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Michael Arndt's avatar

66 yo male here. Three days per week I sit driving 100 miles each way to one of my hearing centers, then spend 10 hours sitting helping people hear, then drive 100 miles home, have dinner and fall asleep in the easy chair. I definitely need to work in #3 and #4.

On the plus side - we invested in a hot tub and sauna w/ color light therapy and that plus a cup of chammomile tea before bed helps us sleep great and beat the winter blues. and I got disconnected from news and social media, took up the guitar and thats also helped my brain a bunch. We are travelling to The Azores so I took up Portuguese and learning a language is also great for my brain.

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Sounds like you have some great brain healthy habits!

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Michael Arndt's avatar

Dementia took the favorite person of my childhood, my Grandpa Wally. He went downhill after retirement. The couch is a killer, imo. So proud that my cousin Dr Jos

We work with many musicians, all over the US on their hearing issues, in addition to our 3000+ South Carolina patients.

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Michael Arndt's avatar

(Cont) So proud of my cousin Dr Joseph Arndt who led the Biogen team of scientists who figured out how to get their brain plaque removing medication through the blood brain barrier. He saw how our mutual grandfather suffered with dementia. And he spent his life in science / medicine and did something about it!

We also have had patients who had their dementia diagnosis rescinded once their brain got clear sound after wearing hearing aids for a period of time. Thats always a “break out the Kleenex” situation.

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

🤗

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Dr Vicki Connop's avatar

This explanation about morning brainwave patterns is so helpful. I've been working on having screen-free time at night and in the mornings - it helps to have a clear rationale for what I'm doing 😀

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

That's awesome Dr. Vicki!

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Caitlin - Aprive Wellness's avatar

Oh I love this!! Such clear and easy changes with medical explanations behind them. So well written.

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Thank for reading Caitlin!

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Caitlin - Aprive Wellness's avatar

My pleasure - anyone who posts evidence based wellness information is an absolute dream to me!

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Victoria Sours's avatar

I would also add “Not drinking alcohol” to your list

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

Thank you! I love Julie’s work for her practical advice we can incorporate in our lives every day - “News we can use!” I also love distilling things down to bullet points for the “Do’s”

1. On waking: get out of bed, breathe & stretch.

2. Focus: one single task at a time.

3. Glymphatic system: link to follow

4. Movement: get up at least once an hour, 10 min walk daily minimum

5. Consuming News: set time boundaries

Easy peasy 🤗 thanks again

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Thanks for reading!

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Bill Stump's avatar

These tips are helpful reminders and the science behind them is interesting. Making changes like these are simple, but not easy. Why do we know what to do but have difficulty doing it? I know there are a ton of books about building better habits, but again, the transition from the information to the action is key. How can we train our brains to do a better job of that?

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

You are absolutely right, knowledge doesn't change behavior! I was fascinated by this question so I took a course on behavior change specifically for health. Long story short - behavior change is hard, but it is possible. It's all about reducing barriers and increasing benefits. Community and accountability help too.

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Bill Stump's avatar

Thanks, Julie ... I find that if I can reduce friction and even eliminate decision-making -- decide once, then just execute -- I can be more consistent.

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Yes that’s great!

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

I’d like to know that too, Bill! I came across this recent note in my journal: “why don’t I help myself?”

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Bill Stump's avatar

Right on, and it's not just you. People know what to do, but building consistency is hard in an unpredictable world. The good news is that momentum works both ways -- start to do it daily, and pretty soon it's a habit and hard not to do it!

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

Yup, that’s it “action before motivation” Let’s do it!

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Jessica Alice's avatar

Stopped watching the news years ago, but sitting is definitely my downfall - as a distance-learning student & housewife, my only real break is getting up to go to the kitchen or the bathroom. I already do 1.5hrs a day of exercise, so adding in more isn't really feasible 😕

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Just standing up every hour will help!

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Rachel Aichler, FNP@SelfCare4U's avatar

Thank you! I don’t think anyone else could sum it up better and make it more simple to follow! Now, if this could be enforced as a 101 class, especially for all healthcare provider professions that would be awesome! 😊

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Thank you! That means a lot

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Pearl Wise's avatar

Luckily I do none of these. But I'm sometimes tempted to touch my phone. Bad habits die hard, but we can smoothen their hold in our lives.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thewisemillenial/p/how-to-feel-confident-in-your-body?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=494bem

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Bryan McMahon's avatar

This is all just such silly stuff. You really clog up the internet. Most of this is just plain wrong. Brain not designed for multitasking? You should learn about the human brain, you would be absolutely blown away by the multitasking abilities of the human brain. I think we haven't scratched the surface at all on how many things the brain can do at once, could well be infinite. How about this other one don't follow the news. Don't learn about what's going on in your world. Let the wolf eat you alive. Here's another one drink a feen in the morning but not in the afternoon. What is that got to do with anything? This is all just garbage.

There are real things you can do to help your brain. Feed it clean it stimulate it. Exercise it. Train it. NeurOptimal

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LYGAS's avatar

How would you know that, without being one?

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Ann Langley's avatar

Fantastic information. Thank you.

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

Thanks for reading!

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Andrew Posh's avatar

Unfortunately we need to watch the news, too much going on!!

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

I'm not suggesting anyone remain uninformed. I'm suggesting you consider how and when you consume news and how it affects your nervous system.

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Ted Boucher's avatar

As a music, I have been doing two, sometimes three things at once. Should I stop?

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Julie Fratantoni, PhD's avatar

If it's all towards the same goal of creating a coherent piece of music, that's not multitasking. Multitasking is two different goals at the same time.

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Ted Boucher's avatar

Thanks for the pass.

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BB's avatar

What about the use of silica water for Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment?

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

Link to Dr Ryan McCormick’s Post on the Glymphatic System, really fascinating!

https://open.substack.com/pub/mccormickmd/p/is-there-a-better-head-position-for?r=2ly01h&utm_medium=ios

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