This post is an attempt to take the reader on from yesterday evening.  I am confident there is something in my approach to sorting out poor sleep patterns when dementia is the elephant in the room.  Once again I am fortunate that I am not starting with a blank canvas on this matter.  As I may have mentioned before, I have spent years trying to regulate my own sleep pattern, as early morning wakening has been the bane of my life.  It would only be fair to say it has had more than a little impact on the lives of those around me; particularly my lovely wife.

When you are tired it is not easy to think in a logical manner and this may become evident in this post.  However, i am confident some sense might come out of this piece and it will not become a ramble.  There is no doubt in my mind that Paul McKenna  has some interesting points to make about sleep.  His thesis is that sleep patterns are learned and it is possible to rejig them with disciplined behaviour.  So lets take it from there this morning ….

We were both wide awake at 3 am and M was suffering from discomfort in her left leg: a legacy from stroke.  So we got up and did something boring; M walked around to relieve discomfort; I tidied up the kitchen. We worked in low level lighting and knew we would go back to bed to try to gain more sleep.  This worked: M is asleep and i have arisen at 5 am my normal time.  So we followed Paul McKenna’s mantra if you are lying in bed and wide awake for longer than half an hour: ‘get up and do something boring’.  We did and it worked.  So we have a method of dealing with sleep disorder but what about last night you might well ask?

There is every prospect of blue for day and pink for night acting as visual reminders of time.  This approach worked last night and helped M in her transition from sofa to bed.  The usual frustrating routine, for any tired carer, remained but the shift from the sofa to the bed seemed to work.  I won’t go into too much detail but if ever you need a test of patience it is here at night.  There is an endless (well it seems it) search for one thing after another: drawers are opened and closed; wardrobes are opened and closed; garments have been removed by strangers or thieves; someone has stolen her toothbrush; her glasses case is nowhere to be seen etc etc.

Peace does not emerge once M is in bed.  The bed is; too cold, hot or springs are making it uncomfortable.  Her PJ’s are too tight, cut into her nether regions or even smell of perfume.  Someone has taken her pillows and the replacements are: too high, low or hard.  This preparation for sleep routine seems endless before I can switch off the bedside lamp and get my tired head down.  It is repeated with variations every night.  I have not considered if I can change this aspect of M’s presentation as there seem to be higher priorities:  a decent night’s sleep.

I am optimistic that blue for day and pink for night has potential.  There are lots of other visual reminders I intend to place around the house today as prompts to fill in the gaps in Maureen’s memory.  Hey I have just remembered it all becomes very simple: day is Sky Blue time as my team Coventry City.  The evening, as the sun sets, the Reds come on down: Nottingham Forest is M’s team.  One of M’s catch phrases is: ‘come on you Reds’.