How to Stop Dementia Patients Wandering at Night

Dementia comes with many symptoms that can be tricky for carers to manage, but one of the most difficult is night-time wandering. That’s because it often happens while carers are asleep – so there’s a significant danger that a loved one with dementia could come to harm while their carer is unaware.

However, there are steps that you can take to protect an older person with dementia who is prone to wandering at night. With the right knowledge about how dementia works, you can implement tips and tricks to reduce this behaviour and address the risks that come from it. Read on to learn how.

What is wandering?

People with some types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, may have the urge to walk around or away from carers or their home, potentially becoming lost or in danger. This is often referred to as wandering, and it usually happens in more advanced stages of dementia.

Wandering can happen while a person is at home. They may have the urge to leave home and walk outside – to a specific destination or to nowhere in particular. Wandering can also happen while a senior with dementia is already outside with friends and family.

Wandering is different from a rational, purposeful desire to go to a real place. For example, a senior with dementia might want to go out and walk to a nearby ice cream parlour on a warm, sunny day. If they understand a safe route to the ice cream parlour and it’s an appropriate time of day, that’s not wandering – just a wish for ice cream!

But if a person with dementia wants to leave their house at midnight to “go home,” wishing to return to a childhood residence that has since been knocked down, that’s probably wandering. What can make the situation worse is that wanderers may leave without proper clothing, such as a coat in wintertime, and they may walk into unsafe areas, such as along busy roads.

Sometimes, an elderly person with dementia may begin to make a rational journey, such as that trip to the ice cream parlour, but become lost along the way. This is not strictly categorised as wandering, but it still invites some of the same dangers – such as being alone without access to water, medication or assistance.

Why do people with dementia wander at night?

There are many reasons why an older person may wander at night. The behaviour often results from a combination of factors. We’ll discuss some common ones below.

Sleep problems

It’s very common for older people, including those without dementia, to have trouble sleeping. This can be due to:

• Pain

• Medication side effects

• Needing to go to the toilet frequently.

When a senior with dementia wakes up for any reason, an opportunity for wandering is created.

Body clock issues

In addition to other sleep problems, elderly people may have sleep difficulties directly related to dementia. Specifically, it seems that seniors with dementia may find that their body clocks are not working properly.

Our body clock is what helps our bodies to follow the natural rhythm of day and night. We wake up in the morning, feel energetic during the day, grow drowsy in the evening and rest at night.

In people with dementia, this rhythm may be disrupted. Doctors don’t know exactly why this is, but it can result in a person with dementia getting up at 2am and feeling fully awake.

When a senior with dementia wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks it’s daytime, that can combine with wandering urges to cause issues such as…

Trying to “go home,” go to work or do errands

Wandering sometimes occurs because an older person with dementia starts to follow an old routine, such as going to work or to the shops. This can happen even when the person with dementia is long retired or living far away from the places they’re trying to go to.

Also, it’s common for people with dementia to express a wish to “go home” even when they are at home. This can occur because they don’t recognise their home. And experts think it can also be the person with dementia’s way of saying that they know something is wrong, and they want to return to a place where things are “right” – their home.

When a senior with dementia wakes up at night and their body clock tells them to be awake and active, they can begin wandering and try to leave their home for the above reasons. They may also try to follow old routines around the house, such as making breakfast.

Of course, all of these activities can be dangerous for a person with advanced dementia who no longer remembers how to cross a street or how to cook without starting a fire.

Getting lost or forgetting their destination while up at night

We’ve already mentioned the fact that other health problems may prompt an older person to wake up at night. This can be a start to wandering if an older person gets up for one reason and then becomes confused or falls into a wandering pattern. For example, if an elderly person gets up to go to the toilet and then can’t locate the bathroom, they may forget what they intended to do and end up wandering or in distress.

Sundowning

Sundowning is a phenomenon in which people with dementia become agitated around the end of the day. Doctors don’t completely understand the causes of sundowning. But they do know that people with dementia who are experiencing sundowning may become restless and physically agitated, making them want to walk around. In some cases, this agitation and restlessness can continue into the night.

Lack of daytime exercise

Some elderly people with dementia don’t get enough exercise during the day. So, during the night, they’ll feel a physical need to get up, walk around and have physical activity. This can be especially common in older people who were very active when they were younger.

What not to do

Before we discuss actions that can help, let’s discuss two things not to do.

Restriction

If you’re caring for an elderly loved one who frequently wanders, you may think that locking their door would keep them safer. But this can be extremely dangerous in case of a fire, so it’s not a good option.

Medication

Sometimes, people also consider using over-the-counter medication like sleep aid tablets to help an older person with dementia sleep through the night. However, doing this without a doctor’s approval is not advisable. Older people, people with dementia and people who are already taking prescription medication can have dangerous reactions to other medicines. So, consult your older loved one’s doctor before giving them any medication, even non-prescription meds.

Tips & techniques to help sufferers stay in bed and get a better sleep

So, what does work to address night-time wandering? There is no perfect solution, but there are steps that have been shown to help many seniors with dementia who wander.

