Worse for both, the patient & the loved ones. Even with "blissful ignorance" dementia (in my limited experience) people can very quickly get agitated. Yes, they may calm down quickly too, but it's not always calm.

The problem with dementia isn't just at the "old person chilling in room" state, as I mentioned if it progresses far enough (which is nearly guaranteed if they live long enough) basic bodily functions become difficult. A parallel case of eg paralyzed people (both of whom are unable to swallow properly for different reasons) shows how frequently they can die from something as simple as choking on their own saliva.

> There's a reason we sedate people undergoing most medical operations.

I'm not sure what you mean by this, if you're referring to people waking up but being unable to move being potentially torturous I agree.