Sleep inertia is the groggy feeling we sometimes experience upon waking. We notice it most during the first 15 to 30 minutes after waking when our cognitive function dips for a while. Sleep inertia is worst when waking during the "biological night" after we have missed out on sleep. It might also be linked to deeper sleep. Sleep inertia could reflect adenosine being inefficiently cleared from the brain during sleep. Following unwanted disruptions to our sleep, the process could encourage us to stay asleep rather than become fully awake.

Sleep inertia

It's sometimes referred to as the transitional state between sleep and waking.

health

Health

habits

Habits

What is sleep inertia? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Calories are a measurement of energy a food provides. The proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in food contribute to the number of calories the food provides. Carbohydrate foods are made up of starches, fibre, and sugars and contain four calories per gram. Consuming a lot of refined carbohydrates like white rice and bread can result in excess calorie intake. If you count carbohydrates, ensure you eat enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains to get essential vitamins and minerals.

The Difference Between Carbs and Calories

<ul><li>Fat. A gram of fat provides nine calories. Foods high in fat can increase caloric intake and help you feel full and satiated. Eating a small amount of fatty food may make you feel satisfied sooner and help you eat less overall.</li><li>Protein. One gram of protein provides four calories. Proteins include animal proteins, plant-based proteins and legumes. Protein powers your muscles and contributes to healthy organs, hair and blood.</li><li>Sugar is a type of carbohydrate. Foods such as fruits and dairy products contain natural sugars that provide energy. Excess sugar consumption is linked to health issues.</li></ul>

Fat, protein and sugar

To lose weight you should burn more calories than you consume. You can burn more calories through exercise or increased daily activity or by consuming fewer calories each day. <ul><li>Calorie counting helps you monitor how much food you're consuming.</li><li>But not all calorie counters and apps are accurate. For some people, calorie counting could lead to disordered eating.</li><li>There's also a risk of nutritional deficiencies if you don't take a holistic view of your calorie intake.</li></ul>

Pros and cons of counting calories

Following a low-carb diet can be helpful for people to monitor their carb intake such as people with diabetes. <ul><li>It is relatively easy to track carb intake since nutrition labels clearly list carb counts.</li><li>However counting carbs may lead to overconsumption of foods that don't contain carbs, but are high in calories or other macronutrients.</li></ul>

Pros and cons of counting carbs

If you have a weight loss goal, you may consider whether to count or reduce carbs vs. calories in your diet. Both methods have pros and cons.

food

Food

Should You Count Calories or Carbs to Lose Weight?

Studies have shown that you can help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia with some basic good health habits:·       staying physically active·       getting enough sleep·       not smoking·       having good social connections·       limiting alcohol to no more than one drink a day·       eating a Mediterranean style diet.

6 simple steps to keep your mind sharp at any age

A higher level of education is associated with better mental functioning in old age. Experts think that advanced education may help keep memory strong by getting a person into the habit of being mentally active. Challenging your brain with mental exercise is believed to activate processes that help maintain individual brain cells and stimulate communication among them. Many people have jobs that keep them mentally active. Pursuing a hobby, learning a new skill, volunteering or mentoring are additional ways to keep your mind sharp.

1. Keep learning

The more senses you use in learning something, the more of your brain that will be involved in retaining the memory. In one study, adults were shown a series of emotionally neutral images, each presented along with a smell. They were not asked to remember what they saw. Later, they were shown a set of images, this time without odors, and asked to indicate which they'd seen before. They had excellent recall for all odor-paired pictures, and especially for those associated with pleasant smells. So challenge all your senses as you venture into the unfamiliar.

2. Use all your senses

Myths about aging can contribute to a failing memory. Middle-aged and older learners do worse on memory tasks when they're exposed to negative stereotypes about aging and memory, and better when the messages are positive about memory preservation into old age. People who believe that they are not in control of their memory function are less likely to work at maintaining or improving their memory skills and therefore are more likely to experience cognitive decline. If you believe you can improve and you translate that belief into practice, you have a better chance of keeping your mind sharp.

3. Believe in yourself

If you don't need to use mental energy remembering where you laid your keys or the time of your granddaughter's birthday party, you'll be better able to concentrate on learning and remembering new and important things. Take advantage of smart phone reminders, calendars and planners, maps, shopping lists, file folders, and address books to keep routine information accessible. Designate a place at home for your glasses, purse, keys, and other items you use often.

