On October 14^th and 21^st, Hebrew SeniorLife gathered together geriatric thought-leaders, researchers and physicians to hold an importance discussion about the steps one should take to help aging parents as they make decisions regarding health and well-being. Those discussions culminated in an ebook, “You and Your Aging Parents”, which Hebrew SeniorLife is offering as a free downloadable pdf.

Women outlive men by of average of five years in the United States. The typical lifespan of an American woman is 81 years old, while the average for a man is 76. This may seem like a large chasm of time, but the five year gap is actually the smallest gap in lifespan in almost thirty years!

Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research has helped transform the experience of aging in America through innovative studies. Our researchers have deconstructed many of the myths about what it means to age, replacing those notions with realities based on sound scientific inquiry. They have shed new light on the mechanical, physiological, and biochemical functions, as well as environmental factors that contribute to age-related conditions and decline.

There’s no question sleep disturbances affect most of the population at some point in time. However, over half of the elderly suffer from difficulty sleeping. More than 50 percent of people over the age of 65 who live in the community and nearly two-thirds of seniors living in an institutionalized setting are affected by sleep disturbances.

Why is this so?