 Peak gardening time is right now. June is lush and green. The days are warm, sunny and close to the longest we’ll have for the year. The soft evening light and breezes are perfect for long walks or just walking around your yard enjoying the fruits of your labor. All the back breaking early spring raking, soil amending with smelly manure, weed pulling, seed sprinkling and watering is suddenly worth it. The quarter inch sprouts you’ve nurtured are suddenly a foot tall and you don’t know where the time went. You see the yellow flowers breaking out on your tomato plants. Your peonies are bending over with heavy pink, red, or white blooms. Your roses perfume the air. Did you know that your love of plants is making you healthier by the day? Besides the exercise we get through all the bending, walking, and digging, gardening provides many other hidden benefits that are seldom discussed. Researchers from Bristol University and University College London have found that a common soil bacteria makes us happier, acting as a natural anti-depressant. (Paddock, 2007) Besides making us happier, the soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, has recently been shown to reduce inflammation as well as reducing stress responses. (Paddock C. , 2019) Gardening is wonderful for our mental health because it gives us a sense of purpose, gives us something to look forward to, allows us to nurture other living beings, and facilitates mindfulness. (Rayner, 2015) Japan has caught on to these benefits of spending time outdoors creating the concept in the 1980s to 1990s of shinrin-yoku, meaning “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere.” Forest bathing acts as both a mindfulness tool and exercise. It lowers stress and has even been shown to lower blood pressure. (Aubrey, 2017) You don’t even need an actual forest. Any plant-filled quiet area will do. Forest bathing is starting to become popular in America as well with churches and groups organizing forest bathing for their members. There is even talk of physicians writing prescriptions for forest bathing to help people lower stress and build resilience. Even health companies like Kaiser Permanente are talking about it. (Kaiser Permanente, 2020) Next time you find yourself at the local garden center loading your cart up with plants (okay, maybe that’s just me), you can check out knowing that you are investing in more than beautifying your yard, you are investing in your health and well being. References Aubrey, A. (2017, July 17). Your Health. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/17/536676954/forest-bathing-a-retreat-to-nature-can-boost-immunity-and-mood Kaiser Permanente. (2020, May 3). Thrive. Retrieved from Kaiser Permanente: https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org/thrive-together/live-well/forest-bathing-try Paddock, C. (2007, April 2). Retrieved from Medical News Today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/66840#1 Paddock, C. (2019, 5 31). Retrieved from Medical News Today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325357#Another-side-of-the-hygiene-effect Rayner, S. (2015, May 13). Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/worry-and-panic/201505/petal-power-why-is-gardening-so-good-our-mental-health  These days there certainly are a lot of advertisements touting memory enhancing products. Even Mayim Bialik Ph.D., a neuroscientist, who played the character Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler from the Big Bang Theory, is endorsing a brain health supplement. It would be simple and easier to pop a pill and improve our memory, but we know that when we care enough about ourselves to make us a priority and take time to care for ourselves, we can spend the time we need to keep our brain functioning optimally or to slow down deterioration that can impair our memory and cognitive functioning. Keeping the brain healthy is vital to healthy aging. The Alzheimer Association estimates that in 2021, 1:9 people 65 years or older (11.3%) has Alzheimer’s or approximately 6 million people. (1) Leveraging the expertise of one of our co-founders, who is also a neuroscientist, we have identified a large body of scientific research that demonstrates the benefits of physical and intellectual activity on brain function and an individual’s overall well being. To start, our brain is not static, it can create new neural connections and pathways, when stimulated through continuous learning activities. (2) Here’s how this works. Research studies have shown that physical activity stimulates certain areas of the brain which can facilitate the generation of new brain cells located in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. A study conducted at University of Pittsburg and University of Illinois revealed this important finding, that although the hippocampus can shrink one to two percent (3) as we age mature adults taking a 40-minute walk (aerobic exercise), three times per week for one year, resulted in a two percent increase in the size of their hippocampus and better brain functionality. (4) Aside from eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and at least eight hours of daily sleep, continuous learning has been shown to play a big role in maintaining healthy brain function. Importantly, continuous learning is not just taking a course in a formal class setting (some may go back to college) but also through a virtual learning platform. Continuous learning occurs throughout our daily lives. Continuous learning occurs while doing our favorite activities or learning new hobbies such as working on a crossword puzzle, watching a news show or documentary, cooking a new recipe, learning a second language, learning to play an instrument, joining a book club, volunteering at a favorite organization, and, yes, engaging in physical activities. In fact, learning new things gives us a brain boost. (5) So how does continuous learning support brain health as we age? For example, learning to play an instrument simultaneously engages the brain in the areas of memory, processing, and motor control. Similarly, taking a language course has shown improvements in the memory function related to tasks and short-term events. (6) The more we use, or exercise, our neural pathways, the stronger they become. Eventually, we can put less active thought into these actions because we’ve built strong pathways as we make a habit of performing this activity such as running or solving puzzles. And learning a new skill makes us feel confident and puts us in contact with like-minded people where we can build friendships or connect with groups, all of which improves our emotional health and well-being and gives us a better quality of life overall. (7) Who doesn’t need this after the year we’ve just been through? As fellow 50ups, we are committed to a continuous learning lifestyle – we’ve gone back to get MBAs, started new businesses, and started new hobbies like jewelry making. Be free to become who you are. It’s good for you. Articles Referenced:
1. Alzheimer’s Association.org: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures 2. Blake, Sharon. January 31, 2011. Moderate Aerobic Exercise in Older Adults Shown to Improve Memory. Study led by Pitt, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows brain hippocampus can be modified. http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/moderate-aerobic-exercise-older-adults-shown-improve-memory 3. Raz N, et al. Regional brain changes in aging healthy adults: General trends, individual differences and modifiers. Cereb Cortex. 2005;15:1676–1689. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] 4. The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Volume 75, Issue 6, July 2020, Pages 1155–1169. https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/75/6/1155/5519313 5. Lifelong learning in active ageing discourse: its conserving effect on wellbeing, health and vulnerability. Ageing Soc. 2018 Apr; 38(4): 651–675. Published online Nov 21, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5848758/ 6. Are There Any Cognitive Benefits of Computer-Based Foreign Language Training for Healthy Elderly People? – A Mini-Review. Frontiers in Psychology. Published online Jan 12 2021. Are There Any Cognitive Benefits of Computer-Based Foreign Language Training for Healthy Elderly People? – A Mini-Review (nih.gov) 7. Center for Disease Control (CDC) 8 Ways to Help Improve Your Brain Health. https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/healthy-body-brain.html  With erratic markets, an economy struggling to move beyond the COVID induced slow down and continued global instability, 2021 looks like a bumpy ride for those approaching or in retirement.
