Knowing this as a nurse also helps when our loved ones are hospitalized. My grandfather was in the ICU and had ICU psychosis and was also sundowning. He was beating the staff pretty bad and they had to restrain him. He hated hospitals cause all of his siblings died in hospitals and he was the last one left so he associated hospitals with death.
I called from out of state and spoke to his nurse one night. She told me things he was saying. I told her he behaved that way cause he didn't know them. I then told her to call him by his nickname and order him to do things, cause he moved when my granny said so LOL. For example, when he would jump out of bed talking trash about leaving and ready to fight, I told her to call him by his nickname and tell him to "get in bed and go to sleep cause it was too late for that mess." They tried it and it worked. She called me back laughing and said he simply responded "OK" and got in bed and went to sleep.
Even when he was transferred to another unit, they passed on the information and he never really had any issues with attacking the staff after that. However, before I passed on that information he was "the crazy mad who would beat you up so make sure you medicate him." He has since passed away but I understood the nurses dilemma and being attacked. I would have appreciated family members telling me tidbits of information to help me on those days I was beat up by patients.