Gina (half-awake): “Ugh... Don, wake up… again.”
Don (groaning): “Seriously, Gina? Another alarm? Is this what adulthood is supposed to feel like?”

Sound effect: Alarm continues, faint sunrise ambiance fades in.

Welcome back to Focused Healthy Family! In this heartfelt episode, Gina and Don wake up—quite literally—with a jolt, setting the stage for a warm and approachable dive into a sleep struggle that’s all too real for so many families: the changing sleep patterns and nighttime challenges faced by older adults.

Together, Gina and Don explore why older adults often:

• Experience shifts in their circadian rhythms, feeling sleepy earlier in the day and waking up at the crack of dawn—what experts call a phase advance Sleep Foundation.

• Have more fragmented and lighter sleep, spending less time in deep, restorative stages and waking more often through the night Sleep Foundation.

• Struggle even more with routine changes—like daylight saving time or traveling—due to a slower recovery in adjusting internal body clocks Sleep Foundation.

• Have sleep interrupted by health-related factors: chronic pain, nighttime bathroom trips (nocturia, affecting up to 80% of older adults), insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome (affecting 9–20%), and even REM sleep behavior disorder, where dreams are acted out physically Sleep Foundation.

It’s a delicately layered picture—one that listeners likely recognize, even if they haven’t pinned a name or explanation to it. Gina and Don bring these realities to life through stories, gentle humor, and practical empathy.

Gina (later): “Well, maybe that alarm wasn’t so bad—got us talking about something important.”
Don (smiles): “Early bird or not, here’s to better sleep—together.”

This lighting-hearted yet informative episode blends cozy realism with expert-backed guidance, making it a perfect pick for family members, caregivers, or anyone who’s noticed the nighttime shuffle isn’t quite the same anymore.

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