Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A state of disorientation and agitation that sometimes occurs in the late afternoon or evening in people with dementia.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun medicine, psychology, psychiatry A state of
agitation ,confusion , ordelirium , especially in patients suffering fromAlzheimer's disease , which begins daily atnightfall and which isalleviated bydaylight .
Etymologies
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Examples
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My doctor husband listens carefully to what he calls sundowning rants just in case there's any validity to the charges.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Sally Thorner 2010
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Light is especially important in the late afternoon and early evening, when a phenomenon known as sundowning kicks in.
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The latter, called "sundowning," occurs in people with dementia, although the cause is unclear.
SI.com 2012
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For example, Richard was greatly affected by "sundowning," a common phenomenon in which dementia patients 'behavioral symptoms are triggered by the change from day to night.
Kathryn Haslanger: Alzheimer's Disease: Caring for the Caregiver 2010
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For example, Richard was greatly affected by "sundowning," a common phenomenon in which dementia patients 'behavioral symptoms are triggered by the change from day to night.
Alzheimer's Disease: Caring for the Caregiver Kathryn Haslanger 2010
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It turns out that, just as most infants have a crying jag every afternoon before dinner, parents with dementia experience "sundowning," a late afternoon agitation that can get ugly.
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I wonder if the early evening change at the nursing home is due to "sundowning" in some of the patients.
Upswing Susan Palwick 2009
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The term "sundowning" refers to a state of confusion at the end of the day and into the night, often leading to a state of increased agitation, activity and even borderline demented behavior.
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The term "sundowning" refers to a state of confusion at the end of the day and into the night, often leading to a state of increased agitation, activity and even borderline demented behavior.
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Those Alzheimer's patients with this specific affliction often show heightened afternoon agitation, called sundowning, which has been shown in many studies to be effectively treated with melatonin supplements in the evening. [
RVABlogs 2009
TankHughes commented on the word sundowning
Just learned this term from this article: http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2015/11/sundowning-seniors-nightfall-delirium.
Our elderly vocabulary is going to keep growing and becoming mainstream for the next 30 years, thanks baby boomers.
November 23, 2015