Small things to help us age well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Learn a foreigner language.

What’s the best way to do it when job, parents, and kids take time. (Serious question).

Ten words and phrases a day, 5 days a week. Weekend is for repeating all 59. Record google translate saying them and you repeating. Listen while you are on a bike in the gym.
You got to put in the effort doing your own lesson plan first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After decades of morbid obesity and laziness, I have spent my 40s getting into a healthy BMI, a much better relationship with food, and a much higher level of daily activity. I want to maximize all of the years I have left, so I'm mining for small improvements I can make on a daily basis. I know I need to incorporate cardio and weight-lifting so that's my plan for the rest of 2024. I already:

* eat mostly plant-based
* walk 3-4 miles a day
* keep my weight in the healthy BMI range
* stay active by doing things like: parking far away from my destination, walk extra laps when I am at the mall, put things away one at a time to keep my steps] count up, etc
* the small things I've been doing: practice my balance while I brush my teeth, green tea, jog in place when my dogs sniff the same bush for what feels like forever, and I happen to love crosswords...

I would welcome any ideas you have for small ways to incorporate movement and better health into my life. I'm watching my very sedentary mother pass away in increments and I have so much left to do and see, I am thankful for any advice!

Just keep doing this until the day you die. That's pretty much it. Never stop moving, don't eat too much, and just keep going.

[Anonymous]

Sunlight daily

Keep moving

Stand rather than sit

Minimize stress

Sleep well

Become a minimalist

Avoid sugar

Minimize inflammation

Protect your neck, back, shoulders, knees, and feet

Once you hit a certain age, take steps to prevent falls. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

I've learned my lesson re: footwear. Tried to pack light on a trip. Took only 1 pair of shoes, a a very good walking shoe. I regularly wear for a walk. But other times, I would usually be in very specific shoe, a wooden clog. Not having those on my short trip resulted in an injury lasting 3 months.

[Anonymous]

10:38 again. I learned that athletes call this A Recovery Shoe. Apparently coming off the field, immediate attention is paid to stepping into footwear they have had designed specifically to help the foot/leg recover from athletic stress.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I have basically ditched our cars. We drive maybe one day a week to pick up groceries and that's it. We live in DC and take public transport. Metro is 1 mile away so we walk! We get 15K+ steps a day now.

[Anonymous]

Park away from entrances instead of looking for the closest spot (if you have no difficulties walking that is).

[Anonymous]

If you are on an SSRI and are female switch to a SSNRI because the former negatively impacts bone health. I am pretty knowledgeable about this kind of thing but had no idea about this.

[Anonymous]

A critical issue that midlife desk jockeys and elders face is loss of proprioception which is a primary cause of falls in later life.

Do balance exercises and spend time walking barefoot, especially on natural surfaces. It might hurt at first because the nerves in your feet have become inactive from years wearing shoes and walking on flat surfaces. Reactivate them by walking barefoot on natural surfaces every day if you can - you can get a simulated terrain mat for the house if an outdoors location isn’t an option for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Any small change is better than nothing. Pick anything that you can do.

- Maintain weight. Be a bit (a couple pounds) underweight if possible.

- Eat mostly a plant based whole food diet. Eat minimally processed food. If you become Vegan then you must take B-12 supplement, otherwise, if you want to be an omnivore then your meat, poultry, fish and dairy should be organic.

- Eat lots of veggies and fruits and eat it before you have any protein or carb.

- No soda, no added sugar, no junkfood, no alcohol, no tobacco product, no drugs.

- Alkaline food and drink is the best. So drink lemon water and drink at least 8 glasses of water.

- Do OMAD diet now and then. People who do fasting (like muslims during Ramadan) have lower risk of cancer due to autophagy.

- Do yoga for flexibility. Walk 8-10K steps a day. Lift weights.

- Dental health is must. Daily - Floss, water pik, salt gargles and clean tongue with a copper tongue cleaner. Twice yearly professional dental cleaning.

- Shower in the morning and then get morning sun exposure. Do not shower for several hours after getting your sunlight because it takes several hours for the vitamin d to be absorbed in your body.

- Multi-vitamin every day. Take the trio of - Vitamin D3-magnesium-K2 MK7 daily.

- Get your complete physical done in the first two months of the calendar year and make sure that all your deductibles are met early in the year. Get all your vaccines on time - flu, shingles, pneumonia etc.

- Take daily turmeric golden milk. Do not exceed more than 1 tsp of turmeric a day. It will control inflammation and pain.

- Get adequate sleep of good quality. Practice sleep hygiene. Get a sleep study done to make sure that you do not snore or do not have sleep apnea.

- Get a full cardiac check up done - CT Angio, ECG, EKG, nuclear stress test - every year. Get your colonoscopy and endoscopy done every 5 years. Get a mammogram and pap done if you are a biological woman.

- Get regular eye checkups, eat a well balanced vegetable heavy diet, do eye exercises, wear good quality sunglasses to protect your eyes, do not stain your eyes from excessive screen usage, and naturally charge your rods and cones of your eyes by looking at the early morning redness of the sky due to sunrise for a minute or two.

- Maintain social connections, entertain people at home regularly, make the effort to help others, be patient and forgiving, be pleasant to others. Remove negativity from your life. Pray or meditate regularly.

