Joyful Holidays Despite Dementia
November 30, 2025
How To Care for Sundowning
"Sundowning" describes agitation and anxiety often felt towards the end of the day in dementia. See what it is and what you can do about it. (Video)
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November 19, 2025
4 Meaningful Thanksgiving Tips
November 17, 2025
Why “Sundowning” Happens: The Brain’s Hidden 24-Hour Clock
November 11, 2025
By:
Peter Berger
With experience in dementia caregiving, public education, and Alzheimer’s-focused writing—and a professional research background shaped in what many consider one of the world’s top laboratories—I work to make complex findings clear, practical, and genuinely helpful for families and professionals providing care.
Welcome. About this Site.
This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.
It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.
The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.
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Alzheimer’s & Dementia Weekly was inspired by my mother’s journey with autoimmune dementia and my dad’s with Parkinson’s dementia.
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Since its debut in 2007, this site has had one clear mission:
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This site is dedicated to everyone who works—often quietly and tirelessly—to preserve dignity in the community of people living with dementia.
About the Editor
With experience in dementia caregiving, public education, and Alzheimer’s-focused writing—and a professional research background shaped in what many consider one of the world’s top laboratories—I work to make complex findings clear, practical, and genuinely helpful for both families and professionals providing care.
My goal is simple:
Translate the best science into guidance that lightens the load, strengthens understanding, and helps every person with dementia live with dignity.
Peter Berger
Editor, Alzheimer’s Weekly
Interesting, I never even knew "sundowning" was a thing. Thank you for sharing.
I think this was fairly complete and well-done. I'm perplexed that non one ever seems to suggest taking data on whether the various things tried work or not, but maybe that "goes without saying."
WHAT IF THEY HAVE THIS ALL THE TIME? and has diarhea all the time.
sarah1955@bellsouth.net
Dear Sarah Trial,I'm curious :DFid you observed it using such minidoses of the supplements described above, and without to gives coconut oil by mouth , but only using the oil in massages(but none coconut oil by mouth) and the others supplements by mouth in minidoses made in compounding pharmacies and only under physician prescription, permission and supervision ?As since 2009 I did not observed it with my aunt(under physician prescription),I will be really glad with your feed back with your observations using minidoses under physician prescription..Best regards . Carlos
But the MAIN nutraceutical supplement to enhances cognition and mood and to control the behavior disorders as delusions, agressiviness, hallucinations, agitation, sundowning, etc. is the GLUCURONOLACTONE (Empirically in small doses of two hundred miligrams to four hundred miligrams two to four times a day).
But is easier to find articles in PubMed about the byproducts of metabolization of the Glucuronolactone, the GLUCARIC ACID and the GLUCARO 1,4 LACTONE .
GLUCURONOLACTONE and it byproducts are peroxinitrites scavengers, improves mitochondrial function, improves brain energy, are mild heavy metal chelators.
We can observe Empirically, that the supplements glucuronolactone, acetyl L carnitine, carnosine and coconut oil, have synergistic effects, and that each supplement stabilizes and improves the good effects of each other supplements.
We use to see the good effects of all the supplements above, starting in a couple days, but we can really see Stable results after a couple months using such supplements every day.
But we can see too that in the next day that the patient stops the supplements, the good effects stops too…
But after starts to gives the supplements again, in a couple days we observes rhe same good effects i cognition, mood and behavior.
Only under Physician prescription and supervision.
Sundowning as research articles describes, looks to be an association of molecular ,metabolical and biochemical brain disorders, that happens in advanced stages of AD and others dementia types.But as research articles shows too, it is necessary to verify comorbidities as urinary tract infection (and treat t),depression,chronic pain,etc.,that can leads to mood and behavior disorders too.
Empirically , we are controlling the sundowning and others mood and behavior disorders of my aunt with advanced dementia , as depression, delusions , hallucinations, agressiviness, agitation, hallucinations , cryings , etc.,using nutraceutical supplements, but only under physician prescripition and supervision, that keeps she very calm, easy to cope , without agressiviness, or delusions, or hallucinations ,with a great enhancing in cognition, mood and behavior.
We are using in an absolute empirical way ,and under Physician prescription :.
1) L-CARNOSINE : 60(sixty) miligrams to 80 (eighty miligrams) three times a day.( it is CARNOSINE and it is NOT L-carnitine).(only these small doses).
