Cut Your Sleeping Pill Dosage Says FDA
The Food and Drug Administration is requiring manufacturers of certain sleeping pills, including Ambien, to reduce current recommended dosages.
Ambien, as well as the generic forms of Ambien, all contain the ingredient zolpidem, which can cause morning drowsiness. The National Institute of Health cautions that Ambien can cause impaired motor and cognitive function in the elderly. Researchers also found last year that Ambien is among the sleeping pills that increase the risk of hip fracture in nursing home residents.åÊ
Studies have shown that women eliminate zolpidem at a slower rate than men, which was part of the reason behind the FDAs recommendations.åÊ
The recommended dosage for women will now be 5 milligrams (down from 10) and 6.25 mg for Ambien CR (down from 12.5 mg). The FDA has said that healthcare professionals should consider prescribing the lower doses for men as well.
The FDA’s change does not affect sleeping aids such as Lunesta and Sonata, which have different ingredients.
Social Security Expands Online Services (VIDEO)
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Social Security Expands Online Services
The Social Security Administration has expanded its online service with a my Social Security account, a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security benefits.åÊåÊ
More than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients can now access their benefit verification letter, payment history, and earnings record instantly using their online account. åÊSocial Security beneficiaries also can change their address and start or change direct deposit information online.åÊ
Social Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients with a my Social Security account can go online and get an official benefit verification letter instantly. åÊThe benefit verification letter serves as proof of income to secure loans, mortgages and other housing, and state or local benefits. åÊAdditionally, people use the letter to prove current Medicare health insurance coverage, retirement or disability status, and age. åÊPeople can print or save a customized letter.åÊ
Social Security processed nearly nine million requests for benefit verification letters in the past year. åÊThis new online service allows people to conduct business with Social Security without having to visit an office or make a phone call, and very often wait for a letter to arrive in the mail. åÊIt also will reduce the time spent by employees completing these requests and free them to focus on other workloads.åÊ
People age 18 and older can sign up for an account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Once there, they must be able to provide information about themselves and answers to questions that only they are likely to know. åÊAfter completing the secure verification process, people can create a my Social Security account with a unique user name and password to access their information.åÊ
People age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can sign up for a my Social Security account to get a personalized online Social Security Statement. åÊThe online Statement provides eligible workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefit information, and estimates of future benefits they can use to plan for their retirement.åÊ In addition, the portal also includes links to information about other online services, such as applications for retirement, disability and Medicare.
For more information, please go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Age Alone Does Not Determine Decision-Making Ability
The MetLife Study of Decision-Making Potential, one of the first to investigate the connection between specific components of cognitive health and the continued ability to make logically consistent decisions, identified factors that may inhibit or increase the risk of poor decisions in the 50 to 79 age group.åÊ
- Those in their 70s performed at least as well as a younger age group in their 50s on a cognitive measure of strategic learning (the ability to determine and use a strategy to sift information in making decisions such as financial decisions).
- Men and women between the ages of 50 and 79 performed equally in the effect of strategic learning on decision-making performance.åÊ
Researchers concluded that combining the present findings with emerging evidence of retained cognitive brain health in aging suggests that policies aimed at protecting those most vulnerable to poor decision-making should focus on disease, rather than age itself, as a risk factor.
Studies like this continue to contradict the perception that society has of aging. Just because we age does not necessarily mean we’re “losing it.” My mom at 91 is sharp as a tack, able to figure things out on her own, and hold an intelligent conversation with the best of them. So don’t be so quick to judge!
Caring Stars of 2013 (VIDEO)
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