My 94 Year Old Mom Who Still Lives Alone And Has Been Sleeping Up To 13 Hours/day Why She Is Sleeping So Much?

Posted on Mon, 26 Dec 2022

Question: My 94 year old mom who still lives alone and drives (!) has been sleeping up to 13 hours/day for the last 6 weeks. She is mentally alert, but she is puzzled as to why she is sleeping so much. At first, she told me her sleep schedule was off, but now I've figured out that she is sleeping excessively and she agrees. She is healthy except for hypothyroid (she takes Synthroid) and arthritis, especially in her rt knee. Thanks,

Answered by Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (28 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
This could be due to vitamin deficiency.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I can understand your concern. Since she is hypothyroid and she is 94 so its better to get her thyroid function tests done again. Low thyroid hormone levels could be the cause of her excessive sleepiness.

Her complete blood count should also be done. Low haemoglobin or anaemia is one of common causes for excessive sleepiness in elderly.

Since she is alert and is driving too so her focus is more or less ok. Still she should also be checked for vitamin B12 and D deficiency. Low B12 could be the reasons for her excessive sleepiness. She should be given Vitamin B12 and E supplements. This should help her.

Please get her evaluated if the sleepiness persists.
Take care

Please don't hesitate to ask again for more doubts.
Thanks.

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad