Sundowning: Everything You Need To Know

[@cindylee7855]

My dad is 80. He was sharp as a tack and took care of my mother until 3 months ago. It came on suddenly and horrifically. He fell and broke his hip when I had dozed off for 30 mins. He was asleep and I was 20 ft away. Now he's in therapy center for a few weeks. I can't imagine what it's like for him to see that terrible things he hallucinates..

[@moinahmed783]

I’m 38 and first noticed sundowning 10 years ago and since it’s getting worse I try to spend the time between before and after sunset in gym to not get the feeling..it works to some extent

[@MedicalCentric]

It's commendable that you've found a way to manage sundowning symptoms with exercise; please continue to monitor and consult with a healthcare professional for tailored advice. ❤️

[@h.williams5808]

My mother gets angry, agitated, and cries, sometimes she forgets who I am.. smh, the sun goes down early in the winter, around 4:45p. And bam, it's a go. Many times until she tires herself out..... The video was informative. Thanks Thank

[@toosheaproductions]

thank you for posting, its informative

[@MedicalCentric]

You're welcome

[@0602djdes]

Very informative. Ty for the video.. We're expericing this with the mother in law.

[@MedicalCentric]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Kyle-zy7ny]

Watching this as my patient went from completely confused and disoriented at 2am to being able to use the TV at 5am.

[@MedicalCentric]

@Kyle-zy7ny Sundowning can be really challenging to witness, as it often causes a significant shift in behavior during the evening and night. It’s good that your patient found some clarity later on. Managing this condition often involves creating a calm, consistent environment, especially during the evening, to help minimize confusion and agitation. Your care and attention make a huge difference in their well-being.

[@Ryan88881]

It’s seriously getting old (no pun intended) seeing all these people and other sources act like it only happens to people with dementia or even subclinical age-related cognitive decline. It can happen with certain types of delirium too at a young age. Granted, you did say “other neurological disorders” so fair enough but I wish more people would acknowledge the condition’s relationship with delirium, which I’ve noticed has become mysteriously less and less indicated by public sources. Even the ones which used to gloss over it but at least would still mention it. Also it doesn’t “usually happen” after the sun goes down. I don’t have a problem with the name for the most part but it can be a little misleading. It *usually* happens just in the late afternoon (4 or 5pm) regardless of what the sun is doing but to be honest, it usually happens even before actual sunset. However it does seem to be the case that the instances which do occur at night (well past twilight) feel qualitatively worse than the ones that occur in the afternoon. Actual nighttime sundowning is rarer but the one time it did occur for me during actual pitch black night was so over the top and flustering and baneful that it felt almost like how I would imagine the mental state of rabies to feel. Like you want to shake your head violently and just scream out. It’s an almost animalistic type of madness. I literally wanted to “howl” out woefully or something, very hard to explain. It was so full of bane and feels like you’re being extremely, just.. bothered by some kind of invisible force. It can come off like you’re irritable and sulky from the outside but you’re really just suffering and very agitated going through a mental, emotional and spiritual ruination and it’s absolutely impossible for anyone to ‘talk you down’ or make anything better so if you’re in that type of position don’t even try. Trust me unless you’re knocking them completely unconscious with some medication or straight up euthanatizing them (extreme I know) you’re not helping them. It can’t be mitigated. Also worth noting that, as horrific as it feels; it does only occur for maybe an hour or two on a given day. It certainly doesn’t last throughout the night or just get worse and worse over the course of multiple hours. It also all hits pretty quickly with most symptoms coming on within minutes. So amazingly it does somehow subside before the day/night is over, but for that window in which it does take place it’s absolute anguish. And that’s putting it mildly.

[@chrisboyce1]

It’s totally related to the change in time . I’ve noticed this over the last 4 years now . When it starts getting dark that’s when I have have problems. As winter approaches and it gets darker earlier I get worse and the when summer comes my sundowning goes down slightly . I’m just not buying infinite environmental for me what so ever

[@Ryan88881]

I had it and it had absolutely nothing to do with light or what the sun was doing. Maybe there’s different types but it was purely temporal.

[@chrisboyce1]

@@Ryan88881 maybe it wasn’t sundowning then . Most people get or when it gets darker . Example mine is worse in the winter cause it gets darker early

[@Ryan88881]

@@chrisboyce1 Well not exactly. The name is somewhat misleading. It tends to come even before sunset much of the time. Tends to usually happen for most around 4 or 5pm regardless of the season. Maybe there is different forms because have had it happen at night before but I'd wager based on your username that it probably is sundowning. Do you feel flustered? It's mostly characterized by agitation and confusion.

[@chrisboyce1]

@@Ryan88881 guess this depends on the person . Mine starts at around 3 but not bad until 6 and on but I’ve found something to do with winter and it gets darker earlier it’s extremely hard for me

[@chrisboyce1]

@@Ryan88881 I get aggravated very aggressive feel like I am drunk I have bad hallucinations and see shadow people also

[@DannyMcKinney79]

I think it happened to my grandmother it outsmarted the elderly

[@naturalmysticone7721]

My child with autism has done this since he was a little toddler. As soon as the sun begins to go down he paces runs hops becomes more active. It lasts about 20 minutes

[@MedicalCentric]

It's not uncommon for children with autism to experience increased activity levels during transitions, such as sunset; discussing this pattern with a behavioral therapist might provide strategies to help manage these periods of heightened energy.

[@whitneysawyer483]

Very interesting thanks for this ☀-downing video :)

[@MedicalCentric]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JennyjuiceReal]

nice info😊

[@MedicalCentric]

Thanks for liking

[@ssemombweandrew]

Present!