Insomnia and Dementia: Connections and Treatment
First, I want to acknowledge the grief, fear, and stress you might be holding. Either as a caregiver, a loved one, or person diagnosed with a life-altering condition, it can be difficult to juggle and can feel very isolating. There are supports that can help.
Difficulty with Sleep is a really common concern among people with Dementia. Dementia is an umbrella term that covers different conditions including Alzheimer's, Lewy Body and others.
There are many reasons why sleep issues are commonly associated with these conditions. While it’s true that some amount of sleep difficulties are par for the course, there are behavioral strategies that can help lessen the effects of the sleep issues.
Some of the reasons why sleep problems are common include:
As we age, sleep changes on its own. Many people struggle with age-related sleep changes and benefit from behavioral approaches such as CBT-I. Because Dementia becomes increasingly common with age (though there are young people with Dementia too) the age-related challenges can be a contributing factor.
The condition itself influences sleep and can increase sleep fragmentation, reduce deep sleep/slow-wave sleep and increase daytime sleepiness and napping.
When someone develops Dementia, it changes just about every area of life from work and social to eating habits. There are many common habits and unintentional habit changes that are common with Dementia that can be adjusted to improve sleep. For example, it’s common to spend more time inside and changes to lighting that can disrupt the circadian rhythm. That’s where behavioral sleep therapy can help.
Left unaddressed, this can lead to a vicious cycle where poor sleep exacerbates or makes the condition worse.
On the other hand, treating sleep concerns can help brain health and support improved mood and quality of life.
While sleep medication is an option, as a first approach, lifestyle modifications and behavioral therapy targeting sleep are great places to start.
With some adaptations, the gold standard treatment for insomnia (CBT-I) can also help individuals with Dementia and other neurological conditions improve their sleep and quality of life.
The behavioral strategies can include things like strategic timing of light to support circadian rhythm, decreased awake time in bed (to improve the association between the bed and sleep) and other strategies a therapist trained in this area can help with based on you or your loved one’s specific situation
Hi I’m Kasryn, the author of this post.
I help exhausted adults improve their sleep with research-backed approaches inducing individuals with Dementia, Alzheimer's and other memory care conditions.
The first step is a free consultation.
Click Here to Schedule a Free Consultation.
Additional resources and supports on this topic:
https://www.alz.org/help-support
https://dfamerica.org/resource-listing/