4. Prioritize your brain use

When you want to remember something you've just heard, read, or thought about, repeat it out loud or write it down. That way, you reinforce the memory or connection. For example, if you've just been told someone's name, use it when you speak with him or her: "So, John, where did you meet Camille?"

5. Repeat what you want to know

Repetition is most potent as a learning tool when it's properly timed. It's best not to repeat something many times in a short period, as if you were cramming for an exam. Instead, re-study the essentials after increasingly longer periods of time — once an hour, then every few hours, then every day. Spacing out periods of study helps improve memory and is particularly valuable when you are trying to master complicated information, such as the details of a new work assignment.

6. Space it out

“That which is used - develops. That which is not used wastes away.”-Hippocrates

Development Quote

Memory lapses can occur at any age, but aging alone is generally not a cause of cognitive decline. Studies show that you can help improve memory and reduce the risk of dementia with some basic good health habits.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

problemsolving

Problem Solving

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

6 simple steps to keep your mind sharp at any age - Harvard Health

Most octopuses can eject a thick, blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main coloring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin color.

Do octopus squirt ink?

An octopus (pl: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda.

Octopus - Wikipedia

The difference in the amount of dissolved sweeteners leads to a difference in density.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Cans of regular soda tend to be denser than water, so they sink.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Cans of diet soda are usually less dense than water, so they float.</li></ul>

Why does diet soda float and regular soda does not?

The density of a can of regular soda is just over 1 gm/cc, while that of a can of diet soda is just under.This makes for a dramatic display of density differences. A 12-oz can of regular soda will sink in the same container of water in which the same brand of diet soda floats.

More Detailed Explanation

Sinking and Floating Cans Experiment

Research shows that inflammation is often the root cause of major diseases in the body. Learn how to defend yours from it daily and with ease.Inflammation is the health buzzword of our time. It's linked to just about every ailment and disease, and to countless diets promising to reverse it. But what causes the condition, and can we really quell it?

6 Lifestyle Changes You Can Make to Protect Your Body Against Inflammation

The real culprit is chronic inflammation, an ongoing immune response triggered by stress, processed foods, poor sleep, and other modern-day menaces. Essentially, your body is pumping out white blood cells to protect you from perceived threats. (Acute inflammation, on the other hand, is a helpful, temporary influx that helps heal a paper cut or fight a cold.)

Chronic Inflammation Culprit

Persistently heightened levels of white blood cells and their by-products (like cytokines, proteins that can trigger inflammatory reactions) can damage tissues and organs and impair immune function, says Christopher D'Adamo, Ph.D., director at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. That damage can outwardly manifest in symptoms like skin rashes and persistent joint pain, fatigue, or digestive problems—and contribute to diseases including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and depression.6  Changes You Can Make to Protect Your Body Against Inflammation

Damage Caused by Inflammation

The occasional scoop of ice cream is A-OK, but too many high-glycemic foods (treats and snacks with lots of added sugars and refined carbs) can cause your blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly after eating. Oxidative stress can also ensue, which is when unstable free radicals outnumber the body's antioxidant defenses and contribute to cell and tissue damage, sparking inflammation.

1. Avoid Excess Sugar

Colorful, Aromatic Foods Are BestThese helpers, which include flavonoids and carotenoids, are abundant in deeply pigmented, aromatic foods like citrus, berries, tomatoes, red cabbage, broccoli, dark leafy greens, parsley, garlic, ginger, dark chocolate, turmeric, and tea.

2. Consume Foods That Fight Inflammation

When bad bacteria (including potentially harmful pathogens like E. coli) are disproportionate to good ones, we can develop gut dysbiosis. This condition lets harmful substances (toxins produced by gut bacteria) to leak from the intestines into the bloodstream, which can cause chronic inflammation throughout the body.Anything from saturated fats to stress can drive this process, but plants help undo it.

3. Care for Your Gut

Opt for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated (from fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive oil) rather than saturated (common in fried foods). In high quantities (more than 13 grams a day, for most people—think a bacon cheeseburger), the latter may decrease the diversity of beneficial microbes in your gut, priming you for a flare-up.

