Does Dementia Make You Sleep More? | Sleep Changes Help

Families often notice sleep changes surprisingly early with loved ones. Someone who kept a steady routine may start napping for long stretches or sleeping through visits and meals. It is natural to ask, does dementia make you sleep more, and what counts as normal rest for an older brain.

In simple terms, dementia can lead to both more and less sleep. Brain changes disturb the body clock, so nights become lighter and more broken while daytime drowsiness grows. Medication, pain, mood, and other health problems also shape how much a person sleeps.

Common Sleep Changes In Dementia

Sleep in dementia rarely looks like the classic seven to nine hours in one solid stretch. Instead, the day can feel broken into short loops of dozing and waking.

Sleep Change	How It Shows Up	What Carers Often Notice
Fragmented Night Sleep	Frequent awakenings, short sleep cycles	Person up and down all night, wandering or calling out
Early Morning Waking	Waking in the early hours and not returning to sleep	Exhaustion during the day after a long spell awake before dawn
Daytime Napping	Multiple naps or long periods of dozing in a chair or bed	Missed meals, less interest in activities, more quiet time
Reversed Sleep Wake Cycle	More awake at night and sleepier during the day	Night time restlessness with long daytime naps
Sundowning Related Sleep Trouble	Late afternoon and evening agitation or confusion	Pacing, calling out, or distress as daylight fades
Acting Out Dreams	Shouting, kicking, or thrashing during sleep	Bed partner startled or injured, person waking confused
Breathing Related Sleep Problems	Loud snoring or pauses in breathing	Gasping, choking sounds, or heavy sleepiness the next day
Increased Total Sleep Time	Longer nights plus long daytime naps	Person seems hard to rouse and spends much of the day in bed

Research from the National Institute on Aging notes that dementia can bring both sleeping too much and too little, along with frequent napping. That mix can exhaust carers and raise safety concerns if the person wanders or is at risk of falls.

Does Dementia Make You Sleep More As It Progresses?

Many carers report that as dementia progresses, the person sleeps more and is awake for shorter periods. Clinical experience and studies back up this pattern, and the Alzheimer’s Society describes how people in later stages can spend most of the day in bed or in a chair with eyes closed, waking only for brief periods to eat or speak. Extra sleep often goes along with weaker muscles, lower appetite, and feeling overwhelmed by noise or conversation, yet sudden changes in sleep length or alertness can still signal infection, a new drug side effect, or another medical issue that needs prompt care.

Dementia, Sleep, And The Body Clock

The brain runs on an internal clock that tells the body when to feel awake and when to feel sleepy. In dementia, the parts that keep this rhythm in line can become damaged, light and dark cues lose some of their effect, and the body clock drifts out of step.

This drift explains why many people with dementia nap more during the day yet still feel tired at night. The brain no longer links daylight with alertness as strongly, so people may doze in front of the television or fall asleep at the table. At night the same person may wake every hour or move from room to room. The Alzheimer’s Association notes that non drug steps such as more daylight, gentle activity, and a regular schedule can bring better rest, while sleeping pills often raise the risk of falls and confusion for older adults.

How Sleep Changes Differ By Dementia Type

Different diagnoses affect sleep in different ways. In Alzheimer’s disease, sleep usually becomes lighter and more broken first, with frequent waking and wandering, then longer nights and more daytime naps as memory and mobility decline.

Dementia with Lewy bodies often brings heavy daytime sleepiness from an early stage and acting out dreams, while Parkinson’s disease dementia can share those features along with stiffness and slowed movement. Vascular dementia may cause shorter or longer sleep depending on which brain areas are affected, and frontotemporal dementia can upset bedtime routines through changes in behaviour and impulse control. Over time, many of these conditions lead to more total sleep across the day.

Dementia And Night Time Sleep Patterns

One confusing feature of dementia is that a person may sleep far more across a full day yet still seem awake for much of the night. So when a family asks, does dementia make you sleep more, the honest answer is that it alters the pattern instead of simply adding hours.

Broken night sleep can stem from body clock drift, pain, needing the toilet, or side effects from drugs such as diuretics or stimulating pills taken late in the day. Night time confusion, sometimes called sundowning, can keep people on their feet when others rest. Over months and years the balance usually tilts toward more hours asleep in total as short naps add up and nights lengthen while the person becomes frailer.

Other Reasons Someone With Dementia May Sleep More

Dementia rarely acts alone. Many older adults live with heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, arthritis, or kidney problems at the same time. Each condition can affect sleep, and the drugs used to treat them can both raise and lower alertness.

Medication And Drowsiness

Drugs for pain, anxiety, nausea, allergy, bladder control, and dementia symptoms can all cause drowsiness, especially when treatment starts or dose changes. If a new prescription lines up with a rise in sleep, a review with the prescriber may help, and a change in timing, such as giving a drowsy drug in the evening, can sometimes improve daytime alertness.

Health, Mood, And Activity Level

Conditions such as sleep apnoea, anaemia, thyroid problems, or infections like urinary tract or chest infections can all bring extra sleepiness. In dementia, early signs may show up as a sudden shift in sleep or alertness instead of a clear complaint of pain or fever. Less social contact and little outdoor time lead to long spells in a chair or bed, and when days lack structure, sleep often fills the gap. Gentle routines, like a regular walk, music, or simple tasks such as folding laundry, can lift energy a little and reduce daytime dozing.

When Extra Sleep Is A Warning Sign

Some increase in sleep over the course of dementia is expected, but changes in pattern can still call for prompt contact with a doctor or nurse.

Sleep Change	Possible Concern	Typical Next Step
Sudden jump in sleep over one to three days	Infection, dehydration, or new drug side effect	Call the clinic and check temperature, fluids, and recent prescriptions
New snoring with pauses or gasps	Obstructive sleep apnoea	Ask about sleep study or overnight monitoring
Acting out dreams with shouting or hitting	REM sleep behaviour disorder, higher fall risk	Talk about night time safety and treatment with a specialist
Falling asleep during meals, swallowing problems	Risk of choking and poor nutrition	Request review from a doctor and speech and language therapist
New confusion or hallucinations alongside extra sleep	Delirium due to pain, infection, or drugs	Seek urgent medical advice, especially if change appears over hours
Sore skin from lying still	Reduced movement and pressure damage	Ask home nurses about pressure care and equipment
Carer exhaustion from night waking and day care	Burnout and risk to both carer and person with dementia	Ask the care team about respite options and extra help at home

If any of these changes appear, or if you feel uneasy about how much sleep a person with dementia now needs, trust that instinct. Extra help, new equipment, or a change in care plan can protect comfort and safety for both the person and their carer.

Practical Ways To Encourage Better Sleep

Steady daytime habits and a calming night setting can shrink the gap between wake and sleep, and small, repeated steps add up over weeks.

Start with daylight and movement by opening curtains in the morning, sitting by a window, spending time outside, and adding walks or stretches to help the body clock reset and raise healthy tiredness. The Alzheimer’s Association suggests building a regular pattern of meals, activity, and rest so the person knows what to expect.

In the bedroom, aim for a calm, simple setup. A comfortable mattress, familiar bedding, low background noise, and soft night lighting can lower confusion if the person wakes, and clocks and calendars in view help some people orient. Limit caffeine and large drinks late in the day to reduce toilet trips overnight, and keep naps earlier and shorter, such as a single nap after lunch instead of long naps late in the afternoon.

Main Points On Dementia And Sleeping More

Dementia changes the way the brain handles sleep, so patterns often shift early on. The question does dementia make you sleep more has a layered answer, because the total hours often rise even while nights stay restless. Extra sleep over months usually reflects slow decline in brain and body, while sudden changes point to new illness, drug effects, or mood shifts that need timely review. Gentle routines, bright mornings, regular movement, and a calm bedroom can guide the body clock, even when memory loss is severe. For carers, tracking patterns, asking for medical review, and adjusting routines over time can make long days and nights easier to share.