Expert: Paula Damgaard - 8/15/2009

Question
my father seems to have the opposite problem of sleep than most AD patients.  He sleeps until very late in the day.  Even when he is woken several times over a period of hours, he does not get up or he gets up, combs his hair, etc then goes back to bed.  My mother is his caregiver and this sleep issue is her greatest source of frustration for her.  My father is on oxygen at night for sleep apnea and may get up a couple of times to go to the bathroom, but doesn't seem to have difficulty sleeping at night.  I can't find any info on "over" sleeping with AD.


Answer
Mary, he is not alone.  There are many that sleep the day away.  Sometimes adding an antidepressant helps a little bit.  I know your mom is frustrated but she doens't realize how lucky she is!  Tell her to hire someone to come sit in the house and go do something.  She should be enjoying her life too.  

Not sure why they sleep but that is so much easier to deal with then the ones that are up 24-36 hours at a time with little cat naps!

I hope this helps.  Paula