While time is the healer of market dips, some of us may be concerned about having enough time to wait out market slow-downs. As someone who is deeply into work on retirement preparation, I’m watching what well known savvy investors such as Warren Buffet are doing and saying. One piece of common sense that Buffett adheres to is not panicking and abruptly selling investments without a financial need. Buffett likes to invest in solid companies with products that people are going to use even in challenging times. He also repeatedly recommends that most people invest in S&P 500 exchange traded funds with low costs. With many companies now offering online banking and investment services we can monitor, add to or withdraw from our investment accounts from our living rooms. Some people approaching retirement are focused on creating retirement revenue streams such as developing a group of dividend stocks. This is a hot topic online with entire Facebook groups created to discuss it such as “Dividend Growth Investing” which has about 54,000 members and “Value Investing Dividend Stocks Forever” which has about 5,600 members. While we can’t control what happens in the stock market, watching our spending is something we control. Knowing what you can afford to spend each year, setting a budget and sticking to it can provide the needed cash to invest. As food prices have increased, many are starting or expanding backyard gardens. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, gardens can provide herbs, greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, peas and more. Besides cutting grocery costs, you don’t need to leave the house to get healthy ingredients for meals. As we go out less, we can save money and enjoy our time by having a friend over to share our home-grown foods on our patio or balcony. We’ll be posting healthy, garden-fresh recipes here on L4 so come back to check those out. If handy, we can do our own maintenance on our home or car. If not, another option is to trade skilled work or belongings with a friend or relative. During the pandemic peak, I traded yeast for a used webcam. Maybe you bake delicious cookies or make amazing salads and have a friend who will change the oil in your car in exchange for your delicious treats. We can remake or repurpose things like cleaning used jars and storing dried herbs or bulk salt in them. Or cutting the bottom off a milk jug and planting seeds in it. Or set up a plant exchange with friends, trading lilies, hosta, sedum or other easily separated plants. Knowing what your local community offers to help 50up adults is another way to save money. This year, some communities are waiving or reducing taxes for those 65+. Rent relief may be offered. Discounted or special heating programs may be offered. The best place to start is by calling your town hall or logging onto your town’s website. Food banks are helping fill the gap for those financially struggling. If you have experienced COVID-19 yourself, many insurance companies or local communities are picking up the cost of testing and some insurance plans are reducing treatment costs, especially for older adults. You can get vaccinated for free. Who doesn’t love free? Through steady, commonsense saving and investing combined with a do-it-yourself, thrifty lifestyle, retirement even in challenging times is possible. If you need help, realize there is nothing unusual with asking. Most people feel good about helping others, especially in unprecedented times of change. Disclaimer: Living Loud Living Long is not a financial advisor nor an investment firm. Seek a certified financial advisor before making investment changes or deciding on a strategy.  Many people have inspired me. I love meeting artists, philosophers, fellow scientists, especially fellow 50ups. One of the people who stands out for me is Stanley Bleifeld, a figurative sculpture who was a family friend. He must have been in his 70s or early 80s when we met. He continued to work daily on his art up until his passing at 86.
Not only did I get to meet and speak with him at length, but I got to meet him in his studio. One of his sculptures is a monument to the Civil Rights Movement, It Seemed like Reaching for the Moon located at the statehouse in Richmond, Virginia. He also created The Lone Sailor for the U.S. Navy in Washington D.C. By going to his studio, I got to learn from him. He explained the steps in his creation process including creating early models in wax. We saw rows of miniature creations that were precursors to his final monumental bronze sculptures. He worked in a massive barn-like building that must have been two stories high. He explained the height was needed for the cranes which had to be used to move around his massive art work. Tools for his art hung from racks around the wooden beam walls and winches from the ceiling. Stanley was open and willing to share his passion for art, even with me, who last sculpted a lumpy bear in grade school, except for my cheating use of cookie cutters to make pottery leaves and stars for mobiles. Stanley is symbolic of our L4 community. Someone moved to create. Someone who openly and humbly shares their passions. Someone who creates amazing things every day. Someone who is not defined by age, but by their dreams. I invite you to join our community. Show us how you are Living Loud and Living Long.... I know you are...don't hide your light. Dream It. Live It. Love It. |
AuthorDr. Candice Hughes: Dream It. Live it. Love it. (right after our daily caffeine). Archives
July 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed