You may be surprised to hear that the best sleep aid for older adults with insomnia is not a medication. It's a type of psychotherapy, called CBT-I for Insomnia, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders experienced by older adults. Insomnia essentially means that a person has trouble falling or staying asleep, or experiences non-restorative sleep. This, of course, can lead to issues during the day like cognitive problems and mood and emotional issues.

Did you know that as many as 50% of older adults complain about difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep? And in fact, older adults (people 65 and older) are more likely to experience insomnia than younger or middle aged adults.

But here's the thing... Sleep problems in elderly adults are treatable. In as little as one to ten (1-10 sessions) of CBT-I, older adults sleep better!

Today's guest, Dr. Daniel Wachtel is a...

"Dear Dr. Koepp, My mom has recently become depressed. She's 94 and lives alone. She's seen her internist and is on 10 milligrams of Lexapro. My family and I aren't sure what we should be doing (if anything). Where should we go from here?"

In today's episode of the Psychology of Aging Podcast, I talk about older adults and depression. I share what you need to know and how you can help.

And here's why this is so important.

Depression is the most prevalent mental health condition among older adults.

Unfortunately, depression in late life often goes undetected and untreated largely due to the false belief that with age comes depression.

Here's a peak inside the episode:

• [03:46] Many families don't know where to start when it comes to their older loved ones and depression. I share where to begin when you notice signs of depression.
• [06:04] Depression is not a normal part of aging. So,...

 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Episode #003

Do you know any older adults who are refusing to maintain their social distance? Okay, let me give you an example. Have you seen the article of the Italian doctors who returned to work after retirement to assist the Italian healthcare system only to become seriously ill or die themselves as a result of the Coronavirus?

A listener actually recently emailed me to say that she's really worried about her own parent who recently returned from retirement to assist with their medical clinic... and this clinic doesn't even treat Coronavirus! This listener was distraught! She felt powerless over her older parent's decision.

I wanted to spend some time on this podcast talking a little bit about the psychological underpinnings of why older adults might refuse to maintain social distance and work instead.

In this episode, I share two psychological theories to explain why older adults may put themselves at...