⭑ Light, timing, action ✔ The formula for unlocking your best sleep cycle
⭑ Dementia's early warning ✔ a beacon for preparation or a shadow of dread?
⭑ The power of an abundance mindset ✔ when black and white no longer serves
⭑ The revolution in feet exercises ✔ these built the small but critical muscles

All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Hello,

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Good sleep.

Lack of sleep slowly destroys your mind and body.

It's been used as torture for thousands of years and is still used today because it is very effective.

We all need sound, deep sleep to function to our full potential and to live longer better.

Yesterday morning, I noticed my sleep recovery index was "optimal". It is usually a little less (I use the Ultrahuman AIR ring for this). Perhaps that's why an article about sleep in the Washington Post caught my attention.

Adjusting the type and timing of lighting can greatly improve your sleep quality — see item #1.

There is a new blood test to determine if you are likely to develop dementia. Would you want to know, at what age? — see item #2.

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01 Your Body Has Been Fine-tuning Its Sleep Rhythm For Millennia

Our natural melatonin production wanes as we age, but restful sleep can still be within reach with thoughtful supplement use and light management.

But before turning to melatonin supplements, consider this: your body has been fine-tuning its sleep rhythm for millennia. Maybe it's time we listened to it.

Harnessing the power of melatonin isn't just about popping a pill; it's about syncing our lives with the natural rhythms of light and darkness. The answer isn't more artificial light—it's about understanding the delicate dance between darkness and our body's natural melatonin production.

⇒ Light is the conductor of our body's melatonin orchestra—too much at the wrong time can lead to frustrating sleep issues, which are unfortunately all too common.

What this means for you: Here are five practical steps for optimising your melatonin levels without supplements based on an understanding of how light affects its production:

1. Go outside for daily light exposure 16 hours before preferred sleep time.
2. Work near a window during the day for natural light exposure.
3. Spend time outdoors in the early evening.
4. Dim all light and eliminate the blue end of the spectrum 2 hours before sleep.
5. Blue-block and dim any middle-of-the-night light.

Tip: Implement point #4 by reducing the brightness of household lights and replacing bright, blue-emitting lights with bulbs that emit warmer light. Adjust electronic devices by using their "Night Mode" or "Night Shift" settings.

Tip: Implement point #5 by using nightlights that emit red or warm light instead of bright white or blue light. Turn off screens, and if you wake up and must use a device, ensure that it's set to emit minimal brightness and is in a night mode that reduces blue light.

Wishing you deep, restful sleep.

Related: Article in The Washington Post (may need a subscription).​​​​

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02 Dementia's Early Intervention Benefits Vs Its Psychological Toll

Thousands of Britons who are worried about their memory are set to receive blood tests for dementia, according to The Times.

On the surface, this sounds like a good thing. But would you REALLY want to know? Why, and what COULD you do if you did know, and what WOULD you do if you did know?

This question does not have a straightforward answer because it is an ethical dilemma. For example, if those thousands of Britons who "are worried about their memory" all take the tests, we can be confident that many will regret it.

If the test is 100% accurate, e.g. no false positives or negatives, and the treatment triggered by the test is 100% effective - even if it only promised to slow the onset of dementia - then the ethical dilemma is much lessened.

However, the tests are not 100% accurate today, and neither is the treatment 100% effective.

What does this mean for you? Below are arguments for and against knowing in advance about the risk of developing dementia.

Arguments for Knowing in Advance

1. Early Intervention and Treatment: The emerging treatments may slow the progression of dementia if diagnosed early.
2. Lifestyle Modifications: Being aware of potential dementia might motivate you to make positive lifestyle changes. For example, diet, exercise, mental stimulation, and social engagement have been shown to slow dementia.
3. Planning for the Future: Knowing gives you time to make legal and financial arrangements, consider long-term care options, and settle healthcare and end-of-life care wishes with your family.

Arguments Against Knowing in Advance

1. Psychological Impact: Knowing that you are likely to develop dementia can lead to anxiety, depression, and a sense of hopelessness, affecting your quality of life even before the disease progresses.
2. Stigma and Isolation: Dementia is often still stigmatised. Having it known in advance could lead to social isolation, both self-imposed and from others, thus reducing your support network when it’s needed most.
3. Impact on Insurance and Employment: Early diagnosis could affect your ability to obtain life, travel, or employment insurance. Knowing and not declaring it would void insurance policies and perhaps your driver's license.
4. False Positives and Uncertainty: No diagnostic test is perfect. The possibility of a false positive can cause stress and anxiety for which there is no honest answer except mentally. Moreover, the biomarkers for dementia do not predict with certainty when or how severely the disease will manifest.

