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Brenda Critell
Assisting Angels Home Care

Reading a book, watching television, writing a letter, preparing a meal…these seemingly simple activities can present major challenges on a daily basis for those suffering from low or reduced vision. Additionally, statistics for the frail elderly who are also visually impaired report an increased risk of depression. Unfortunately, one disturbing trend noted in recent years has been a tendency in our society to overlook or neglect the vision correction needs of elderly citizens.

Even though many people suffer from the effects of decreased vision (approximately one person in three has some form of vision-reducing eye disease by the age of 65) a loss of vision doesn’t need to mean sinking into depression or suffering a loss of independence. There are many ways to continue enjoying favorite hobbies and carry on with the daily activities of living, and low vision devices and outside assistance are readily available.

The most common causes of vision loss among the elderly are:

-       Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), characterized by the loss of central vision

-       Glaucoma, resulting in optic nerve damage and visual field loss

-       Cataracts, a common cause of vision impairment among the elderly where surgery is often effective in restoring vision

-       Diabetic retinopathy, which may be observed in the elderly at the time of diagnosis or during the first few years of diabetes

When trying to decide what kind of support would benefit the visually impaired person, it’s helpful to begin listing the day-to-day difficulties the person is experiencing. Make note of which difficulties are specifically related to vision loss, so as to better find appropriate solutions.

It is always important to keep a person’s feelings in mind when preparing to assist someone who is sight impaired.  People coping with vision loss may be battling a cacophony of fears, including a reduced sense of control over their lives, fear of decreased independence, loss of privacy, and concern that others may view them differently. Remaining sensitive to these fears rather than dismissing them will make a significant impact.

Enhancing independence can be as easy as simple home modifications that make activities safer and more convenient. Evaluating and modifying the home does not have to be expensive or difficult. The key things to keep in mind are to reduce clutter and pay special attention to the basic concepts of lighting, color and contrast. Many useful adaptations are as straightforward as installing more and brighter light bulbs, reducing glare, marking edges of steps with brightly colored tape and using innovative labeling techniques for everything from medications to clothing.

There are many useful specialty products for people who have low vision as well. These products can enhance a person’s independence through simple assistive means. Adaptive equipment can help make a telephone with large numbered buttons easier to dial, help one to manage finances through adapted wallets and large print check registers, or read favorite books with the help of compact electronic magnifiers.

Following are some informative links to aid people in coping with low vision.

• Assistive Products for Those with Vision Impairment
• Home Modifications for Persons with Vision Impairments
• Lighting Considerations for Persons with Low Vision

Summer is at its peak, and there is wild food free for the taking everywhere I look, and yet I still hear people complaining about how they can’t afford to eat, and especially can’t afford “healthy foods.” Why is this? it is because society in America has been taught that all their food comes from a grocery store, or they have to have a garden.

Wild foods are abundant right now. Everywhere I look, there are wild edible greens in their prime harvesting state such as Amaranth, Lambs Quarters, Burdock, Purslane – just to name a few. They are everywhere in vacant lots, along roadsides, ditch banks, in public parks, yards, etc. And yet I see no one out there harvesting these delicious superfoods. Why? A lack of knowledge, pure and simple. People don’t know.

I wish I knew how to get the word out. There is so much free food easily available that could be harvested and all excess could be saved for the winter by drying it, canning, freezing, or pickling. It makes me so sad and frustrated that people in America are malnourished due the SAD (Standard American Diet) diet, or are going to bed hungry when there is food all around.

People, please educate yourselves. If you are reading this, you have internet access, and along with that access comes a wealth of information. There is no excuse not to be able to learn what you need to know when a vast library of knowledge is at your very fingertips.

“My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” (The Holy Bible)

I have been in the home care business long enough now to see the dangers that are so common to seniors. I would like to share with you some things to look for in your loved one’s life, and more importantly, how you can help.

In many peoples’ lives there comes a time when they can no longer maintain a healthy and safe lifestyle without the assistance of outside help. And more often than not, the real issue is about the loss of independence. For seniors, believing they might lose control over some of their independence if they accept outside help is a scary proposition. This is when a loved one needs to intervene with tact and help steer the senior toward a path of accepting help that can not only provide safety, but foster independence at home as well.

The first step however, comes before finding additional care at home: the assessment and identification of signs that care is needed. So, how do you know it’s time for help? According to the Mayo Clinic, the following are key warning signs that in-home care is needed:

√  Weight loss. Losing weight without trying could be a sign that something’s wrong. For the elderly, weight loss could be related to many factors, including difficulty cooking, loss of taste or smell, or other underlying conditions such as malnutrition, dementia, or depression.

√  Personal grooming and housekeeping changes. Failure to keep up with daily routines – such as bathing, tooth brushing, and other basic grooming – could indicate health problems such as dementia, depression, or physical impairments. Any big changes in the way things are done around the house could also provide clues to health.

√  Increased injury and safety concerns. Take a look around the home, keeping an eye out for any red flags. Does the senior have difficulty navigating a narrow stairway? Has she fallen recently? Is she able to read directions on medication containers? Is there adequate lighting for nighttime trips to the bathroom?

√  Mood changes. Note moods and significant differences in mood changes. Drastically different moods or outlooks could be a sign of depression or other health concerns.

√  Mobility. Muscle weakness, joint problems and other age-related changes can make it difficult to move around as well. If the senior has become unsteady on his feet, there may be a risk of falling – a major cause of disability among seniors.

In addition to the key signs above, there are other common warning bells that might go off and things to look for in the home.

√  Hoarding. Very little is understood about why older adults hoard; however, it is often associated with dementia. It will be obvious if the household contains large quantities of saved items like newspapers, old clothing, bags, books, mail, notes, lists – all of which have already been used and are no longer ‘necessary’.

√ Struggling to keep finances in order – The state of an elderly person’s finances is another indication that help may be needed inside the home. If mail is piling up unopened in her house, it can indicate that paying the bills and taking care of day-to-day finances is becoming overwhelming for her. Or, if she isn’t handling money the way she usually does (i.e., forgetting how much cash she has, spending recklessly, gambling, etc.) she may need help.

Tasks that once seemed mundane can become unmanageable if a senior’s physical or mental state is deteriorating. When approaching someone about these warning signs, keep in mind the following:

√  Remember to be sensitive.

√  Use motivational rather than judgmental language.

√  Consider consulting a professional to conduct an assessment. Using an outside party can make it less personal and threatening.

While the use of logic and persuasion makes intuitive sense, it is usually not effective for motivating a person to recognize that he or she has compulsive hoarding and to work on the problem. This is because individuals with compulsive hoarding often have mixed feelings about the problem. For example, they may both feel safe and comfortable with their possessions while also feeling shame and embarrassment about their number or their inability to invite others into the home. Attempting to persuade the individual that he or she has too many things and that this is leading to any number of problems (e.g., social isolation, inability to find things, safety and health problems, etc.), usually leads him or her to argue for the opposite position, namely that there is no problem and that he or she is quite comfortable and safe in the home. Instead, raising a person’s awareness and motivating him or her to work on the problem requires an approach in which the concerned family member or friend expresses empathy, elicits the perspective of the person with the problem, and helps him or her to articulate his or her values and goals. Buried in Treasures provides some guidelines for motivating change and Motivational Interviewing, Second Edition: Preparing People for Change, by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick describes in detail this approach to motivating change.

Where there is imminent danger to the person with hoarding or to others in the household and the person with compulsive hoarding is not willing or able to acknowledge this difficulty, it may be necessary for concerned family members and friends to seek outside help. Because compulsive hoarding often touches on many issues, such as mental health, personal safety, and protective issues, it is ideally handled by a coordinated effort among multiple agencies. Concerned family members or friends can find out if their area has a compulsive hoarding task force made up of multiple agencies. For areas without a compulsive hoarding task force, particular agencies can be contacted directly. If at-risk individuals are involved (i.e., children, elders, disabled people, and pets), the appropriate protective service can be contacted; where no at-risk individuals are involved, the local department of public health or the fire department can be contacted.

For individuals with compulsive hoarding who are ready to work in the home and wish the help of family members or friends, the following can be helpful:

1. Decide together on the goal of the assistance, e.g., clearing an area of the home or accompanying the person on trips to places where he or she usually acquires to help him or her to resist the urge to acquire.

2. Help the person remain focused on the task in front of him or her. People with hoarding problems often find themselves easily distracted, especially when they are trying to reduce clutter, make decisions about possessions, or resist the urge to acquire things. Family members or friends can be helpful by simply reminding the person what he or she is supposed to be doing at the moment.

3. Provide emotional support. Overcoming compulsive hoarding is hard work and many people with this problem feel misunderstood. Family members and friends can express empathy, with statements such as, “I can see how hard this is for you,” or “I understand that you have mixed feelings about whether to tackle this clutter.” Family members and friends can also be cheerleaders, for example, by praising the effort the individual is making to overcome this problem and expressing their belief in the person’s ability to make progress.

4. Help the person make decisions but do not make decisions for him or her. It is helpful to develop rules for discarding. Good questions to ask are: “Is it useful?” “Do you need it?” “Can you do without it?” “In the long run, are you better off keeping it or letting it go?”

5.Help the person with hauling. Many people with compulsive hoarding have accumulated so many things that they can become overwhelmed by the enormity of removing such a large number of items.

6. Accompany the person on non-acquisition trips. One way to overcome the urge to acquire is to encounter situations where the urge is invoked and not give in to the urge. This allows the person to experience what happens to the urge when no acquisition takes place. Usually, the urge drops off over time. A family member or friend can support the individual to not give in to the urge in the moment.

In addition to the above recommendations, the following “don’ts” are suggested:

1. Don’t touch anything in the person’s home without his or her specific permission. Individuals with compulsive hoarding have many thoughts and feelings about their possessions and often feel uncomfortable when another person — even a family member or friend — touches their things. Ignoring the person’s wishes and handling their things without their permission breaks trust and can damage the relationship with them. It can take considerable time before an individual with this problem will allow another person to handle their things.

2. Don’t argue with the person who has the hoarding problem as this produces negative feelings and slows progress. When conflict arises, take a break. Similarly, don’t work beyond your tolerance level. Overcoming compulsive hoarding is hard work for everyone involved.

3. Don’t tell the person with the hoarding problem how he or she should feel. While it can be hard to understand why the person is keeping particular things, that seem to be useless, the thoughts and feelings about these things developed for a reason. Respecting that items that appear useless in fact have great value to the person is instrumental in helping the individual to overcome this problem.

Be sure to share concerns, encourage regular medical checkups and address safety issues. Working with a professional caregiver such as the ones provided by Assisting Angels Home Care can also help to identify important issues and assist with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and meals as well as companionship.

Several companies offer software programs that increase “brain fitness” as a way for seniors to stay sharp and possibly derail, or at least delay, the risk of dementia. These programs are so mainstream that some insurance companies and AAA support cognitive training for older adults to promote safe driving.

Researchers are unclear whether these activities delay or prevent the possibility of dementia. But results from neuropsychological and neuroscientific research indeed show that brain functionality — especially memory, attention and information-processing skills — is immediately improved with vigorous, regular mental activity of many kinds.

Brain fitness — unplugged
Cognitive function refers to perception, memory, imagery creation, thinking and reasoning. The pop term brain fitness was coined because cognitive function can be maintained or improved by exercising the brain through formal and ongoing education, specially designed exercises and other active mental engagement.

Foods to improve brain function:

• nuts and seeds
• eggs
• avocados
• berries
• pomegranate
• coffee
• green tea
• brown rice
• chocolate
• garlic
• green leafy veggies
• tomatoes
• broccoli
• wild salmon and tuna
• olive oil

Cognitive training software is designed to provide targeted tools to enhance brain fitness. But must older Americans rely on such software to reap these benefits? A study published in April says: not necessarily.

Researchers at the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge analyzed the brain function of 11,430 people in the U.K. The study compared three groups. Group one played games similar to popular cognitive training programs. Group two played games the researchers designed to focus on fluid intelligence and reasoning. Group three answered a series of general knowledge questions.

Results showed simply using the Internet or engaging in other mental stimulation was as effective as a brain trainer product.

Many researchers think the key is simply to remain mentally challenged and engaged all day, whether it comes from computer programs or equally engaging activities that involve social interaction, intellectual passion and socially meaningful outcomes.

Four lifestyle choices to sharpen the mental saw
Everyone can incorporate these essential brain builders into their everyday activities:

1. Get your game on with favorites such as Scrabble, Pictionary and chess; puzzles including Sudoku and crosswords; card games and more. Several studies link mentally stimulating leisure activities with slowed memory loss and reduced dementia risk in seniors.

2. Social interaction exercises the brain. After all, people are surprising and unpredictable! Religious and community functions, supportive relationships with friends and family, and volunteering all fit the bill. Off-line education and interaction with pets count asmind-healthy socializing.

