Not only do doctors ignore obesity even when it's right in front of them, they fail to address one of the most important things seniors can do to optimize their physical and mental health: Getting the right amount of sleep every day.

After interviewing some 1,500 elderly patients (ages 62-100) served at 11 primary care sites along with their medical charts, researchers found slightly more than two-thirds of them had experienced at least one sleep disorder and 40 percent complained of two or more problems. And, sleep complaints from those same patients failed to show up on their charts less than 20 percent of the time,

The strongest characteristic of poor physical and mental health among sleepy seniors: Excessive daytime sleepiness. That said, aging doesn't cause sleep problems, and taking a dangerous drug to tame them is completely unnecessary.

Your best and safest solution to get the right amount of sleep you need every night: Review my 29 secrets to a good night's sleep today.