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The deaths of friends and family members become more common as you age. Here is how to endure the grieving process.

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Most men don't face much personal loss early in their lives. Yet, once they reach a certain age, they will encounter the experience of losing someone important to them � a spouse, a friend, a relative � and the feelings of grief that often follow.

"Grief is a natural response to loss, but it is something that men are not prepared for, and they often struggle to understand how it can affect their lives," says Dr. Eric Bui, associate director for research at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and Complicated Grief Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Observe these caveats if you use over-the-counter drugs or dietary supplements to help you sleep.

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It's 2 a.m. and you can't sleep. Is it okay to take a nonprescription remedy? "They're not meant for the long term, but it may be okay for an occasional night of problems with sleep," says sleep expert Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

But which option should you reach for? Drugstore shelves are lined with a dizzying array of products promising a good night's sleep. They fall into two categories: nonprescription medications and dietary supplements.

Your sleeping cycle changes as you age, but there are ways to ensure you get a good night's rest.

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Most men experience bouts of sleeplessness as they age. They have trouble going to sleep, wake up in the night, and then have trouble falling back to sleep.

Most of this has to do with normal aging, but don't think you need less sleep because you are older. "Research has shown that your sleep needs stay constant throughout adulthood," says Dr. Lawrence Epstein, associate physician with the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Instead, it's your sleep patterns that change, and that is what can interfere with sleep quality."

Ask the doctors

Q. My friend was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but it seems like she might be imagining her symptoms. Is fibromyalgia a real condition?

A. The short answer to your question is yes. Fibromyalgia is a real condition that affects some four million Americans. It's a chronic pain syndrome that experts believe may be caused by a malfunctioning nervous system. Researchers using magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of people with fibromyalgia have found abnormalities in the part of the brain that processes pain signals from the body. It appears that this part of the brain is essentially boosting the intensity of normal pain signals, potentially causing the body to feel pain without a physical cause.

People with insomnia struggle to get a good night's rest and wonder how to sleep better They may be plagued by trouble falling asleep, unwelcome awakenings during the night, or fitful sleep - alone or in combination. They may feel drowsy during the day and yet be unable to nap. Insomnia can leave a person feeling anxious and irritable or forgetful and unable to concentrate.Ìý

Finding an effective solution requires uncovering the cause. Nearly half of insomnia cases stem from psychological or emotional issues. Stressful events, mild depression, or an anxiety disorder can make falling asleep and staying asleep difficult. Ideally, once the underlying cause is treated, the insomnia improves.

Research we're watching

People who sleep too much or too little may be at higher risk for cognitive decline, according to a study published Sept. 21, 2020, by JAMA Network Open. Researchers looked at self-reported sleep duration from 20,065 people in two large studies, one in the United Kingdom and one in China. The participants from the United Kingdom were ages 50 and older and those living in China were 45 and older and were followed by researchers for up to 15 years. Researchers asked participants questions about their sleep patterns and performed a cognitive assessment. The process was repeated at two year intervals during the various study periods. Researchers found that people who slept too little (four or fewer hours a night) or too much (10 or more hours a night) were more likely than more typical sleepers to experience cognitive decline.

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The soothing and motivational sounds of music have far-reaching health benefits.

A favorite musical tune can stir up positive memories, boost your mood, and create a soothing, relaxing setting. But used in specific ways, music also is a valuable tool for supporting your health.

"Whether you need to relax, increase your energy, improve your thinking, or just get motivated for the day, music can provide extra support when you need it the most," says Marisabelle Diaz-Falcon, a music therapist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Learn what will and won't increase blood sugar levels and put your health in jeopardy.

It's essential to keep your blood sugar from spiking (rising suddenly), whether you're healthy or you're among the 122 million Americans who have diabetes or prediabetes. But with all the conflicting advice in circulation, it can be hard to figure out what foods and habits you need to avoid.

Bogus claims

On the Internet you'll find many reports of factors that purportedly increase blood sugar. Here are a few claims that you should know about because they just don't hold up.

During waking hours you may feel your heart rate fluctuating, and activity or intense emotions can cause it to spike. But what happens to your heart rate when you sleep? It varies then too, depending on the phase of sleep you are in.

Work with your body, not against it, for long-term weight maintenance.

For many people, their New Year's resolutions include some sort of weight-loss goal. However, while extra pounds often come off, evidence shows they rarely stay off. Among overweight or obese people who are able to lose 10% of their body weight, just one in six is able to maintain the weight loss for at least a year.

Experts say it's not surprising that weight loss rarely sticks, considering what they now know about how the body works. "Most people believe that obesity is caused by overeating, while we now recognize that the main driver of obesity is one or more disruptions in the body's normal regulation of the amount of fat we maintain," says Dr. Lee Kaplan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Obesity, Metabolism, and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.