What helps with sundowning: a calmer evening routine
By The Again, With Love Team, Updated July 14, 2026, a 4 minute read.
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Sundowning is a name for the restlessness, agitation, or confusion that can begin or worsen as the daylight fades. The National Institute on Aging suggests a few things worth trying: a steady daily schedule, daylight and activity each day, fewer long or late naps, and no caffeine or alcohol late in the day. The Alzheimer's Association adds that keeping the evening comfortably lit, so the room does not fill with confusing shadows, can help too. These may make the evening easier, but no single routine works for everyone.
That's the short answer. Here is how to actually build it.
Why does sundowning happen?#
The cause is not fully understood. Being worn out from a long day of making sense of things can add to it, and so can pain, illness, a medication effect, noise, or a change in routine. Fading light and deepening shadows can make a room harder to read, which is why the Alzheimer's Association suggests keeping the evening well lit. A sudden or sharp change deserves a call to a clinician.
The encouraging part: many of these are things you can gently adjust, a little at a time.
What does a calmer evening routine look like?#
Start about an hour before the light usually changes, and keep the same order every day:
- Comfortable, steady light before dusk. The Alzheimer's Association suggests keeping the evening well lit so shadows do not add to the confusion. Reduce glare and deep shadows, and adjust the room to what seems calming for your person. (At bedtime itself, lower the lights for a calm wind-down.)
- Turn off the news. Put on their music instead, low and familiar.
- End the caffeine hours earlier. Something warm and plain in the evening instead.
- One calm thing to do, together or nearby: folding towels, looking at old photos, setting the table slowly.
- Dinner on the lighter side, at the same time as yesterday.
- Bank some daylight and movement each day. A chair by a bright window counts. Both are on the National Institute on Aging's own list for easier evenings.
- After a big outing or appointment, expect a wobblier evening and plan less. That's reading the day well, not failing at it.
The sameness is the point. A predictable evening asks almost nothing of a tired memory.
What can I do in the hard moment?#
Keep your voice low and your sentences short. Try not to argue if it is adding to the distress. Reassurance often helps, so one line to try is, "You're safe, and I'm right here." Then offer one small, familiar next thing: a warm drink, a photo album, a seat by the window. If the room has grown hard to see, more comfortable light may help too, since shadows can add to the confusion.
If the restlessness comes with "I want to go home," even at home, we have a guide for those exact words: What to say when a loved one with dementia wants to go home.
When should I call the doctor?#
If confusion or agitation appears suddenly, or gets sharply worse within a day or two, don't assume it's sundowning. A quick change like that can signal something medical, like an infection, pain, or a medication problem. Where it goes next depends on how sharp it is. Confusion that is new, or sharply worse than the confusion they usually live with, is a 911 call rather than a message left with the office; other sudden changes deserve a call to their doctor that day. When you can't tell which one you're looking at, make it the 911 call. And if evenings stay hard no matter what you try, bring that to the doctor too; there may be more going on than the time of day.
Be gentle with yourself#
The late-afternoon hour is one of the hardest in dementia care, and a rough evening does not mean you handled it wrong. Lower the bar on those nights without guilt. The routine gets another chance tomorrow, and so do you.
If steady, practical help like this would be welcome, this guide grew out of Again, With Love, our free Sunday-morning newsletter for people caring for someone with dementia.
Again, With Love is a caregiving aid, not medical advice. For medical questions, please talk with your loved one's doctor.