Bruce, does this person by any chance have Lewy Body dementia? There is a specific sleep disorder associated with this form of dementia, and very effective treatment is available.
I can recall My own Mother telling Me that She had another horrible dream that night. When I'd ask what was it about Mom would say " oh some thing stupid, and could not recall. I said it to Moms GP and She altered the prescription and the horrible dreams stopped.
My mother, who is 86 and has dementia, was having vivid dreams. I talked with her geriatrician primary care doctor about this. He reviewed her medications and made adjustments over a couple of visits. She sleeps very soundly now with just the normal amount of dreaming as best I can tell from our conversations. She does not complain about bad dreams as she did before. I was surprised that the culprit medication was not for treatment of dementia. I have been very pleased with the way her geriatrician keeps her meds minimal and at the lowest dosage that is effective. Mom is alert and pleasant, does not sleep during the day, even as the dementia progresses. I highly recommend finding a doctor who specializes in geriatrics if you are searching for a doctor. There are so many considerations for age and dementia that make their treatment different. Mom's ALF recommended two different geriatricians when we moved her into the ALF. Both of them make visits to the ALF to see patients about once a week. When Mom had bronchitis her geriatrician's PA included Mom on her schedule at the ALF. Mom was almost back to normal two days after she saw her. Comforting a person having bad dreams is important, but it may be possible to treat the cause of the dreams. Seek help from your doctor.
Do the same as you would for a toddler or small child, rub their back while reassuring them that it as just a bad dream and stay with them until they relax enough to fall asleep again.
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Talk to her doctor about whether this could be RBD. If you can, get her to describe a few of the dreams so you can report that to her doctor.
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I said it to Moms GP and She altered the prescription and the horrible dreams stopped.
Comforting a person having bad dreams is important, but it may be possible to treat the cause of the dreams. Seek help from your doctor.