4. Eat Superfats

Working out causes normal, short-term bouts of acute inflammation (which help your muscles repair and grow), but it can also have net benefits over time. A study found that just 15 minutes of strength training a day led to changes in the gut microbiome associated with higher levels of short-chain fatty acids and reduced inflammatory markers. Exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight, which is important because excess fat tissue releases pro-inflammatory cytokines.

5. Move More

Quality shut-eye helps your body regulate cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone secreted in response to stressful events to boost alertness and prime you for physical activity. When it flows unchecked, it may increase inflammation. Stress also often leads to poor eating habits, compromised immune function, and digestive issues—all of which contribute to chronic inflammation.

6. Get Quality Sleep

“Reduce inflammation to treat the root of many issues. If your gut isn't working right it can cause so many other issues.”-Jay Woodman

Inflammation Quote

How to Protect Your Body Against Inflammation

Not stretching as much as you know you should? What's revealed by this research will change that.Recent research suggests stretching could have health benefits far beyond range of motion. Some studies associate stretching with heart health, healing from injury, even enhancing the body’s response to cancer. Research has yet to discern if there is a significant correlation and if it depends on stretching actively (as in vinyasa yoga) or more passively (as in Yin Yoga), but here’s what we know at the moment. 3 (surprise) health benefits of stretching

The Hidden Benefits of Stretching 

In 2020, research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggested that regular stretching may improve cardiovascular health in adults over 40 by reducing arterial stiffness, resting heart rate, and blood pressure. Researchers involved with the meta-analysis concluded that stretching may help prevent plaque buildup in the arteries and prevent the progression of atherosclerosis.

1. Cardiovascular health

A study indicated that regular stretching might improve inflammation regulation in connective tissue. Inflammation is part of the natural healing cycle of injured or infected tissue, causing it to feel hot, swollen, and sore. However, if it continues over time, it can cause changes in posture or movement habits. Stretching was suggested as a helpful addition to existing pharmaceutical treatments for chronic inflammation.

2. Reducing inflammation

A recent study offers hope that regular stretching could play a role in cancer treatment and prevention. Researchers found that daily stretching was shown to reduce tumor size by 52 percent in the absence of any other treatment. The rather astonishing results could be due to interactions between stretching, chronic inflammation, and the immune response. While this research has yet to be extended to human patients, it appears that stretching could potentially be a low-cost, gentle, and noninvasive supplement to traditional cancer treatments.

3. Supporting the immune response to cancer

The benefits of stretching extend far beyond flexibility. Research suggests that regular stretching could incur surprising health benefits.

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

The Hidden Benefits of Stretching (That You've Definitely Never Heard of Before)

Being too hot <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01208-3/fulltext">makes you unwell and can even kill you</a>. Some people are more <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england/supporting-vulnerable-people-before-and-during-a-heatwave-for-health-and-social-care-professionals">vulnerable to heat</a>. People over 65, under five, pregnant women, those with medical conditions (such as heart disease and mental health conditions) and those who work outside need extra protection in hot weather. You can increase your <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/userfiles/works/pdfs/2017-124.pdf">tolerance to heat</a> if you acclimatise slowly over time.

Hot Or Cold

Research shows that putting your feet in cold water is a good way to reduce core body temperature and keep your organs working. It will also help reduce swelling in your ankles and feet.However, having a lukewarm shower or bath will cool you down faster and is the most effective way to cool down. Don’t be tempted to soak in freezing cold water as cold shock can be dangerous. In drought conditions, conserve water and concentrate on cooling either your feet, hands or neck and face.

Lukewarm Shower To Cool Down

The refreshing breeze from an air fan against your skin might feel good but it <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fans-may-be-okay-for-muggy-days-but-avoid-them-in-extreme-dry-heat/#:%7E:text=The%20EPA's%20Excessive%20Heat%20Events,not%20prevent%20heat%20related%20illness.%E2%80%9D">does not always cool you down</a>. Fans can actually make you feel worse, especially in dry heat conditions, speeding up dehydration and heat illnesses. The guidance from the World Health Organization is that <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health">using a fan above in temperatures above 35°C </a> will not reduce your chance of getting <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heat-exhaustion-heatstroke/">heat exhaustion and heatstroke</a>.

