⭑ Calculated your sleep cycle? ✔ Knowing it will help you get better sleep 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 her skills, and I had a new outlook and bright sunshine. I ran 5km along the foreshore park every 2nd day. Looking down on so many helicopters was a new experience! There is an exercise I do daily that I highly recommend. Apparently others think differently, as it took me an age to find one example of it buried in a Youtube video - see item #4. Ozempic-related medicines are turning out to have much wider-ranging benefits than originally understood, especially as we age — see Item #2. Few people know the duration of their sleep cycle, i.e., 90 minutes, 110 minutes, or 70 minutes. I worked mine out in my twenties, and I use this knowledge unconsciously now to help me plan my sleep. You should too — see Item #1 below. // 01 What Noone Has Told You About Your Sleep Cycle Knowing your personal sleep cycle improves your ability to manage your sleep and, therefore, to get better sleep. Managing your sleep allows you to maintain a more consistent circadian rhythm. This improves your daytime alertness and heart health by reducing blood pressure and metabolic inflammation. How do you do it? In my twenties, I started noting (mentally) when I went to sleep and when I woke - either during the night or in the morning. You'll read that our average sleep cycle is between 90 and 110 minutes. So, I would divide my minutes of sleep by 90 to see how many cycles. It was mostly not a round number, such as 4 or 5 or 6. So I tried dividing by more minutes e.g. 100, 110. Also mostly not a round number. I eventually found that dividing by 1 hour and 10 minutes resulted in a number that was most often a round number, remarkably accurate. So my sleep cycle is 70 minutes. ⇒ Knowing my sleep cycle is 70 minutes allows me to plan for better sleep in many ways, from setting alarms, to knowing when to go to sleep, to knowing how long to sleep in on the weekends, to knowing how long I might sleep on an airplane and when I plan to wake up. What this means for you: Here are ways to use your knowledge of your sleep cycle duration to improve your sleep and to reinforce your circadian rhythm:
Regarding your circadian rhythm: waking up at the top of your sleep cycle, and not in a trough halfway through the cycle, means you are alert and immediately in tune with your circadian rhythm. This helps reinforce your circadian rhythm and more so if you get out into the morning light. On the other hand, waking up at the bottom of a cycle can leave you lethargic and prevent you from giving your circadian rhythm a boost. ⇒ A poorly synchronised circadian rhythm is associated with cardiovascular disorders, poor neurological health, and increased stress and anxiety. Related: Why Walnuts Lower Heart Disease and Help You Sleep Better // 02 The Surprising Benefits of Ozempic Beyond Weight Loss Articles about "GLP-1 receptor agonists", such as Ozempic, have mainly focused on their potential for weight loss and diabetes management. However, emerging research indicates that these medications may offer a range of unexpected health benefits, including reduced risks of heart and kidney diseases, potential assistance with infertility, and even lower mortality rates from COVID-19. Recent insights into inflammation reveal its dual role: while it protects us in the short term, chronic inflammation can contribute to long-term diseases like heart disease and dementia. This complexity highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of inflammation and its implications for our health. ⇒ One eye-opening realisation is that inflammation doesn’t just accompany disease; it can actually initiate and exacerbate it. Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, calls “low-grade silent inflammation,” a silent killer. He found that people with elevated inflammation levels were at much higher risk for cardiovascular events, even when traditional risk factors like cholesterol levels appeared normal. As he says, "No one feels this low-grade inflammation, the same way no one feels their cholesterol, blood sugar or cholesterol". Moreover, the link between chronic inflammation and aging raises critical questions about the aging process itself. If inflammation accelerates cellular degeneration, then managing it effectively could be key to promoting longevity and cognitive health. What this means for you: Consider the following actionable steps:
⇒ The potential of GLP-1s not just for weight loss but as part of a broader strategy for enhancing your healthspan. Related: The Anti-Inflammatory Benefits of Exercise - Easier Than You Think @Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life // 03 Changing the Playing Field - Men and Hearing Aids Hearing loss is a widespread issue among men, but reluctance to wear hearing aids often boils down to one thing: the fear of looking "old" or "less capable." It’s not just about hearing; it’s about societal pressures linking aging with losing masculinity and vitality. As a result, many men would rather endure isolation and frustration than be seen as vulnerable. I'm reluctant to get them myself, even though I am well aware of the need, but we need to get over the hurdle of taking action. We can look at it from what we stand to benefit: Enhanced Social Life: Wearing hearing aids helps us fully engage in conversations, social events, and activities we love. No more pretending to catch every word, no more missing the punchlines—just genuine connection. Key Insight: Hearing aids aren’t just about hearing; they’re about staying connected to life’s most important moments. Today’s Tech: Hearing aids aren’t the clunky gadgets of yesteryear. These devices come packed with Bluetooth connectivity, smartphone apps, and even noise-canceling features. They’re sleek, smart, and designed to keep up with our lifestyle. Key Insight: Wearing a hearing aid today is like wearing cutting-edge tech, not a medical device. Protecting Cognitive Health ⇒ Research shows that untreated hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and depression. By using hearing aids, men aren’t just improving their hearing—we’re protecting our brain health and overall well-being. Key Insight: Hearing aids are about maintaining mental sharpness, not just sound quality. What this means for you: Here’s how you can take practical steps today:
⇒ Hearing aids aren't signs of weakness; they're tools for staying sharp, connected, and in control. Related: Dizziness And Cataracts - Is There A Link? // 04 Do This Simple Exercise To Boost Your Balance and Hip Strength Our exercise of the week is... resistance band leg march. It took me 10 minutes to find this exercise on Youtube, yet it's a must-do everyday exercise for us when we're older. It builds balance, posture and hip flexor strength. I do it daily with different strength resistance bands, and different movements - such as up slowly, hold, down slowly, or up fast, hold and down slowly. Up fast rebuilds your fast twitch muscles. This will help prevent you from falling. Holding at the top builds endurance, and slowly down builds strength. ⇒ Three times a week is perfect if you do the same variation every time. What it means for you: Check this video, at 3 min 53 sec. I do between 10 and 30 reps on each side. I do mine one side at a time as I find it easier to balance than on alternating legs, as in the video. Start with ten reps on each side, and vary the strength of the band and the reps as you get stronger. ⇒ Hold on to something if you cannot balance at first, but aim to do it without holding on to anything, as this will develop your overall balance. Related: How To Go From On-knee to Full Pushups, and Reap The Benefits 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.
⭑ Doing to much too soon will derail your exercise program ✔ Take a step back⭑ Skipping warm-up and cool-down stresses your joints ✔ Allow time⭑ Plateaus are natural, longer when you're older ✔ Learn to love them⭑ Good posture and controlled movements get you the best return on exercise ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and staying active. The newsletter is a different format today, just one item, with 10 hints to avoid mistakes that can reduce your gains...
⭑ Maintaining muscle health is one key to healthspan ✔ Three tips⭑ Inflammaging - what is it and how to tame it ✔ Gets worse as we age⭑ You can track your body's capacity to resolve stress ✔ I find it interesting⭑ Healthier back shoulders and biceps with the dumbbell row ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Summer's here down under. We’ve had some weird nights with the highest temperature for the day at 5 am! Perhaps that's why my...
⭑ These doctors will fact-check your medical queries ✔ For free⭑ How walnuts improve your brain health and your blood pressure ✔ Research⭑ Regular bad dreams? Talk to your doctor about it, here's why ✔⭑ The squat-calf raise combo is a fabulous muscle builder - not difficult ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Ouch! Running for the train last Wednesday I tore my nearly repaired hamstring again - set me back a few months. The irony was that...