Nursing home question: Mom suddenly is awake all night and sleeping all day. What can cause this?

Maybe she has a sleep disorder?

Has she been diagnosed with dementia? When my mom had it, especially in the earlier stages, she could be “fine” (so to speak) one day, and the next day have-no idea who I was or where she was. That’s what makes it so hard on the families. Also, if she is sleeping all day,she is not tired at night. Ask the staff to try to get her involved in some activities, even if she just sits and watches. They can try to keep her awake, but that’s difficult when they have many other residents to care for.

Mom has dementia? If so, that is very common. My mother did not know night from day. She was paranoid about someone looking in her window so she’d keep her shade pulled down tight. That meant she didn’t look outside so she didn’t have the sunlight or dark outside to go by. The wall clock also confused her. This is normal.