3. Keep moving! Multiple studies at the University of California at San Francisco, Laval University in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, the University of Illinois and the Salk Institute have shown physical exercise protects the brain from decline and can even reverse cognitive decline.

Walking is especially effective. Seniors who regularly walk have significantly better memory skills, learning ability, concentration and abstract reasoning than their sedentary peers. Unlike jogging or running where blood flows to large leg muscles, walking increases blood flow, oxygenation and glucose — brain food — to the brain, while clearing out waste products on the return trip.

4. Nutrition is the fourth vital choice. Healthy brain food is a complex mix of carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, antioxidants, high-quality proteins and fats. These nutrients, along with necessary minerals, provide energy, building material and protection from free-radical damage.

High-glycemic index sugars are bad for the brain. Glucose, dextrose and sucrose are found in highly refined, highly processed foods like candy, packaged baked goods, table sugar and sugary drinks. Toxins in tobacco and alcohol are also detrimental to brain function.

Getting a daily mix of brain-challenging activities isn’t tough. It’s easy to blend physical exercise and social interaction through group activities like walking clubs, yoga or Tai Chi classes. Dancing is the trifecta: it combines social interaction and physical exercise with the cognitive challenge of learning new steps.

The bonus? Embracing these four lifestyle priorities also yields benefits for physical and emotional health.

I am not a fan of reverse mortgages, and I rarely if ever suggest them as a resource to seniors. I feel strongly that this should be used only as a last resort.

The lending industry sees reverse mortgages as a bright spot in an otherwise dismal market. It taps a segment of net worth that so often never gets touched. Recently the Federal Housing Administration increased the national ceiling on the equity seniors could withdraw to $625,000. Thus, even in today’s hard-hit housing environment, seniors in higher-priced homes are now eligible and are very attractive customers to lenders.

Lenders are enticing seniors with reduced fees, bigger payouts and looser requirements. Well-informed older Americans may be able to negotiate the pitfalls and find a way to use this complex financial tool, but I seriously doubt most older Americans are that informed.

What is the new reverse mortgage?

Basically, a reverse mortgage releases home equity as a loan to seniors. The loan is repaid when the owner dies, the home is sold or the owner moves, perhaps to a nursing home or assisted living facility. The loan is typically paid from the proceeds of the sale of the house.

Reverse mortgages are being marketed especially to new retirees as a way to fund retirement dreams such as a world-class vacation, a roomy recreational vehicle or a Cabo San Lucas time share.

Lenders like reverse mortgages because the loan is low risk (they get their money back after the homeowner passes away or the home is sold) and up-front fees provide them with an attractive short-term profit.

The downside

For borrowers, however, there are pitfalls to avoid. Costs associated with a reverse mortgage — interest, origination fees and points — are more expensive than with traditional mortgages. Homeowners still pay costs such as taxes, insurance and repairs, plus mortgage insurance for the reverse mortgage — insurance that protects the lender. Should the homeowner be unable to pay these expenses, the loan could become due and payable.

Depending on the state, reverse loan proceeds may be counted as an asset and may interfere with Medicaid eligibility, even though untapped home equity is not considered an asset in determining Medicaid eligibility when the owner still occupies the property.

The terms of the reverse mortgage could actually cause the homeowner to be evicted if the owner isn’t there for a specified period — even a prolonged but temporary stay in a nursing-home or other health care facility.

Get More Information About Reverse Mortgages

• Federal Trade Commission
• Several articles from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling
• HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies state search

Alternatives

There are many safer alternatives that seniors should check before turning to a reverse mortgage. For example, if a senior homeowner needs cash for a major home repair, like replacing a heating system, the local power company may offer low-cost financing for that kind of home improvement.

If maintaining the home is getting too difficult, financially or otherwise, seniors may want to consider selling and moving into a smaller home or an assisted living facility.

Older Americans trying to keep a home in the family could sell their home to their kids. The family takes out a mortgage to free up cash for the senior and the house stays in the family. Personally, I really like this option. It makes much more sense for the adult children to help Mom and Dad out this way, and in the end, the adult children also benefit.

Home equity lines of credit may also be less risky. Seniors approaching retirement can also explore options for making the best use of their retirement plans. However, I personally dislike Home equity lines of credit. We have seen what happens when people borrowed against the equity in their homes. The financial melt-down which brought about our current deep recession was in part due to people tapping into their home equity to pay for expensive toys and exotic vacations. Then when the housing market turned south, the borrowers owed more on their homes than they were actually worth.

