Behavior and mood logging
Track patterns in mood, behavior, agitation, and confusion over time.
Why log behavior and mood
Behavior changes often signal underlying issues that need attention: uncontrolled pain, medication side effects, urinary tract infections, depression, or disease progression. A single agitated day might mean nothing, but a pattern of increasing afternoon confusion could indicate sundowning that requires a care strategy change. Without consistent tracking, these patterns are invisible because no single caregiver sees enough data points to connect the dots.
How to log an observation
Go to Care Hub > Journal or use the Quick Log from the dashboard. Record the date, time, mood category (calm, anxious, agitated, confused, happy, sad, withdrawn, angry), and a brief description of what you observed. Note any possible triggers: time of day, recent events, visitors, medication timing, meals, pain, fatigue, environmental changes like noise or unfamiliar surroundings. The more context you capture, the easier it is to identify patterns later.
Spotting patterns over time
Over weeks and months, the behavior log reveals patterns that would be impossible to spot from memory alone. You might notice agitation consistently peaks in the late afternoon (sundowning), confusion appears within two hours of a particular medication, anxiety increases on days without social interaction, or mood improves after physical activity. The pattern analysis feature identifies these correlations and alert you to trends that may warrant discussion with the healthcare team.
Sharing with the care team and doctors
All care circle members can see and contribute to the behavior log. This means observations from the Tuesday caregiver and the Saturday caregiver build a complete weekly picture. When preparing for a doctor's appointment, the behavior log data can be included in care reports. Telling a doctor "she has been more agitated in the afternoons for the past three weeks, especially after her 2pm medication" is far more actionable than saying "she seems worse lately."
Tips
Log observations as soon as possible while details are fresh, even if it is just a few words. Include what helped resolve an episode, such as "calmed down after we went for a short walk" or "distraction with music worked." Be specific and objective: "refused lunch and asked where her mother was three times" is more useful than "bad day." Use the Quick Log feature from the dashboard for fast, in-the-moment entries when you do not have time for a full log.