2) GLUCURONOLACTONE : 200 to 300 miligrams 2 to 4 times a day.
3) ACETYL L CARNITINE (ALCAR) – Starting with o 50 (fifty) miligrams three times a day an d uptitrating to 100 miligrams three times a day (it is NOT l-carnitine , but is ACETYL L-CARNITINE)( only these small doses).The last dose of the day is at 5:00 p.m.
4) EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL – One tea spoon three times a day.(if the patient have diarrhea even with these small doses , the caregivers makes massages with the oil in the thin skin of the arms with the tea spoon of the oil ,once the coconut oil has a comroved fast trans-cutaneous absortion (according articles in PubMed)
After my anedoctal report, about the enhancing of cognition,mood and behavior of my aunt with dementia , a lot of friends of mine ,are giving, under the Physician prescription and supervision, the same supplements , with the same doses described above, to their relatives with different types of dementia ,with the same amazing effects to enhances cognition,mood and to control the odd behaviors.
We purchase that very small doses only in compounding pharmacies, under physician prescription.But this is only an anedoctal report , without none scientific foundation, based in empiric observation only.
Only the doctor of the patient can gives permissions,a nd knows the right sup´plements and the right doses to each supplement. Talk to the doctor of the patient.
It is very easy to find articles in Google and in PubMed, about the benefits of SMALL DOSES of the supplements CARNOSINE and ACETYL L CARNTINE .
We can just search in Google with the words :
1) Acetyl L Carnitine in Alzheimer / Acetyl L Carnitine and Betamyloid / Acetyl L Carnitine and tau hyperfosforilation / Acetyl L Carnitine in Parkinson / Acetyl L Carnitine in Mitochondrial Disfunction
2) Carnosine and Alzheimer / Carnosine and Betamyloid / Carnosine and Mitochondrial Disfunction / Carnosine Heavy Metal Chelator
But please, be aware and Never use the Megadoses of such supplements, as the TOXIC DOSES OF 1000 (ONE THOUSAND) MILIGRAMS or more BY DAY , that are used Only in the Research and Trials.
The SAFEST AND VERY EFFECTIVE ARE THE VERY SMALL DOSES OF FEW MILIGRAMS , as Small doses of Eighty Miligrams to One Hundred Miligrams Three Times a Day (of carnosine and acetyl L carnitine) that are the Safer doses, that in an empirical way looks to Works very well , but Only Under Physician prescription and supervision.
UPDATE : In 2016,we are using in an absolute empirical way ,and under Physician prescription made in compounding pharmacies : 1) ACETYL L CARNITINE (ALCAR) – Starting with fifty miligrams three times a day and uptitrating to one hundred miligrams three to four times a day (it is NOT L-carnitine But is ACETYL L-CARNITINE- only these small doses).The last dose of the day is up 7:00 p.m. 2) L-CARNOSINE: Sixty miligrams to eighty miligrams three times a day(It is CARNOSINE and it is NOT L-carnitine) 3)ALPHA LIPOIC ACID – Twenty miligrams three times a day. 4)GLUCURONOLACTONE : 200 to 300 miligrams 2 to 5 times a day.GLUCURONOLACTONE IS THE MAIN SUPPLEMENT. 5) EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL – One tea spoon three times a day.(if the patient have diarrhea even with these small doses , the caregivers do Not gives the oil by mouth ,but makes massages with the oil in the thin skin of the arms with the tea spoon of the oil ,once the coconut oil has a proved fast trans-cutaneous absortion(according articles in PubMed)
The question, "Do people living with dementia also have sleep issues?" was not answered. Instead, several points were discussed that are generally applicable to helping sleep. So is that a "yes?"
I can only sleep for about 1 1/2 hours and then awake and must go until literally exhausted to sleep more than that.
It helped my Mom to get through the sun downing time by giving her 3 mg of melantonin at 3 pm. I believe (imho) that sundowning is a symptom of problems with the hormones regulating the sleep / wake cycle. Of course, I am not a dr and may be completely wrong… I only know that melatonin helped my Mom.
Sounds like a good tip, i'll look into it thanks
Melatonin has been a great help in easing my husband's sundowning symptoms…you would think Dr. would recommend this.