Sticking to a daily routine

A daily routine can be a crucial step to help an older person with dementia’s body clock return to more usual day and night rhythms. This routine should aim to raise an older person’s energy levels during the early and middle parts of the day, while helping them to wind down as evening comes.

For example, we know that sunlight can help sync up the body’s clock, yet people with advanced dementia who are at risk of wandering may not get enough sun because carers struggle to take them outdoors safely. That lack of sunlight can then lead to restlessness at night. So, an older person should have the chance to take in some sunlight in the morning and during the earlier parts of the day.

While some older people with dementia may be unable to be physically active, others will also benefit greatly from dementia-friendly exercise or some simple walking outdoors. Physical activity during the day can help reduce restlessness and help an older person to fall asleep more soundly. Of course, you’ll want to check with a GP to ensure a person with dementia’s activity plan is right for them.

During the latter part of the day, you’ll then want to start winding down and being less energetic and active. In some cases, it can be helpful to make lunch the largest meal of the day, leaving dinner to be a lighter meal. Switch to non-caffeinated drinks in the middle of the day, and put more relaxing programmes on TV.

When bedtime draws near, turn off electronics, which give off blue light that can disrupt sleep. Instead, enjoy activities like listening to the radio or doing simple puzzles.

Try to follow the same routine each day so that the older person with dementia can grow used to having peaks and dips in energy at the same time.

Ensuring darkness and light are in the right places

It’s a good idea for an older person with dementia to have blackout curtains that block out any confusing light from outside. For example, a bright streetlamp could be mistaken for sunrise.

At the same time, a senior with dementia may need light to walk around safely if they get up. That’s where mention-sensing lights come in. Put these lights at floor level where they can turn on as needed.

Adapting the environment

You’ll want to change up the home to do two things:

1. Help a person with dementia to find important locations, like the bathroom

2. Remove objects that can cue a person with dementia to leave

So, make sure you leave the door to the bathroom open, and ensure there’s lighting so that a person with dementia can see it. You may even want to install lighting along a hallway leading to the bathroom to further encourage a person with dementia to walk that way.

Try to remove clutter in the bathroom so it’s easy to see crucial objects, and consider getting a toilet seat in a bright, contrasting colour so it’s easy to spot. You may also want to remove or cover the mirror, as mirrors can be upsetting for people with dementia.

The other half of this step is removing objects that prompt an older person with dementia into a routine of leaving the house. This means removing or hiding hats, coats and keys that are near exterior doors. For a senior with dementia who has a serious problem with wandering away from home, you may even want to disguise the front door, such as with a curtain or wallpaper.

Day and night clocks

Sometimes, a person with dementia may wake at night and feel uncertain about whether it’s daytime or night-time. Specialised dementia clocks can help.

These wall clocks don’t just tell the time. They also include symbols to show whether it’s day or night. This can be enough to assure an older person that it’s still night-time and they don’t have to get up and go to work.

Talking to a doctor

If you’re caring for an older person with dementia who is often awake at night, talk to their doctor to see if something else is wrong. Your older loved one with dementia might be waking up because of a medical condition that needs to be treated – like sleep apnoea.

Making a plan in case your loved one goes missing

No matter how much you try to prevent wandering, you’ll also need to make a plan about what you’ll do if your loved one does go missing.

The Metropolitan Police offer guidance about a form you can fill in to help police locate a missing person with dementia.

Of course, it’s better not to have to search for a missing person with dementia at all. That’s why at SureSafe, we offer a simple device that can locate your missing loved one in an instant – in addition to other features, too.

How our dementia tracker and its geo-fence function can help

Even with all the actions we’ve listed, carers may struggle to rest as they worry about what will happen if their older loved one wanders from bed at night.

The SureSafe Dementia Tracker offers peace of mind because it lets you locate your older loved one quickly and easily. The GPS in the device works with an app that you and other family members can keep on your phone, so you can check on your relative with dementia at any time.

But that’s not all. Our wandering alarm also offers geo-fencing, which lets the alarm alert you when the person with dementia leaves a designated safe area. With this feature, carers can rest easy, knowing they’ll be warned if a wandering episode starts.

How exactly does the dementia tracker work? It’s a simple wrist alarm that resembles a smart watch – but it can be locked into place so you don’t have to worry about your older relative removing it. Plus, this alarm also comes with fall detection. That means that if the device believes it has sensed a fall, it will raise the alert all on its own – no input from the alarm wearer needed.

Peace of mind for carers of seniors with dementia

At SureSafe, we’ve been offering personal alarms for the elderly since 2012, with over 150,000 alarms provided worldwide. We’re experts in protecting older people with our easy-to-use, affordable, reliable devices – as our great reviews show.

So, if you’re worried about wandering or other accidents befalling an older loved one with dementia, we’re here to help. Just give us a ring on 0808 189 1671, get in touch through our live chat or request a call back to talk more with us about how our alarms can help.