The upside of reverse mortgages

Reverse mortgages use built-up equity to free up cash for strapped seniors who want to stay in their own homes. The funds are tax-free and many products have no income restrictions. And seniors who have limited incomes may have trouble qualifying for a traditional mortgage.

The payout from a reverse mortgage can be used to pay off a traditional mortgage, finance a home improvement or meet health care expenses.

Depending on the circumstances, a reverse mortgage could be a viable financial strategy. But most experts agree that seniors should explore all options and consult a reverse-mortgage expert — someone not affiliated with the lending institution — before signing on the dotted line. I wish I knew some of these experts. If anyone knows of a reverse-mortgage expert not working at a bank or other lending institution, please let me know.

Driving is a powerful symbol of competence and independence—besides being a routine part of adult life. But the focused concentration and quick reaction time needed for safe driving tend to decline as one ages, and for a person with Alzheimer’s disease, this process accelerates dramatically.

More than memory problems

Alzheimer’s robs people of their short-term memory, so they get lost easily, sometimes even in familiar territory. A decline in visuospatial skills, which help drivers judge distances and predict upcoming traffic problems, plays a large role in making people with Alzheimer’s unsafe drivers.

Those with Alzheimer’s also have trouble prioritizing visual cues. An irrelevant sight, such as a dog jumping behind a fence, may distract them, so they might fail to notice important cues, such as brake lights or traffic signs.

When to stop driving

Because Alzheimer’s diminishes reasoning skills, the person may resist the request to stop driving. It often is up to caregivers to determine when their loved ones become unsafe behind the wheel. Warning signs of unsafe driving include:

• Forgetting how to locate familiar places

• Braking harder than normal for stoplights and stop signs

• Difficulty seeing things on the road

• Problems with changing lanes or making turns

• Running through stop signs

• Difficulty maintaining the car in the center of the lane

• Making slow or poor decisions

• Trouble turning his or her head before changing lanes

• Hitting the curb while driving

• Trouble adjusting to the oncoming glare of headlights

• Driving at an inappropriate speed

• Increased frustration, anger, or anxiety when driving

• Failure to use turn signals or mirrors

• Becoming angry and confused while driving

• Confusing the brake and gas pedal

• Increased confrontation with other drivers

• Failing to observe traffic signals or running through stop signs

• Becoming confused in simple driving situations or lost in familiar areas

• A series of close calls, collisions, or driving violations, even if they are minor

The transition

Most specialists feel it’s important to help the person with dementia stop driving as soon as possible. A rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you feel safe riding in a car or having your family members, including children, riding in a car that the person with dementia is driving. Ask yourself if you would feel safe with your children playing on the sidewalk on a street where the person with dementia is driving. If the answer is no, then you know it’s time for him or her to retire from driving.

If the person will not stop voluntarily, it is important to check with the state Department of Motor Vehicles to find out the procedure for evaluating the person’s driving ability. Many facilities offer a thorough “driver safety evaluation” to determine whether it is safe for the person to continue driving.

Pre-emptive measures as the disease progresses

Even if your loved one willingly gives up driving at first, it may become an issue later on, as his or her understanding of the risks diminishes. Here are some strategies for keeping your loved one out of the driver’s seat.

• Get a note from the doctor. Sometimes it helps if an authority figure—physician, lawyer, insurance agent—tells your loved one to stop driving. Having something in writing can be a useful reminder. Additionally, a note from the doctor can be sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles to rescind a license if the person is unwilling to give up driving or take a driving test.

• Control access to the car and keys. In many cases, it’s a simple matter of “out of sight, out of mind.” Parking the car around the corner may be enough. If your loved one insists on carrying a set of car keys, you can replace them with keys that don’t work.

• Disable the car. Removing a battery cable will prevent the car from starting. Or a mechanic can install a “kill switch” that must be engaged before the car can start.

• Ease the transition. Arrange for alternative transportation, perhaps via the city bus service or a senior van route, or utilize the services of ASSISTING ANGELS HOME CARE, which can provide transportation to social events, doctor’s or hair appointments or outings to the grocery store, park, church, etc.

Be patient and firm

When your loved one stops driving, be as patient as you can throughout this process, but remember to stand firm. Arguments and explanations rarely make it easier to accept. Instead of arguing, provide other ways of getting around and maintaining routines.

