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January 2024

Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life

Dr. Rosanne Leipzig has published a book that belongs on your bookshelf if you are old or hope to be old in the future.  A geriatrician for forty years and vice chair for education in the Department of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City, Dr. Leipzig tells us what to expect in later life (although not exactly “when”) and how to process growing older. 

Chapters explain what’s normal and what’s not.  In 400 pages, Leipzig covers subjects from aches and pains to sex to how to know when to stop driving and so much more. Her book is jam-packed with useful information presented the way you would like your doctor to talk to you.

I couldn’t put it down.


Going Solo

Last fall, I did not renew my subscription to the local theater series that Peter and I had attended for years.  I’m not sure why.

When I heard the rave reviews about this season’s latest production, I thought perhaps I had made a mistake, sort of a FOMO (fear of missing out) feeling.  I decided to see if there were any last minute seats available, and I found a single ticket for a just-about-sold-out matinee.

The play, “Real Women Have Curves,” was marvelous. It’s probably headed for Broadway. 

Intermission was lonely, but I got over it.


Give Yourself a Break

If you spend a lot of time in front of a screen (like I  do), you probably know that you should take a break, even if just to look out the window. 

But if you think turning away from your work briefly is enough, a Washington Post  article on January 5th disagrees.  According to Tara Parker Pope, rest should not be passive.  We need to engage in “active rest” to give our brains a break.  She suggests taking five-minutes doing one of the following:

Exercise—it counts as brain “rest”

Work on a hobby

Take a micro-pause such as three deep breaths before the start of a Zoom meeting.

See wapo.st/47KtVlT for more.


A Tale of Woe

The other day I bumped into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in quite a while.  I greeted her warmly and asked how she has been.  Our one-sided conversation was a recitation of her frustrating health problems,  her issues with her doctors, and the status of healthcare in our country.

I listened, making appropriate comments.  I was genuinely sympathetic, but when I walked away, I reminded myself to never answer the question of how I am with a laundry list of my health challenges.

Still, I felt bad.


A Healthcare Crisis

If you have recently tried to make a non-emergency medical appointment, especially to see a specialist, you (and the rest of us) are a victim of physician burnout.  Personally, I am still a month away from a second opinion appointment I scheduled four months ago.

According to the American Medical Association, 63% of physicians experienced burnout in 2021, the latest year for which that information has been published.

Friends of mind have had a very positive experience with a geriatric clinic at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, and I was considering leaving my long-term healthcare provider to join it.  That is until I heard last week that it is closing.

Why?  Because healthcare has become a business, and this center was not profitable for the hospital.

My recommendation--stay healthy!


A Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of the (formerly) 70 (now) 80-something blog.  No one is more surprised that I am that it (and I) are still going 1680 posts later. 

I began to write to process my growing older, and it gives me enormous pleasure that so many of you have joined me in my journey.

Not sure that there will be a 90-something blog, but who knows?

Stay tuned.


The U.S, is an Outlier

A new year, a new start, so probably not the best time for the news about U.S. life expectancy falling further behind peer countries.  But according to a recent Washington Post article, An Epidemic of Chronic Illness is Killing Us Too Soon, the U.S. continues to fall behind in life expectancy.  In 2023, the U.S. was ranked #47 in a list of 201 countries with a life expectancy of 79.74 years. (Hong Kong was first with 85.83.)

We’ve bounced back a bit since the Covid pandemic took so many lives, but we are still behind.  What’s so troubling, according to The Post article, is that younger people are dying of diseases that used to strike at a later age.

Of course, there is good news about medical breakthroughs, including the swift development of Covid vaccines.

Let’s hope for more in ’24.

P.S.  for those who want the last three days of The New York Times' six-day energy challenge:  Day 4:  Make a list of close friends and prioritize those who energize you. Day 5: Think of what gets you in your "flow" and block out 15 minutes every day to do that--maybe work on a language or read a story.  Day 6: Try "monotasking."  Concentrate on one thing at a time. 

Lots of luck!


The Energy Challenge

I used to blog a lot about my body.  New wrinkles?  I mentioned them.  The hated brown aging spots?  Noted.  But lately, I seem to have stopped documenting those events.  Mainly, I think I am just lucky to be here.

However, this year I committed to The New York Time’s Well Newsletter 6-Day Energy Challenge which started on New Year’s Day. Why not?

The first day was easy—take five minutes away from whatever you are doing and before you are tired.  Pay attention to your breath for that five minutes.  That’s it. 

Day two has participants doing the following for 30 seconds each: (1) pretend that you’re boxing (2) pretend you’re serving and returning a tennis ball (3) do a ballerina pose—stand on tiptoe on each outstretched leg (4) jog in place (5) do a any yoga pose (6) “dribble” a basketball.

Day 3 was about getting more energy by including more protein, complex carbs and fiber into your diet.  I like the idea of spreading avocado on my morning toast.  Fruits and nuts are good snacks.

So far, so good.