- At the age of 55-60, you should do a Swedish Death Cleanse and adopt a minimalistic lifestyle. The less stuff you have, the more time you will have to live your life. Downsize your possessions.

- Do Soduku, crossword, puzzles etc. Learn new things.

- Be familiar with technology and do not fear it.

- Do core exercises. Improve your posture. Make sure that the muscles of your legs remain strong and you have good balance. Tai Chi and Yoga are good for balance.

- Keep on making new friends. Travel. Have hobbies. Watch movies. Listen to music. Do things that you enjoy.

- Wear seatbelt while driving. Always wear good and supportive footwear.

None of this will add a statically significant amount of time to your life. You’re still going to die. Ultimately it’s mostly genetics. So enjoy yourself. Don’t waste time counting the number of hours between your shower and sunshine. I’m honestly snickering that there’s someone doing this.

You can snicker all you want, the most recent research has actually revealed that genetics is a much smaller factor than lifestyle, so ALL of this matters more than who f***ed who to make your arrogant self exist.

https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/30/healthy-lifestyle-may-offset-genetics-by-60-and-add-five-years-to-life-study-says


https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20240509/defeat-bad-genes-with-healthy-lifestyle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Floss daily.

Not really evidence-based, but do it if you enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small things definitely help so don't discount them.

I do a lot of mind/mental games.

Small stuff like changing my cell phone click to analog (so i have to use brain power to quickly calculate time), I have a trial version of Scrabble I play during down-time, etc.

I have read you have to learn something new, like a language, not just use your brain like crosswords.

OP-how is your social contact? As a single person who lives alone, I have to pay attention to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A critical issue that midlife desk jockeys and elders face is loss of proprioception which is a primary cause of falls in later life.

Do balance exercises and spend time walking barefoot, especially on natural surfaces. It might hurt at first because the nerves in your feet have become inactive from years wearing shoes and walking on flat surfaces. Reactivate them by walking barefoot on natural surfaces every day if you can - you can get a simulated terrain mat for the house if an outdoors location isn’t an option for you.

Here’s a good resource to get started: https://www.pulsepemf.com/blog/proprioception-increasing-balance-to-avoid-accidental-falls/

[Anonymous]

Decluttering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Any small change is better than nothing. Pick anything that you can do.

- Maintain weight. Be a bit (a couple pounds) underweight if possible.

- Eat mostly a plant based whole food diet. Eat minimally processed food. If you become Vegan then you must take B-12 supplement, otherwise, if you want to be an omnivore then your meat, poultry, fish and dairy should be organic.

- Eat lots of veggies and fruits and eat it before you have any protein or carb.

- No soda, no added sugar, no junkfood, no alcohol, no tobacco product, no drugs.

- Alkaline food and drink is the best. So drink lemon water and drink at least 8 glasses of water.

- Do OMAD diet now and then. People who do fasting (like muslims during Ramadan) have lower risk of cancer due to autophagy.

- Do yoga for flexibility. Walk 8-10K steps a day. Lift weights.

- Dental health is must. Daily - Floss, water pik, salt gargles and clean tongue with a copper tongue cleaner. Twice yearly professional dental cleaning.

- Shower in the morning and then get morning sun exposure. Do not shower for several hours after getting your sunlight because it takes several hours for the vitamin d to be absorbed in your body.

- Multi-vitamin every day. Take the trio of - Vitamin D3-magnesium-K2 MK7 daily.

- Get your complete physical done in the first two months of the calendar year and make sure that all your deductibles are met early in the year. Get all your vaccines on time - flu, shingles, pneumonia etc.

- Take daily turmeric golden milk. Do not exceed more than 1 tsp of turmeric a day. It will control inflammation and pain.

- Get adequate sleep of good quality. Practice sleep hygiene. Get a sleep study done to make sure that you do not snore or do not have sleep apnea.

- Get a full cardiac check up done - CT Angio, ECG, EKG, nuclear stress test - every year. Get your colonoscopy and endoscopy done every 5 years. Get a mammogram and pap done if you are a biological woman.

- Get regular eye checkups, eat a well balanced vegetable heavy diet, do eye exercises, wear good quality sunglasses to protect your eyes, do not stain your eyes from excessive screen usage, and naturally charge your rods and cones of your eyes by looking at the early morning redness of the sky due to sunrise for a minute or two.

- Maintain social connections, entertain people at home regularly, make the effort to help others, be patient and forgiving, be pleasant to others. Remove negativity from your life. Pray or meditate regularly.

- At the age of 55-60, you should do a Swedish Death Cleanse and adopt a minimalistic lifestyle. The less stuff you have, the more time you will have to live your life. Downsize your possessions.

- Do Soduku, crossword, puzzles etc. Learn new things.

- Be familiar with technology and do not fear it.

- Do core exercises. Improve your posture. Make sure that the muscles of your legs remain strong and you have good balance. Tai Chi and Yoga are good for balance.

- Keep on making new friends. Travel. Have hobbies. Watch movies. Listen to music. Do things that you enjoy.

- Wear seatbelt while driving. Always wear good and supportive footwear.

Dang, this is a good list!