Alzheimer 's Unit

The stress of this relationship is high . Though many studies have been conducted concerning the implementation of treatments for adults with dementia , no clear results have emerged (Burgio , et al . 2001 Schults et al . 2002 . Thus , caregivers are left to feel their ways without the support of proven science

The caregiver is , in this case Noah even though Allie lives in an Alzheimer 's unit , and the care recipient is Allie . Noah has had to make the decision to place Allie in a care unit . This decision is stressful itself , but Noah continues to act as the caregiver , which compounds his stress (Kennard , 2006 . Noah is under stress in that he never knows if and for how long Allie will regain her memory . He spends the entire day reading with the hope that he might enjoy just a few minutes with Allie .Allie is clearly beyond the normal levels of cognitive functioning loss associated with the normal aging process that Coon describes . She is unable to recall events in her life through any of her own strategies She seems particularly vulnerable during the late afternoon /early evening , which coincides with the time that she typically remembers her former self . Scientists call this tendency of people with Alzheimers to become increasingly confused at the end of the day and into the night as sundowning (Sundowning , 2004 . In to help alleviate the tendency for Allie to experience this confusion and agitation , Noah might attempt to read to Allie earlier , to abridge the journal if necessary , or to take a break at the times in which Allie seems most vulnerable

In addition , Allie is in a late Alzheimer 's stage which is characterized by a period of rapid decline and withdrawal . At this point , the caregivers experience the most stress , according to research (Gallagher-Thompson , 1992 . Noah , because he repeats the reading process every day , is under the same stress every day . There is nothing he can do about the