Sleep Archive

Anorexia of aging affects about one-quarter of older adults, and women more often than men. The condition is marked by diminished appetite and can prompt a breakdown of muscle and bone mass that can lead to frailty, falls, delayed recovery from illness or surgery, and earlier death. Risk factors include changes in smell and taste, swallowing problems, slower digestion, medications that lead to dry mouth, dental problems, cognitive decline, and loneliness or social isolation. Treatments can include exercising, boosting protein intake, and medications.

A 2024 research review suggested that drinking more water can help people stave off a variety of health problems as well as promote weight loss.

Use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system to treat sleep apnea must be monitored regularly by a doctor. This might require numerous doctor visits initially, and then annual visits afterward to make sure the therapy is still working effectively. The clinician needs to review data collected by the machine, gather information from the patient, and determine if new health conditions, including weight gain or other sleep issues, require adjustments to the CPAP machine settings.

Overhead reaches become more challenging with age. This is due to reduced range of motion, declining balance, and weak muscles. As a result, simply reaching up for an object can lead to shoulder injuries, neck injuries, or falls. Avoiding these injuries requires extra care when reaching up: estimating if something is too heavy before lifting it, using a step stool to reduce the reach, finding something to hold on to while reaching, and determining in advance where to set down an object.

A 2024 study involving more than 72,000 healthy people ages 40 to 79 found that those whose sleep and wake times fluctuated most had a 26% higher risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or similar problem, compared with those whose sleep patterns fluctuated least.