Conclusion

The decision of whether to know in advance is profoundly personal and complex.

⇒ There is still a long way to go in terms of how our society and relevant services can provide support for individuals who face the difficult decision of whether or not to know about life-changing medical conditions that may not become apparent until years or even decades later in life.

Related: Vitamin K Keeps Our Brain 11 Years Younger - Study​​​​​​

@Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life

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03 Alternative: Viewing Risk Through The Abundance Mindset

There is an alternative view to using pro and con arguments to frame the ethical dilemma presented by the test for dementia. By adopting an abundance mindset, a more holistic option presents itself.

How does this work?

What this means for you: Using an abundance mindset to navigate the decision whether to take the test or not means focusing on your options for self-empowerment, holistic well-being, and the support of a compassionate community.

In other words, you would focus on the potential for growth, preparedness, and positive action rather than fear and limitation:

1. Empowerment Through Knowledge: Knowledge, even concerning something as challenging as a potential dementia diagnosis, empowers you to take control of your own life narrative by making informed decisions.
2. Holistic Well-being: You would consider your whole person—mental, emotional, and social aspects—when contemplating the impact of early diagnosis. You would seek strategies for maintaining your mental health and resilience and balancing the potential psychological burden of knowing with the benefits of early intervention.
3. Community and Support: Recognising the risk of stigma and isolation, you would proactively seek community and support systems. And perhaps you would become an active contributor whether or not you ultimately decided to take the test for dementia.
4. Embracing Uncertainty: Finally, you would remind yourself that life is inherently uncertain. An abundance mindset involves embracing this uncertainty and focusing on what can be controlled—your actions, attitudes, and how you choose to respond to challenges.

Despite the "Oxford Debate" model of winning or losing an argument - of being right or wrong - has taken over the world, there is another approach. An abundance mindset allows you to work with ambiguities and to take responsibility for, and feel in control of, your imperfect decisions.

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04 Four At-Home Exercises To Strengthen Your Feet

Our exercise of the week is... standing toe stance exercises.

There are 29 muscles associated with each of your feet: 10 originate outside the foot but cross the ankle joint to act on the foot, and 19 are intrinsic foot muscles.

The intrinsic foot muscles are difficult to exercise and deteriorate quite rapidly as we age. This exacerbates poor balance & posture, walking pains, and foot aches.

⇒ Pains from feet that are losing their capacity to maintain their skeletomuscular structure and function spread up into your shins, knees, hips and lower back.

To exercise the intrinsic foot muscles, physiotherapists "traditionally" recommend exercises such as toe scrunches, picking up socks with toes, and raising toes one by one while resting your foot flat on the floor. You may be familiar with these, often done while seated.

As their understanding has evolved, physiotherapists have begun to acknowledge the superior benefits of weight-bearing exercises for engaging, coordinating and strengthening the intrinsic foot muscles.

⇒ Furthermore, standing exercises reinforce and sustain the neuromuscular pathways from your brain to your toes, a crucial pathway that is not improved when exercising while sitting. This is one reason that using gym machines is a big mistake for longevity.

Related: Why Exercising On Gym Machines Is A Mistake That Can Cut 5 Years Off Your Life​

What this means for you: Standing exercises naturally demand higher neuromuscular activation. This not only helps prevent falls, but it also helps you remain more neurologically and physically active, more confident and to live longer better.

Check this video for illustrations of the four specific exercises:

1. Standing isometrically on your toes or with a forward lean: Stand with your feet hip-width apart.; Lift your heels off the ground, rising onto your toes.; Hold the position, keeping your body straight or leaning slightly forward without bending at the waist; 2 sets of 10 to 15 seconds, 3 times a week.
2. Slowly raising up and down on your toes: Slowly lift your heels, rising onto your toes; Hold for a moment at the top; Slowly lower your heels back to the floor; 2 sets of 8-10 repetitions, 3 times a week.
3. Performing the previous exercise on an unstable surface to increase balance challenges: Use a foam pad or a balance board; Stand on the unstable surface with feet hip- width apart; Perform the exercise as described in #2; Begin with 2 sets of 6-8 repetitions, three times a week.​
4. Hopping up and down while standing on your toes: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and rise onto your toes; Perform small hops while staying on your toes; Land softly each time; Start with 1 set of 10 hops, three times a week.

These are the sort of exercises I do often to help my running, and to help alleviate or avoid foot, knee and hip pains from running. I know that they work.

I'm sure that you'll also feel the benefits yourself after 6 to 10 weeks of consistently doing them.

Good luck.​​​​

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​

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