For example, they may believe that they need to go home, even if they are already at home, or that they have to collect their children from school, but they are now adults.
They may pace, shout, argue or try to leave the house.
This is known as sundowning.
Having a nightly routine can be reassuring and calming for the person with dementia and help prevent sundowning. You could try:
- supporting the person to have a warm bath or shower, or to sit with a warm hot water bottle in a cover, or a cosy blanket
- drawing the curtains and turning on lights before dusk, so the person is less aware of the change from daylight to darkness
- spending some relaxing time together, eg listening to music or reading a chapter of a book to them
- switching off the TV an hour before bed
- keeping mobile phones, tablets or computers out of the bedroom, or setting them to night-time mode – this will help to prevent overstimulation and exposure to ‘blue light’, which can affect sleep patterns