Wonderfully useful article. Although no, one single intervention is likely to make change, a group of interventions is recommended, and among them the protection of Hearing that’s important to me; I have hearing loss, and I’ve been wearing hearing aids for over 10 years. Also, I facilitate a Hearing support group in my community. Bravo!
I'm figuring out how to approach the hearing part with my husband. I think it's time, but it can trigger some resistance to point out those types of things.
Thank you for saying that. And yes, that’s such a delicate one. Sometimes it lands better when it comes from a place of care and practical support, rather than “you need to fix this.” It makes sense to go gently.
Keep trying, Cary. It took many tries - and three different audiologists - before my husband would "admit" to hearing loss and finally get hearing aids. I think he was surprised they can be so hidden now. He had done that thing where he didn't want to socialize any more: nobody talks to me, he'd say. And I'd say they do talk to you but you don't answer!
Really enjoyed this article and found it interesting and encouraging. I was wondering why singing lyrics in Spanish at the top of my voice while enjoying a deep, warm bath gives me so much reward, pleasure and satisfaction 😂 (Sshhh don’t tell anyone - I don’t want people thinking I’m a weirdo) Many thanks @We Get Better With Age ❤️
Sometimes on my daily two-mile walk in the forest, I think in Spanish rather than English. I used to be fluent and now I'm not - and that's the coolness of it. It takes me back to that bilingual part of my mind, joyous years of my life, and slows down the chatter. Great idea to sing it, Irena!
Spanish has always sounded beautiful to me; it kind of lends itself to music really well. I have an Argentinian friend, an unknown guitarist/songwriter - I’ve learned to sing his lyrics just by listening to his songs and copying the sounds I hear. Luckily he’s broad minded enough to encourage me 😆 A 2 mile walk in the forest thinking in Spanish sounds like you doing your mind and body a power of good.
I love this! Honestly, singing Spanish lyrics at the top of your voice in a warm bath sounds like excellent brain and nervous system care to me. No weirdness detected! ❤️
Re "naps." A method I've used for 17 years now is following my almost daily yoga/physical therapy practice with savasana. In yoga classes, that "corpse pose" is rushed or doesn't happen, but I practice at home, sometimes with husband, cat, and dog, and we end the yoga with deep savasana that a yoga teacher/scientist friend tells me is "more healing than other kinds of sleep." At the end of the 40 minute yoga/physical therapy, I prop my feet and legs, pull a fleece over me, put in ear plugs if there's noise, don an eye pad, and gently relax each muscle in my body. If intrusive thoughts persist, I label them "thinking" (thanks Pema Chodron) or toss them mentally into my outdoor worm bin to turn to brown gold. Sometimes I go through my organs and praise them for working so well. But usually I'm in this deep peaceful place within seconds and wake so profoundly refreshed it's stunning every time.
A lot of people rush through savasana, but the deep relaxation part may be where much of the benefit happens. I love your description of treating intrusive thoughts gently and giving yourself permission to fully rest. Seventeen years is quite a testament to how well it’s worked for you ❤️
Wonderfully useful article. Although no, one single intervention is likely to make change, a group of interventions is recommended, and among them the protection of Hearing that’s important to me; I have hearing loss, and I’ve been wearing hearing aids for over 10 years. Also, I facilitate a Hearing support group in my community. Bravo!
Thank you, Hugh. I’m so glad you raised hearing.
It’s such an important piece, and I love that you’re helping others navigate it through your support group. Bravo right back to you!
This is soooo helpful. Thank you!
This one phrase totally resonated with me
"You are not your mother’s odds. You are your own, in your own time, with information she didn’t have."
My mother died at 72. My goal was to get to 72 plus one day, at least...... I did that, in fact I'm 74 and going strong.
Thank you for a fascinating article.
Thank you for reading it- I’m glad that line resonated with you!
And 74 and going strong is a beautiful thing to be able to say. ❤️
This was great. Thank you.
I'm figuring out how to approach the hearing part with my husband. I think it's time, but it can trigger some resistance to point out those types of things.
Thank you for saying that. And yes, that’s such a delicate one. Sometimes it lands better when it comes from a place of care and practical support, rather than “you need to fix this.” It makes sense to go gently.
Keep trying, Cary. It took many tries - and three different audiologists - before my husband would "admit" to hearing loss and finally get hearing aids. I think he was surprised they can be so hidden now. He had done that thing where he didn't want to socialize any more: nobody talks to me, he'd say. And I'd say they do talk to you but you don't answer!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Really enjoyed this article and found it interesting and encouraging. I was wondering why singing lyrics in Spanish at the top of my voice while enjoying a deep, warm bath gives me so much reward, pleasure and satisfaction 😂 (Sshhh don’t tell anyone - I don’t want people thinking I’m a weirdo) Many thanks @We Get Better With Age ❤️
Sometimes on my daily two-mile walk in the forest, I think in Spanish rather than English. I used to be fluent and now I'm not - and that's the coolness of it. It takes me back to that bilingual part of my mind, joyous years of my life, and slows down the chatter. Great idea to sing it, Irena!
Spanish has always sounded beautiful to me; it kind of lends itself to music really well. I have an Argentinian friend, an unknown guitarist/songwriter - I’ve learned to sing his lyrics just by listening to his songs and copying the sounds I hear. Luckily he’s broad minded enough to encourage me 😆 A 2 mile walk in the forest thinking in Spanish sounds like you doing your mind and body a power of good.
I love this! Honestly, singing Spanish lyrics at the top of your voice in a warm bath sounds like excellent brain and nervous system care to me. No weirdness detected! ❤️
Nice piece, good to see ACTIVE and FINGER in something this readable. I went deeper on what each trial actually shows from the clinical side here: https://atifhashmimd.substack.com/p/what-the-evidence-on-dementia-prevention Same map, different altitude. Glad to see careful writing in this space.
Thank you! And thanks for the deep dive, I think it’s important to talk more about this topic!
Re "naps." A method I've used for 17 years now is following my almost daily yoga/physical therapy practice with savasana. In yoga classes, that "corpse pose" is rushed or doesn't happen, but I practice at home, sometimes with husband, cat, and dog, and we end the yoga with deep savasana that a yoga teacher/scientist friend tells me is "more healing than other kinds of sleep." At the end of the 40 minute yoga/physical therapy, I prop my feet and legs, pull a fleece over me, put in ear plugs if there's noise, don an eye pad, and gently relax each muscle in my body. If intrusive thoughts persist, I label them "thinking" (thanks Pema Chodron) or toss them mentally into my outdoor worm bin to turn to brown gold. Sometimes I go through my organs and praise them for working so well. But usually I'm in this deep peaceful place within seconds and wake so profoundly refreshed it's stunning every time.
A lot of people rush through savasana, but the deep relaxation part may be where much of the benefit happens. I love your description of treating intrusive thoughts gently and giving yourself permission to fully rest. Seventeen years is quite a testament to how well it’s worked for you ❤️