Fans Don't Work About 35 Degrees

It is important to stay hydrated and replenish the minerals <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4939859/">we lose when we sweat</a>. On average in very hot conditions (high 30s) we sweat <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236237/#:%7E:text=Sweat%20rate%20is%20proportional%20to,to%20300%20ml%20per%20hour.">3-4 litres per hour and up to 10 litres a day</a>, the same as 40 cups of tea. For a short amount of time, hot drinks <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/does-drinking-hot-drinks-on-a-scorching-summers-day-really-cool-you-down/a-16974502">raise your core body temperature</a>. But it induces sweating, which then lowers your temperature. <a href="https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-science-exchange/article/cold-water-and-ice-slurry-ingestion-for-reducing-body-temperature-during-exercise-in-the-heat">Cold and ice drinks do cool</a> you down too. It’s thought hot drinks might be slightly more effective than cold. Whatever the temperature, drink lots of fluid.

Drinking Warm Water

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670719302550#:%7E:text=Nature%2DBased%20Solutions%20(NBS)%20are%20interventions%20that%20address%20social,approach%20to%20increasing%20urban%20sustainability.">Green walls and roofs</a> not only look pretty but can <a href="https://livingroofs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/LONDON-LIVING-ROOFS-WALLS-REPORT-2019.pdf">cool the buildings</a> beneath them by as much as 12℃, while green walls can be up to 32℃ cooler than conventional walls and save 59% of energy costs as well as providing sound insulation.They cool flat-roofed buildings in summer and insulate them in winter, reduce the risk of flooding by soaking up rainwater, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479721018120">filter air pollution </a> and provide refuges for <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/policy-briefings/nature-based-solutions-adaption-report.pdf">rare and threatened wildlife</a> – which can <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/extreme-heat-triggers-mass-die-offs-and-stress-for-wildlife-in-the-west">struggle</a> with the heat too.

Those Amazing Green Walls

Another way to beat the heat is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/may/10/wild-swimming-uk-10-top-rivers-pools">wild swimming</a>. But be aware of cold shock. Slowly submerge your body in the water, understand the limits of your swimming ability and the rules about where it is safe to swim, because <a href="https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/drowning-deaths-rise-respect-water-campaign/#:%7E:text=A%20nationwide%20campaign%20urging%20people,277%20accidental%20drownings%20in%202021.">many people drown</a> in hot weather.

Wild Swimming

Leaving fresh water dishes in your garden or balcony can make all the difference for wild animals. Birds and hedgehogs will appreciate the food you put out for them any time of year but during the summer the ground can harden, making it harder to forage. Plants also suffer from the heat. You can help by learning when the best time to water them is.And watch out for pets. Do not leave them (or people) in cars. It is best to walk pets in the morning or evening when the pavement and ground surface is cooler.

Animals And Heat

Climate change is driving a rise in heatwaves. One study showed that someone born in 1960 is on average likely to experience around four heatwaves, whereas someone born in 2020 is likely to experience 30 heatwaves with 1.5°C warming. We have a 50% chance  of hitting this level in the next ten years.So protecting yourself from heat may seem like common sense, but it could be the difference between life and death.

The Bottom Line

Taking a lukewarm shower is better than a cold one to beat the heat!

Heatwaves can leave you in a sticky situation.

What science says about the best ways to cool down

The practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years, particularly as a part of spiritual or philosophical practice. It has gained widespread popularity, becoming more secular and mainstream and gaining traction in Western medicine and practice, picking up speed over the last several decades.

Meditation: Overview, Research, and Effectiveness

Meditation is the process of attuning one’s focus to a single object, sound, concept, or experience. It encapsulates several techniques, such as contemplation, concentration, and meditative movement, allowing people to achieve this deep connection.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

meditation

Meditation

Meditation: Overview, Research, and Effectiveness - The Human Condition

Ageing is for everybody. However, you can have two people of the same chronological age, they’re the same years on the planet, but if you look at their cells, one person might have a lower biological or cellular age. Making different lifestyle choices will affect your biological age.

We have two ages

Each cell in our bodies has a limited number of times it can divide. The number of times your cells can divide is determined by the rate of loss of the protective caps of each chromosome at each cell division.  These caps are called telomeres. Telomeres are similar to the plastic cap on your shoelaces that prevent the lace from fraying. Once the telomeres are gone, the DNA is unstable and stops dividing. Lifestyle factors like poor diet, inflammation, or lack of movement can increase your cell divisions and the rate you’re losing the telomeres on your chromosomes.