What will help is to keep routines as normal as possible despite the prohibition on driving. Arrange for family and friends to visit regularly and to take your loved one out to run errands. When you’re together, focus on activities your loved one can still do and enjoy.

Assisting Angels is always available to assist with transportation needs, and to provide resources to make the transition easier. If you need us, we are only a phone call away  at 208-344-7979.

Drawing Heaven

You think your child can draw? Check out the work of this 12 year-old art prodigy. Her paintings are incredibly beautiful. Even more interesting is that her paintings are spiritually-based. This is intriguing considering she was raised in an atheist household. I guess God really does work in mysterious ways.

Click here to watch now.

Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:

1. Be grateful – People who were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way reported a lasting increase in happiness — over weeks and even months — after implementing the habit. Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.
2. Be optimistic – People were asked to visualize an ideal future and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.
3. Count your blessings – People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness. The act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.
4. Use your strengths – Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.
5. Commit acts of kindness – It turns out helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.

I am so grateful for the passage of the health care reform bill. Now my employees will actually have access to adequate health care. As a small business owner, I have been unable to afford to provide my people with company health insurance. The insurance premiums added to our other hard operating costs would have pushed us over the edge, with our operating costs being greater than our gross revenue.  No small business can stay in business long with this kind of scenario. And yet, my heart broke for the people entrusted to me. Their health and welfare is my concern.

Someone I love dearly recently received a diagnosis that many insurance companies would drop coverage for and deem this person as “uninsurable.” This is immoral behavior on the part of insurance companies to drop people because of a diagnosis or because they are deemed as “too expensive to cover.” But now I have the assurance that this loved one will continue to be covered and that health care will never be denied, nor will the insurance company be able to boost the premiums to astronomical heights.

I am willing to pay higher taxes to ensure that my employees and my loved ones receive affordable access to health care, and I do NOT apologize to anyone for this.

Even physicians and hospitals agree and have come out in support of this bill. The insurance companies have held the trump card too long. Their time to play fair is over. They had their chance, and now it is out of their hands. The funny thing is, the republicans who so vehemently opposed this bill will be lining up by the thousands to take advantage of the changes that will save them and their childrens’ lives.

I have always thought of myself as a republican with conservative values, but the philosophical values of health care reform far outweighed my party leanings. The right thing to do was to pass this bill, and my country did the right thing. Every civilized nation in the world had some kind of universal health care in place except the United States, and the U.S. has the highest health care costs in the world, and much higher mortality rates! Go figure.

Sleep hygiene is the practice of “grooming” yourself for sleep every night.

Environment: Make your bedroom safe, dark, cool and comfortable. Turn the clock face away and ban TVs, laptops, and cell phones. If you do get up during the night, don’t turn on any bright lights.

Schedule: Go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Use very bright lights in the morning. Try not to nap during the day — or take only a 10- to 15-minute nap.

Program: Take a warm bath, listen to soothing music or read something relaxing. Don’t let your mind go into problem-solving mode – focus on good thoughts. If you don’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something restful in another room.

Food and Drink: Avoid alcohol close to bedtime, caffeine in the afternoon, nicotine at all times, and exercise within three hours before bed. Don’t eat too close to bed time, but do have a light snack if you are feeling hungry. Avoid fluids at least two hours before bedtime.

Many people believe that seniors don’t sleep as deeply as they once did because they need less sleep as they get older. But this common myth isn’t true. Seniors need about eight hours of sleep every night for optimal functioning of mind and body — the same amount as younger adults. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Senior Health department concurs.

What is a sleep disorder?

A sleep disorder is something that interferes with normal sleep patterns: trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, or not sleeping deeply. Disorders include insomnia, breathing problems and movement disorders.

Not all sleep disorders are as obvious as insomnia. Signs of sleep disturbance include morning headaches, loss of appetite, not feeling rested in the morning and fatigue throughout the day. An occasional restless night may be normal. But persistent poor sleep that lasts for two weeks or more should prompt a trip to the doctor.

Diagnosis and treatment

Most primary-care physicians and gerontologists can diagnose and treat common sleep disorders. Sleep centers do more in-depth testing. Doctors design various treatments depending on test results. Treatments go beyond just a sleeping pill. Relaxation techniques, light therapies, and cognitive therapies can improve sleep patterns.

Poor sleep is not a “normal” consequence of aging. It is a serious health concern. As health care professionals focus more attention on the problem, look for new and better therapies.