⭑ You can lower your risk of dementia ✔ focus on these 3 things first All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, AI images and such. By the way, have you had a chance to explore AI? You can use it at Microsoft Bing for free, (although you may need a Microsoft account). It's not just a tech gimmick, it's a tool that can stimulate your brain and enhance your cognitive abilities. I've been diverting myself from filing my tax return by playing with different AI image generators. It's quite addictive. Sometimes the results have me standing up in my chair in amazement! Bing uses DALL·E by OpenAI. It is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. I urge you to try it. There are many competitors. The image below was my first attempt to get Google's Imagen to produce a (wide-view low-angle) image of a miniature dachshund on an Italian street in summer. Amazing, right? Pop that on a Stickermule T-shirt and you'll be the life of the dog park. I have too many of them already!! As yet, there is no magic pill to match your healthspan to your lifespan, you still need to take the initiative for yourself — see item #2. A study found 3 risk factors among 162 that have the biggest negative association with dementia. You can alter each one's effect on you — see item #1 // 01 Avoid These Three Most Harmful Lifestyle Factors for Dementia A recent study considered 161 different "modifiable risk factors for dementia". The three most harmful risk factors identified, in comparison to the other 158 risk factors, were:
These factors were identified as the most harmful modifiable risk factors for dementia among all the factors considered in the study, particularly affecting your brain's fragile regions. In the research's context, the brain's fragile regions refer to a "network of higher-order regions" that process information from our senses. ⇒ These areas not only develop later during adolescence but also show earlier degeneration in old age and are particularly vulnerable to conditions such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, making them a "weak spot" according to the researchers. The study examined 161 modifiable risk factors for dementia, grouped into 15 categories, including blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, and pollution, among others, across 40,000 adults in the UK aged between 44 and 83 years old. This is a solid study. What this means for you: "Modifiable risk factors" implies that you have the ability to alter them, for better or worse.
There's no better time to start than now, good luck. Related: Measuring your waist will tell you if you are on your way to diabetes // 02 Lifespan or Healthspan, Which Would You Prioritise? A recent article in Scientific American distinguished between lifespan and healthspan, highlighting the importance of focusing on extending the years of life free from chronic disease rather than merely prolonging life. The article defines healthspan as the period of life free of chronic disease or disability. This is also the point of my slogan, "living longer better", which guides my research and writing for you. Unfortunately, we are faced with an immutable fact, as stated in the article: aging is the most significant risk factor for cancer, heart disease, and dementia. We can't change aging. However, an emerging field called "geroscience" aims to understand and manipulate the biological processes of aging to improve healthspan. ⇒ Right now, despite the lack of treatments to reverse aging effects, lifestyle interventions can significantly modulate the biology of aging, potentially adding up to a decade of healthy years. What does this mean for you? "Preventive maintenance" for extending healthspan includes regular checkups, monitoring cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and paying attention to your nutritional and exercise needs. While we do not understand all the causal reasons, there is plenty of evidence of a strong positive correlation between lifestyle factors—such as nutrition, sleep, exercise, and social connection—and extended healthspan. In the future, you may be able to pop a pill that positively influences the underlying mechanisms of aging. For now, we have to do the work. Exercise regularly (start small), eat real food, and mix with peers who care for you and encourage you. When faced with getting started, I always think of the famous quote from Lao Tzu - "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (oft quoted by Mao Tse Tung). Related: The Countdown - How To Start Exercising When You Can't Get Started @Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life // 03 Can More Water Helps You Concentrate? New research from Pakistan popped up in my feed during the week concerning sleep patterns, water intake, and the ability to concentrate. Concentration refers to the ability to focus and maintain attention on a task or activity. The study measured concentration using a self-report questionnaire. Participants were asked to rate their usual concentration level on a categorical scale. As we age, sleep quality generally declines. I know mine has. Here's what caught my attention: the report found a significant negative correlation between nine hours or more of sleep duration and negative mood. ⇒ Additionally, daily water intake and concentration had a significant positive correlation. 64% of the study participants drank less than 2L of water daily. So while more water might not help you concentrate, less than 2L daily diminishes your concentration. What this means for you: A significant correlation between daily water intake and concentration was found, wherein a decrease in daily water intake showed a negative effect on concentration. The research suggests that for better concentration, you should prioritise sufficient sleep duration and adequate water intake, namely:
Additionally, practising good sleep hygiene by avoiding screen use before bedtime and having dinner at least one to two hours before sleep is essential. Regular exercise and avoiding late-night meals can also contribute to better concentration. Good luck. // 04 Small Regular Exercises Make A Big Difference - Try This Our exercise of the week is... standing heel raises with an isometric contraction. Over the 25 years I've been exercising regularly, I have discovered the effectiveness of simple exercises integrated into my daily routine. The standing heel raises with isometric contraction is deceptively simple. The benefits are many, but I will focus on two: (1) postural stability and (2) fall prevention:
⇒ Try doing this exercise when you are brushing your teeth. You will be surprised how you start to notice the benefits of such a small investment. What this means for you: Stand straight and slowly lift your heels while squeezing your glutes, then lower them back down:
I do this when brushing my teeth, morning and night:
Start with two sets of 10 repetitions each, gradually increasing to three sets of 15 repetitions as your strength and balance improve. You'll start to notice the impact after about 3 months. It's worth it. Thanks for reading! P.S. If you are not yet subscribed to my free exercise app, try now ↓↓↓ Free forever. Opt-out any time. Opt-in by CLICKING HERE PLEASE SEND ME THE EXERCISES. NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO SUBSCRIBE ONE TIME. >> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com '4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page. Each of these weekly emails has 4MV in the subject line to help you filter them and search for previous ones. |
"I empower mid-life men and women to make the choice to live as actively and as independently as they can, for as long as they can", Walter Adamson Get access to my weekly research that I don’t share elsewhere. “My wife and I both read your articles each week, and I have to say there is so much confusing data out there, but yours is a great source, well researched, scientific and always relevant.” — Steve Ridgway, subscriber.
⭑ Research - your first COVID experience shapes your future ones ✔⭑ Healthier gut lining ✔ Is Aloe Vera juice the key?⭑ Dietary collagen is incorporated into our body ✔ What's the best source?⭑ The YTW exercise will relieve neck pain and strengthen your shoulders ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, Daylight saving. Yes, folks, here down under, summertime strikes on the East Coast this weekend, and the curtains are about to fade more for the next six months, or so we are led to...
⭑ How AI will make medicines more affordable for everyone ✔⭑ Awake? ✔ Here's a practical example of managing your restlessness⭑ The protein claim had me sceptical ✔ Greek yoghurt - benefits⭑ This resistance band Bird Dog has fantastic benefits ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, Hamster wheel. Keeping up with AI is partially like being on a hamster wheel, with the difference that it's not doing the same unrewarding and repetitive tasks over and over again, rather, it's the...
⭑ Calculated your sleep cycle? ✔ Knowing it will help you get better sleep⭑ Ozempic ✔ Why, after 50, we might end up taking it like statins⭑ Hearing loss accelerates dementia ✔ Yet men resist hearing aids; what to do⭑ This easy at-home exercise will improve your strength and balance ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I'm back from sunny Queensland. The views were as promised last week - where I worked while my daughter was at her soccer camp. She had a great time and improved...