Tuesday May 2, 2023 (Journal Entry)
In Japan your doctor can give you a prescription for a walk in the woods…
How does one stay healthy (besides walking in the woods, which by the way, is not an insignificant part of the equation…) Good physical health and good mental health, including the preservation of memory, are things we have a good bit of personal control over. To do that, there are five areas that we should focus on. These are explained in detail in Sanjay Gupta’s book “Keep Sharp.” I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure most doctors would agree with these things without hesitation, In fact, Gupta’s book was recently recommended to me (doctor’s orders) and I’m very grateful for that.
Exercise
Physical exercise. Be active. Whatever it takes to keep moving the body.
Rest
Good sleep and stress reduction. I have started to discover meditation and I think it is going to be transformative.
Nutrition
Eat smart, all things in moderation. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Learning
Learn something new each day. Write it down, talk about it, use as many senses as you can.
Connection
Spend time socializing and connecting with people.
By the way, I’m not personally convinced that being active on Instagram and Facebook is what is really meant by connecting with people. I still have Instagram and Facebook accounts, but I no longer spend time on those apps. I’m not aware of any studies that have shown them to be healthy activities, I suspect they are anything but that in reality. Connecting with people means connecting fact-to-face, not Facebook-to-Facebook… For the record, I don’t maintain this website because it makes me feel like I am connecting with people, I maintain this website because I love to write, doing so brings me joy, and the act of writing here reinforces the learning and experiences I am gaining in my everyday life.