr's appointment or a drive she is usually more tired the next day. We were making progress. There is always something else that goes wrong and pulls her down. I have been running interference and nursing her back to health. You are very fortunate if you can focus on a parent sleeping too much. It is a blessing when your parent is alive, in your care and you try to nurture their well being. That is love from God shining on you and your parent. God Bless.
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My wife is 80 years old and has dementia. She has just recently taken to sleeping for up to 20 hours a day. She doesn't eat by herself , I have to feed her, but even then she doesn't eat much. I have a struggle to get her out of bed and into a chair for the little time there is during the day. She doesn't understand me when I ask her to put one foot in front of the other to walk, she just stands there. I am 83 years old and she is very heavy for me to lift if she doesn't help me. I am trying to cope on my own but it is getting very difficult. What else can I do.
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Carolinep80, no, it's not generally normal, but because you have not given any details, I can't advise further.
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Mickcindy, I don't know what stillnox is, but something is clearly out of whack. Take your friend to a naturpath or even a different doctor.
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Janinne1968, whatever else may be going on, your father is still mourning your mother. Prayer isn't going to help on its own. Perhaps a bereavement support group or a therapist specialising in bereavement can help. If you have hospice in your area, they can advise. Of course the loss induced stress is exhausting him.
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My dad is 93 and just came to live with us. My mom past away on 11/07/16 and they were married for 56 years. He wakes up calling her name at times. He says he can't get over this lonely feeling he has. I have told him that it will take time and prayer to get past this lonely feeling. He is on medication for COPD and CHF, as well as, constant oxygen. He sleeps most of the day into the night. My children and try to engage him but after that short period he just goes back to sleep. Sometimes, I feel like I have lost two parents and not one. I am feeling very frustrated because I feel like I am failing at caring for him because he is not engaged like he used to be. Help???
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I would like a medical opinion about my husband. 80, and engineer who retired at 72, has numerous medical problems, and sleeps 18 hours a day. Is this normal?
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My friend is only 53 takes stillnox sleeps from lunch 1pm will not do anything she is wasting away does not eat
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My 92 year old hypothyroid Mum was like that this spring. Wouldn't eat, just wouldn't get up, said she was enjoying her doze. Therefore she wasn't drinking either. I found her at 11am stuck on the toilet, cold, slurring speech with all the lights on. She had obviously been there for hours. She was treated for dehydration as she was shaking and weak in the hospital but sent home the next evening. At 4am I was woken by her fall alarm and driving over found her on the bathroom floor. This got help, doctors, carers coming in, physio, check ups, endocrinologist who immediately pointed out that the usual doctor had let her calcium levels creep up and she was prescribed cinacalcet to reduce calcium levels in her blood. We got her a wheelchair and walker. She pushed the wheelchair like a walker and when she got tired I took her for a wander. I took her out every day and she got stronger and stronger. The carers got breakfast and I went round to give her a good lunch and another carer gave her an evening food. She is now better than she has been for a long time, her calcium levels are improving, she is keeping herself hydrated and her thyroid has been increased. So do get the hydration sorted, check the T3 levels with the thyroid and check the blood calcium levels as too much causes memory problems. Today we walked 1.5 miles and Mum stormed up a hill without stopping. I am sure the doctor had given up on her and couldn't be bothered to do anything. Don't give up. Mum stays up for 12 hours now, might have a nod off in the afternoon for a few minutes. Her short term memory is sadly deteriorating, some days better than others and some days you wouldn't know there was anything wrong. Get them checked out and don't be brushed off with its their age, what do you expect! Good luck...x
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Is this normal
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My 94 years old is complaining of tired and sleeping a lot
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My Mother has been paying insurance of $1,000.00 per month for 14 years to have amenities of assisted living to her facility. They changed the name of their Assisted Living section to Personal Care which I understand is requires less care than Assisted Living. Her friend has paid $1,000 per month insurance to an insurance company and she has round the clock Nurses Aids. When my Mom needed Nurses Aids round the clock it was at a rate of $25.00 per hour which would be over $200,000 per year. Her insurance policy will provide a Nurse if she needs car 24 hours a day but not a nurses aid. Was this a rip off?
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My Mom goes through too much sleep - when she sleeps too much her muscles get weak. Getting her up, sitting her up, walking with a walker, moving her feet to help push herself along in a wheel chair - all these things help rather than just letting her sleep. What does she like - plan an activity she looks forward to. Do her nails, put makeup on her, anything that makes being awake interesting, joyful and more fun than sleeping.
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From what you describe, the dying process is the first thing I think of because people in the dying process sleep far more than they used to and far more than everyone else.

