Sleep problems
- Do you have trouble falling asleep?
- Do you have trouble staying asleep?
- Do you wake up tired?
Caregiving -- especially full-time caregiving -- requires tremendous physical effort, even in the disease's early stages. But if your parent is sundowning, wanders, or has disrupted sleep, you lose opportunities to rest on top of the tiring work you do all day. Trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep can also be caused by stress, anxiety, and depression.
Significant weight change
- Have you recently gained weight?
- Have you recently lost weight?
For some people, stress can result in weight loss when they can't seem to find time to eat adequately or nutritiously. Anxiety often lowers the appetite as well. For others, feeling stressed or guilty leads to weight gain from mindless or emotionally triggered eating, frequent snacking, or quick but unhealthy food choices. Changes in eating and sleeping habits can also indicate depression.
If your weight has changed by more than five or ten pounds since you began caring for your parent, your body may be sending you a signal that you need help.
Lethargy
- Is it difficult to get motivated to accomplish things?
- Do you feel sluggish even after a good night's rest?
- Is it hard to concentrate when you read or perform other mental tasks?
- Do you feel bored?
Caring for someone with Alzheimer's involves constant vigilance and activity. So if you feel "off" instead of "on," it's hard to perform your duties adequately. It may be that you find parts of the caregiving puzzle more challenging than others -- for example, managing your parent's finances or other health concerns.
Sometimes the routines that people with Alzheimer's thrive on can become stifling to a healthy adult child. Routines do help you and your parent get through the day more easily, but they can leave you feeling like you're stuck in a monotonous rut.
