I’ve been reading Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s new book, “Keep Sharp”. It’s a book about how to keep our brains functioning well as we age. It’s a terrific book and I highly recommend it to people of all ages because keeping the brain healthy and functioning well is a lifetime commitment. It is especially important as we age to make lifestyle choices that help rather than harm brain function. As a result of reading this book, I’ve made a list of commitments to myself that I’ve begun to implement and which I’m determined will be solid habits by my July 1st retirement date.
Number one on my list is getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night. I know I’ve mentioned many times about how difficult this is for me, but I learned a few things from reading the book that have helped me finally achieve this goal. Dr. Gupta makes the usual suggestions like creating a bedtime ritual, maintaining a dark cool room between 60 and 65 degrees, avoiding blue lights from clocks, televisions, cell phones, and e-readers, and avoiding conflicts before bedtime. The change I implemented was establishing an earlier bedtime hour to match my naturally early waking time. That means I’ve started getting ready for bed at 8:30pm and climbing into bed at 9pm. Wearing a mask definitely helps with the light from my bedside clock. As expected, the first couple of nights I woke up earlier than expected, but seeing that I had only been asleep for 4 or 5 hours, I made myself continue to lay in bed and think the kinds of thoughts that generally help me fall asleep. It worked. I quickly fell back to sleep and this week I managed to get between seven and eight hours of sleep every night. So early to bed is kind of strange, but I’m finally getting those important hours of sleep.
Number two on the list is 150 minutes of exercise five days a week and movement throughout the day. I already exceed the 150 minutes exercise five days a week but I notice that I spend too much time sitting throughout the day for work, television, reading, writing, or knitting. Dr. Gupta suggests that we need to be active every hour even if it is just to walk around for two minutes. So, I created little paper chore strips and put them in a bowl. I’ve made it a point when I am home, to pull at least three chores from the bowl throughout the day to motivate movement. Some of the chores include: washing a window, vacuuming a room, mopping a floor, dusting a ceiling fan, pulling weeds, or cleaning a toilet. There are tons of them and it makes my movement meaningful. Because of this innovation, I’ve ceased to dedicate one day to house cleaning because the chores are now spread over seven days. At the office, I use the two minute movements to slowly pack up my office or to get rid of things. Admittedly, I really enjoy this new found productivity.
The third commitment on the list is to eat less and to eat well, meaning to consume more of the seven colors of vegetables and fruits and far less meat and starches like pasta and rice. We switched over to organic foods a while back and we only have protein and vegetables for dinner. I gave up potato chips about two months ago in favor of organic skinny popcorn. It certainly helps that we grow most of our own produce. A few months ago, my doctor put me on an intermittent fasting diet and Dr. Gupta’s book seems to suggest that it’s a good idea. I’ve been limiting sugar for a while, so that isn’t new, but Dr. Gupta affirms the danger of sugar, fast food, fried foods, and processed foods. So, I’ve given up most processed foods and on cookies and cakes and pies unless there is a very special occasion and I’m working on limiting my trips to drive through fast food joints. I eat nothing from 6pm to 6am. That satisfies Dr. Gupta’s rule to not eat three hours before bedtime and provides me with the 12 hours of fasting my doctor suggests. That said, I admit that I can’t imagine a happy life without an occasional piece of fried chicken, though.
In total, I created a list of eight commitments for my retirement because I want to be as healthy, productive, and happy as possible for this next chapter of my life. I’m realizing that as with every other chapter in life, retirement is a journey, not a destination.
Next week I will address more of these commitments and how I plan to turn them into my lifestyle for retirement.