Being cold all the time sounds to me like a lack of healthy fats in the person's diet, and definitely lack of circulation if the person doesn't move around much to keep the blood flowing to like it should. Both of those will definitely keep the body feeling cold.

Another thing that was mentioned here is spot on about lack of nutrition and dehydration. Not eating well and even eating less is accurate about the slowing down and malfunctioning of the body. The person who mentioned this before was definitely right because the body will start slowing down and you'll be so low on energy you'll sleep much of the time.

Dehydration is another threat to life, we need a certain amount of water to survive. Without enough water, the body will quickly start slowing down before shutting down. The poster who mentioned dehydration was also spot on about dehydration because yes, the body will slow down in order to stay alive, that's definitely correct! You can live about three days without water if you drink none at all. Your body is constantly losing water when you breathe and with all other bodily functions because your body is always working doing something. Your body needs building blocks to function properly and stay alive. Without those building blocks, your body will slow down and you will start noticing how your body starts malfunctioning and you may start sleeping more.

You'll probably want to get the patient checked right away and have some blood drawn to check for 'nutritional anemia'. One test you can do right now is a gentle pinch test on the back of her hand. If the skin does not return to shape for its slow to return to shape, that's a big red flag, she's dehydrated. Another sign to look for is how hard it will be to draw blood at the hospital. One time my foster dad was in the ER and it took about 45 minutes just to even get blood out of him. He was definitely dehydrated because of how awful of a time they had even getting any blood from him. He was hospitalized and restored to health before being discharged
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my mother is 88 years old she has a cyst on her pancreas that the dr is watching. She also has dementia, her eating habits have change she isn't hungry, she sleeps a lot she will be up for 30-40 then wants to go back to sleep and will sleep for another hour to hour in half then up for 30. Dr says this comes with dementia ?? Has anyone else had this concern with their mother or father
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My 86 yr old mother is sleeping a lot. She has health concerns as well, she had a pulmonary embolism last year which has not gone away, actually she is accumulating more blood clots. She his on a heavy dose of blood thinner. She has very poor circulation in her legs and in a lot of pain at times making it difficult to walk. She is quite depressed and im just not sure what to do, we are with her almost every day of the week. Is there more that can be done?
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There can be any number of reasons for why someone sleeps all the time. The dying process is one of those reasons. When someone sleeps a lot and they don't eat or drink much of anything, of course they can get cold because they're always still and not exercising but also not eating can also make you cold. No nutrition can also cause your body to start malfunctioning here and there, and you're mine can also start malfunctioning. Dehydration is one of the major factors for fatigue. One time I discovered this for myself because I started feeling fatigued and even sleepy. It can be very hard for many people to choke down the recommended amount of water each day because sometimes plain water just doesn't taste that great all the time. That's when people start skimping on water. When you do this, at some point you'll start noticing your body starts performing differently and you'll start feeling tired. That's just your body's way of slowing down to save energy to stay alive. Your body does the same thing when you're not eating and you start feeling weak. When you sleep a lot though, your body slows way down and you're just not hungry or thirsty if you're consistently tired a lot. There's no way you'll even be hungry and sometimes not even thirsty if you're still sleepy enough to head back to bed and go back to sleep.
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My mom is 98 she is always very sleepy, she doesn't like to go to bed ones she gets up in the morning, she dresses and sits on her recliner chair tries to watch TV or even do iPad but she keeps falling sleep doing those and she eats ok. Reason for being sleepy?? Please help
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Mom is 85 years old she is always tried sleeps all day not eating well and always cold
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I strongly agree with the sleeping out of boredom idea, this can strike anyone at any age, I clearly understand. People can do any number of things out of boredom when they have nothing to do due to lack of money and resources. This is only one among many reasons why people refuse to give up driving, (and I don't blame them). When you're bored and live alone, it's easy to find something to do, but it's easy to do it in excess. It's one thing to sleep more during illness or injury, but it's another thing to sleep more just because you're bored and lonely. This is why everyone at any age needs a social network and something warm up activity to keep them going
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i called my mom who is 98 and it was around 2:10pm in the afternoon. She answered and told me she is just now waking up. I noticed the tv was on. I think that is sleeping a lot or just plain boredom, I don't live.near her so I can't tell. Is this normal
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