Daylight saving time will end in Ohio on Sunday. You’ll want to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night or Sunday morning. While falling back is a little easier than moving the clock up an hour in the spring, the effort to save daylight is credited overall with causing health problems, and sleep and dietary disruptions.
But there are added challenges for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. WYSO’s Jerry Kenney spoke with Dayna Ritchey, program director with the Alzheimer's Association Greater Cincinnati and Miami Valley Chapters. She had some advice on how caregivers can prepare for the time change.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Dayna Ritchey: So a person who has Alzheimer's or another kind of dementia, routine is very important to their life. And it could be for some people, it's a routine that's very specific to following a time of day. So following the clock.
For others, it's more a routine that might be closer to daylight versus darkness, for example. And I'll explain a little bit more about what I mean on that. But obviously, for either those people, whether it's 'I've got to do this at 9:00, I've got to do this at 12:00, I've got to do this at 5:00.' Or when the sun comes up, you get up, when the sun is full or you're ready to eat lunch. If you're going more off of daylight as your routine, you're going to have some challenges no matter which person you are, with the time of day changing and then our days getting shorter in the winter without as much daylight.
For example, my mother unfortunately had Alzheimer's and in the beginning she lived alone. And I figured out that her routine was very focused on the exact time of day because she was remembering when to do certain things based on what was on television. So, for example, she knew after The Prices is Right she was supposed to eat lunch, then she knew whatever her afternoon program was that when that ended, she got up for dinner. She knew exactly what news program she watched in the morning. So when the weekends would come, she'd be really lost. I couldn't understand why she didn't like the weekends because most of us loved the weekends. But I figured out it was because television programing was different and she was really just lost about when to eat, when to take medicine, those types of things. Because she was very attached to a specific time of day.
For other people, it's more like 'I wake up naturally as it gets lighter outside,' which may mean you're waking up at a different time than you usually did. So that can cause issues then as well. So all of the things we feel as just adult human beings or even children have problems with the daylight savings time, but that can be much more exacerbated when your life really has to follow a very specific routine to help you get through the day as un-confused as possible.
Jerry Kenney: And so this is something that really affects caregivers as well.
Dayna Ritchey: It does, definitely, because, there's probably going to be challenges regardless of the situation. And then you've got your own challenges, right? Because we all have our own circadian rhythm that is attached to how much light is outside, how much daylight time we are getting outdoors, you know, all those kinds of things.
So you may be feeling kind of groggy yourself. For most of us, I know for me, the first week is kind of a slug after we change time. So you're feeling that and then you have somebody else who is likely feeling the same things but can't necessarily communicate that is why they're feeling this way or, you know, doesn't know how to pivot and deal with that appropriately. And so they may be much more frustrated, much more agitated. They may be more disoriented. You may even see difficulty with them getting to sleep, staying asleep, having hallucinations, trying to wander away from their home, things like that.
It's a challenge for both ends. But definitely the caregiver because you're going through your own change of time and then extra worried about another person who maybe can't deal with it as well as the rest of us can.
Jerry Kenney: So I know you have a lot of information on your website and obviously we can't get to it all, but what are some of the things that caregivers can focus on immediately when dealing with daylight saving Time?
Dayna Ritchey: I think a lot going into this weekend about routine is the television programing. For example, a big part of your life? Is that the part of the routine that we need to try to keep as regular as normal? Because if that's the case, you know, we're going to have to explain to our loved one and be okay with maybe some difficult mornings because we'll be getting up when it's, you know, a little darker outside or maybe that's not really an issue for your loved one. Maybe you don't even watch television. And so they're more to go with the flow, wake up when it gets like go to bed when it gets dark. And so you need to think about keeping that routine as a whole, but then what will that mean to you? Because it's. And they get lighter later and darker earlier. So how will you work through that? So just kind of mentally prepare yourself and figure out which routines most important to your loved one to try to keep in place. Make sure that really important things, if at all possible, like doctor's appointments, any kind of special like trips or anything that might be more frustrating or difficult for your loved one, like getting showers or things that they just don't like to do, try to schedule those at their best time of the day.
Jerry Kenney: Just some stats that you sent us. There are more than 230,000 Ohioans, 65 and older, living with Alzheimer's disease and close to 5,000 Ohioans died from that disease in 2021. Can you give us an update on where medications and treatments are with this disease?
Dayna Ritchey: Yeah. So since 2021, there have been some treatment options that have become available to us now that are approved by the FDA, and they're now also paid for by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. So some independent insurance will pay for them as well. They are infusion treatments, very similar like you would think about with chemo, so it's not just take a pill and there is a lot of pretesting that needs to be done to make sure a person really qualifies for these treatments and testing along the way to make sure that there's no negative side effects coming as a result of the treatments. And the treatments themselves with what they're doing and who they are for our people in the very, very earliest stages of Alzheimer's, and they're looking specifically for some of the beta amyloid plaques, which is typical with Alzheimer's, that specific type of dementia, where we see a buildup of beta amyloid plaque in the brain.
So it's targeting that specifically. So that's why you have to have some testing done to make sure we really see a buildup of beta amyloid plaque in your brain to know that you could be a potential candidate for that treatment. And again, only in the very earliest stages. So what's called mild cognitive impairment, which is really kind of pre dementia or then that very beginning of Alzheimer's, those are the candidates we're targeting. It is a treatment. It's not a cure. So it is meant to keep you at that higher quality of life. For the beginning, we were saying 3 to 6 months. Now that some people have gotten on the treatments or some it's it's longer it's proving to be maybe 9 to 12 months for some people. So it's very individualized. But at that highest quality of level, you know, very early stages where you can still make your own decisions. Travel and make special memories with family, you know, knock a lot of things off your bucket list. That's really important to have more time in those stages.
So obviously, if that's the only people that this treatment is best for, you have to start talking to your doctor about symptoms that you're concerned about. And if you really feel that this is more than just normal aging, you have to advocate that you do get testing and that you do see a specialist or have your doctor taking the right kind of tests to see if you're a candidate for the treatment. Looking at our website, we have a great page on the ten warning signs. What is the difference between typical normal aging and something more that you should be talking to your doctor about? So you may have to advocate with your doctor to get more testing done and to be taken more seriously or to see another doctor who can really do some testing to see if you are into Alzheimer's.
Jerry Kenney: And can you give us that website and or the best way to get a hold of your organization for someone who is concerned about this?
Dayna Ritchey: Yes. So our website is alz.org. You can also call our 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900. It's available even on holidays. Ask any kind of questions. They are about signs or symptoms, resources, support groups, education programs. We give that ten warning signs education program out in the community.
And if you want to talk to somebody right here in Dayton, and our Miami Valley chapter serves the nine counties in and around the Dayton area, we do offer free care consultations. So we have staff that are nurses, social workers, geriatric care managers. They can help you individually with care planning if you do have a loved one who's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Answers, specific questions help you with challenges you're having, help you find resources in your community, you can call our local office to ask for a free care consultation. You can have as many of those as you need, and that local number is (937) 291-3332.
