Don’t telephone my 100-year-old father after 5PM! He is asleep by that time. As a boy, I remember that he kept a more normal sleep schedule. His bedtime was 9-10PM. As he aged, he went to bed earlier and earlier, which is not uncommon for the elderly. However, I have recently learned there is such a thing as “sundowning”, which is a little understood set of symptoms that develop as a person slowly slips into dementia.

My wife speculated that “sundowning” might explain Biden’s awful performance at the “debate” last week? Such symptoms include confusion, anxiety, aggression, ignoring directions, pacing or wandering. It seems to be worsen with fatigue, unfamiliar surroundings, increased shadows. disruption of a person’s body-clock, being hungry or thirsty, etc. There is no cure, except to minimize triggers by keeping a predictable routine, limit daytime napping, relaxing music, etc.

What interests me is that there is very little research on this. While related to dementia, it is still different and needs its own research. How many family, business, or political relationships have suffered, because we don’t understand “sundowning.”