Blog Posts by ThirdAge.com

Mature Woman With Glasses

When hot flashes happen during sleep they're called night sweats. These steamy episodes can cause you to perspire through your clothes and wake up frequently during the night feeling either too hot or chilly. The latter happens while the sweat is evaporating. No wonder you may be fatigued, irritable, and have trouble concentrating during the day. Well, who needs this nightmare? According to Alyssa Dweck, M.D. co-author of "V is for Vagina: Your A to Z Guide to Periods, Piercings, Pleasures, And So Much More," there are ways to stay comfy through the night. Here's how:

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Keep a glass of ice or iced water on the night table.

Substitute soft drinks for alcohol in the evening. FYI: Red wine seems to be a bigger culprit than white wine or vodka for that matter.

Pass on spicy dinners: avoid cayenne, chili peppers, wasabi, and hot mustard and eat smaller meals rather than a large one at

Worried Couple

The wrenching news of the three teenage boys whose lives were cut short during the recent school shootings in a little Ohio town touched us deeply here at ThirdAge. Like parents and grandparents across the nation, we were riveted by sorrow and horror as the coverage unfolded. The poignant statement by 16-year-old Demetrius Hewlin's mother and father seemed to us especially moving: "We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community. Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends. We will miss him very much, but we are proud that he will be able to help others through organ donation."

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For me, the phrase "young man" was what jumped out of that release. The death of a child who is almost grown surely carries its own kind of profound pain. A young person on the cusp of adulthood is an unfinished story. Since the moment you gave birth

Joan Lunden

Sherri Snelling, our caregiving contributor, recently spoke to Joan Lunden about her role as a Sandwich Generation and long-distance caregiver for her mother. Sherri met Joan on the set of a special program Joan hosted, "Taking Care with Joan Lunden," where Joan interviewed Sherri as an expert on caring for an older loved one at home. Sherri turned the tables on Joan and interviewed her for this story. Joan has co-authored a new book on caregiving stories, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul, Family Caregivers, available March 13.

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For 17 years throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she woke us all with "Good Morning America" as co-host of ABC-TV's national morning show. But, it was only seven years ago that Joan Lunden, the sunny, blonde, California-born and raised TV journalist, received her own wake-up call.

In her words, "it 100 percent shook me up." Her brother Jeff, who had long

Elizabeth Gorka

Ten years ago, at the age of 44, Liz Gorka was stunned when she was diagnosed with a disease she had never heard of before. Systemic sclerodema is a progressive disorder that causes the hardening of connective tissues and can seriously damage vital organs. As the Mayo Clinic site puts it, "For unknown reasons, the immune system turns against the body . . . Scleroderma has no known cure."

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What's more, the systemic subcategory of the group of diseases called scleroderma affects only about 100,000 people in this country. "You feel so alone," Liz says. "Nobody else you know has what you have and there isn't a lot of research out there."

Yet as it turned out, Liz's story didn't end with the scleroderma. Eight years into her battle with the disorder that was crippling her hands and joints and turning ordinary tasks into a struggle, she suddenly became frighteningly short of breath.

Whitney Houston

How many times have I heard variations of this in the last two weeks? "I can't understand why Whitney Houston would overdose/abuse drugs/get so drunk, when she had been through treatment and achieved sobriety, a child who needed her, a great career, people who loved her, and such a strong faith." In fact, I was sitting next to a Miami news anchor at dinner the other night who said the same thing.

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People who are judgmental of or bewildered by Whitney Houston's mode of death, or Demi Moore's way of coping with a failing relationship by using drugs, have never lived with addiction in a loved one.

Each time a celebrity dies of an overdose, those of us who love an addict - daughter, son, sister, brother, mother, father, spouse, significant other, family member or friend - are reminded that addiction is a cunning, baffling, powerful, chronic, and deadly disease.

There is no

Belly Massage

The name is cute, but the look? Not so much.The so-called muffin top is that dreaded fleshy roll that spills over our waistbands, making us resemble a giant muffin in a baking pan.With summer on the way and clingier t-shirts in our wardrobe, its a look wed like to do without. But is it possible?

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Yes. Muffin tops are simply made up of excess fat of the abdominal area, and if youve got a muffin top, youve probably got love handles (i.e. squishy hips.) Just like every other shape-up plan, theres only one way to rid yourself of muffin top: diet and exercise. Exercise will make your abdomen and sides firmer, while a good eating plan will make you slimmer. (As always, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.)

To blast your midriff into shape, target your sides. From a standing position, you can raise your legs straight out from your side and then lower them. If

Scientists report some people are born happy. Their brains automatically produce feel-good chemicals. But for those who are more apt to see the glass as half empty, don't despair. Research has also shown if we get into certain happy-making habits, we can bump up our optimism. Here's how to do it:

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Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep was wrong about one thing in her deeply-felt Academy Awards acceptance speech Sunday night. "When they called my name," she began, "I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, 'Oh no! Oh come on, why her? Again?" But I doubt that was true. Anyone who saw her performance in "The Iron Lady" would agree that Streep deserved her Best Actress Oscar. In fact, Streep, our best movie actress, probably deserved an Oscar most of the times she has been nominated in the past and walked away empty-handed.

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But what was most intriguing about her speech was how right she was about what had helped make her so successful. She began by thanking her husband Don Gummer."When you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play him out with the music. And I want him to know what I most value in our lives, you've given me."

Streep and her husband, who is an artist, have