In “SUNDOWNING SYNDROME,” people with dementia show high levels of anxiety, agitation, overactivity and delirium. It typically occurs in late afternoon and evening, before their normal time to go to bed.

“Some people have argued that sundowning could be explained just by a buildup of frustration of older people who couldn’t communicate their needs over the course of the day, or by other factors,” said Randy Nelson, co-author of the study and professor of neuroscience and psychology at Ohio State.

“But our findings suggest there is a real phenomenon going on here that has a biological basis.”

Learn how brain biology explains “sundowning” from alzheimersweekly.com.