Changes in sleep often become so common as adults age that many assume they are simply an unavoidable part of getting older. It is true that older adults may fall asleep earlier, wake more frequently during the night, or find themselves waking before sunrise. However, poor sleep should never be dismissed as a normal consequence of aging. Consistently getting inadequate or poor-quality sleep can have profound effects on nearly every aspect of an older adult's physical health,

There can come a point when looking after an aging loved one, especially one with health issues or cognitive problems, feels like a perpetual state of emergency. Many family caregivers find themselves constantly answering phone calls, coordinating appointments, researching medical conditions late into the night, filling out paperwork, managing finances, communicating with multiple healthcare providers, and responding to one crisis after another while still trying to balance c

You sit at your parents’ kitchen table and the conversation is familiar. Your mother asks whether you're eating enough. Your father complains about traffic, politics, or the neighbor's barking dog. Everyone laughs. You help put dishes away, promise to call more often, hug goodbye, and drive home feeling reassured. Then three weeks later you learn the electricity bill has gone unpaid, or that a fall happened last week that no one mentioned, or that your parent has been hospita

It’s almost a cliché, an elderly person starting to give away their prized possessions. Perhaps your mother hands your daughter a necklace she has worn for decades and says, “I want you to have this now.” Maybe your father suddenly starts offering family members tools from his workshop, old photographs, books, or pieces of furniture that have sat in the same place for years. Sometimes the first reaction is immediate and unsettling: "Is something wrong?" For many adult childre