You call your mother on Tuesday and she does not answer. No problem. People get busy. You leave a voicemail. You call again on Thursday. No answer. You send a text. "Just checking in. Love you." Hours pass, then a day. Eventually she calls back and says she’d forgotten to call you back, or she’s been tired, or she didn’t feel like talking. Adult children often brush these moments aside. Life is busy. Parents have lives of their own. Everyone misses calls occasionally. But then other things...

There is a particular kind of worry that comes with caring for an aging parent from a distance. You wake up and immediately check your phone. No missed calls. No voicemails. Relief. Then the thoughts begin anyway: Did Mom make it to her appointment? Did Dad remember to take his medications? What if something happened and nobody called me? For adult children who live hours away from aging parents, concern often becomes woven into the background of daily life. It sits quietly during work...

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, cognitive...