Is the desire to sleep all day and all night a sleep disorder?

My 98-year-old Mom with a mixed dementia sleeps more and more. Even if she's "up", in her chair in front of the TV or with people visiting, she'll doze off and sometimes move into a deep sleep. In addition to that, she takes the same several naps as freqflyer's Dad. The only medication she's on is 5 mg memantine. I think they just wear out. There's a reason they used to call them 'rest homes' -- I still prefer that to 'nursing homes'. I imagine there's a part of it that's just boredom as well. As her sight and hearing continue to deteriorate and her mind no longer grasps things like Scrabble, Solitaire, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, reading, knitting -- all the things she used to love spending hours on -- it's difficult to find replacements that capture her interest. We finally had to come to the conclusion that if she preferred sleeping her life away to spending it some other way, we would honor that, make her comfortable, not make an issue of it, and even frequently remind her how hard she worked and how much she did for others all her life and that's now it's her turn to take it easy. She seems to like that.

DoNotSpamMe, may I ask how old is your Dad. What are his medical issues? If he is up in age, it is quite common for an elder to sleep a lot.

My parents would get their 8 hours of sleep at night, then a nap after breakfast, another nap after lunch, then nap before dinner, and a long nap after dinner. As we age we become tired, because we no longer have the same energy of someone 20 years younger.

Also, elders are put on meds that can make them sleepy. I know when I first got onto blood pressure pills I couldn't stay awake, eventually the dosage was adjusted so I am awake more during the day.

There are a lot of medical conditions that can cause this.
If he is at end of life he will also sleep more, often 20 hours or more a day.
Is he depressed? That can cause a person to want to sleep all day and not being "refreshed" can be a symptom of the depression.
I suggest that he see his primary care doctor and you take note of all the symptoms or things that you notice and bring them up.

My mother just turned 90 and is now going to bed at 7:30pm and not getting up until 9:30am or 10am. She doesn't hear or see well. She spends hours in a lounge chair with her eyes closed. She claims she is not asleep. I asked her what she thinks about when she's just lying there, but she couldn't think of anything. She also has moderate Alheimer's disease and is on meds for that plus Seroquel for delusions and hallucinations. All this medication makes her sleepy, but she appears to be even more tired than she was several weeks ago. It's hard to see one's once energetic parent slow down so much, but I do think it's an end-of-life symptom. Yesterday she said she had lived long enough. Hard to answer that!

It is important to question your PCP about this for the possible issues suggested by MACinCT. Another possibility, especially if he also seems confused is high ammonia levels which can be caused by liver problems.

My 66 year old mother did the same thing. We took her to the dr it ended with a stint in her heart and a home oxygen system. We saw an immediate change for about a month but she still sleeps a lot and now she wakes up with slurred speech and thinks she is somewhere else. I don't understand. I could use some answers too.

DoNotSpamMe: a visit to his PCP and possibly a psychiatrist who specializes in elder care might be in order.

chrissy6104, the slurred speech and confusion concerns me - does that get better as she wakes up? How long does it last? I would take her in to the ER or at least for an urgent visit with her PCP to ensure she isn't suffering from a stroke or blood clot.

I think a lot of elderly people get that way.

How old is your dad??

My dad is 90 and he is chronically depressed, has sleep apnea, back problems and dementia. Since before my mom passed away last year, Dad sleeps at least 16 hours a day. He used to get upset and concerned when my mom was sleeping at least 16 hours a day. However, my mom had back problems, UTI, anemic, dementia and she was taking blood pressure medication. That were causing her to sleep a lot. My dad, lately, has been sleeping more since he has been taking Namzaric for his dementia.

Discuss this problem with your dad and his doctor if you're really concerned. Also, if there's nothing serious wrong with your dad, then lets him sleep and love him.

You might also want to check to see if he's anemic. A simple blood test will determine that.

Age is a huge factor here - once people reach their 90's, sleeping reaches 16-20 hours daily with some having to wake their LO for meals.

Mine is going to be 96 next month and he too sleeps a lot, but also gets up through the night to void. So far I do not have to awaken him for meals - but a friend's mother who is about 2 years younger, has to be awakened to eat.

Talk with his primary physician to find out what is normal. I can only tell you that Ray takes another nap after eating :)