What is activities of daily living?

Activities of Daily Living

What are activities of daily living (ADLs)?

Activities of daily living (ADLs) are the basic self-care tasks you do every day. These include eating, bathing, dressing, and moving around.

As you age, and if you have health problems, you may find that it's harder to do some of these tasks. If so, your doctor can suggest ideas that may help.

To measure what kind of help you may need, your doctor will ask how well you are able to do ADLs. Let your doctor know if there are any tasks that you are having trouble doing. This is an important first step to getting help. And when you have the help you need, you can stay as independent as possible.

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