Why we age

Our bodies need a lot of movement to operate fully. In almost every single medical issue, movement is listed as something that can prevent or restore an issue.  <ul><li>Movement protects muscles and joints.</li><li>A lack of exercise can affect the health of your eyes, your brain, and your digestion.</li><li>It can negatively impact your energy levels, lipid panel results, or how well you feel each day.</li><li>A lack of exercise can cause your cells to age faster. </li></ul> This doesn’t mean that we need to be marathon runners. Instead, we need to find ways to increase our habitual activity levels.

Our bodies require movement

Movement and exercise are separate ideas. There are three different useful definitions when it comes to moving more.<ol><li>Movement is the broadest category. It is any time you change the load on your body parts. </li><li>Physical activity is within the broader frame of movement. It is any time you move your body to get something done, whether that’s exercise or chores around the house, etc.</li><li>Exercise is a sub-category of physical activity. It usually has a predetermined duration and mode. “I’m going to take a walk for 20 minutes.”</li></ol> From a public health standpoint, we need to do physical activity.

How to move more

Most of our culture will see itself as promoting convenience,  yet convenience is almost always about reducing the movement it takes to do something. In our modern culture, we do many things with the movement of the finger, such as using our smartphone or iPad or even ordering food or groceries. Before, we had to walk into a grocery store and move around.

Movement and culture

Our day can be broken into five categories:S - Sleep timeL - Leisure timeO - Occupation or our workT - Transportation, moving from point A to point BH - Home We need to get movement in all our domains. Exercise will fit into the leisure category. We can opt for active transportation, such as walking somewhere or riding a bike.

The SLOTH economical model to get more movement

There is a range of nutrition that we need. If kale is the best food and you only ate kale, you’d be ill because kale is not enough by itself. Movement nutrition is the same way. You could be a regular exerciser and not get enough elbow extension and flexion. Maybe your left ankle, even tho you take a walk every day, doesn’t move very much. Perhaps you cycle every day, but it doesn’t help the hip bones in terms of weight-bearing.

Not just moving but getting more of your parts moving

You’re never not moving. We’re under a gravitational load all the time. But if you’re sitting in a chair for nine hours a day, that is the movement food you’re eating the most.  So if you’re sitting at your desk all day, maybe stand for a portion of work or adjust your position in the chair a bit. Or schedule a time to take a lap around the office.

You're Never Not Moving

Biomechanist, author, and movement expert, Katy Bowman, M.S. on how to age dynamically.

For some context, this was how Katy's talk was written up by the presenters at the library: Biomechanist, author, and movement expert, Katy Bowman, M.S., will provide an engaging and interactive presentation on how to age dynamically. Katy will cover the difference between movement and exercise, why both the whole body and each body part needs its own dose of movement, and how to fit more movement throughout each day. Katy’s books, including Dynamic Aging, can be found in print and eBook at the library.Find all of Katy's audiobooks at nutritiousmovement.com/audiobooks

podcasts

Podcasts

For some context, this was how Katy's talk was written up by the presenters at the library: Biomechanist, author, and movement expert, Katy Bowman, M.S., will provide an engaging and interactive presentation on how to age dynamically. Katy will cover the difference between movement and exercise, why both the whole body and each body part needs its own dose of movement, and how to fit more movement throughout each day. Katy’s books, including Dynamic Aging, can be found in print and eBook at the library. --Find out more about the Wheat Retreat at https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/product/wheat-retreat/

Although the world is becoming mostly sedentary, our bodies still require a wide variety of daily movements in order to work well. Many of us struggle to get regular exercise, but even that can fall short of nourishing the body from head to toe. How can we move more—a lot more—when we have sore, stiff parts and overly busy lifestyles?  Join Katy Bowman M.S., biomechanist, author, and movement educator as she combines big-picture lessons on biomechanics, kinesiology, physiology, and natural human movement with simple and practical solutions and exercises to get all your body parts moving better. Katy’s lighthearted and funny approach helps us all put the movement back in our lives, and the joy back in our movement!

Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

Ep 132: How Movement Fits into Intentional Aging

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