Friday, May 28, 2021

Play and Exercise

 

Daniel Lieberman, not related, is an Evolutionary Biologist at Harvard. His new book “Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding” Is provocative to say the least.  Dr. Lieberman maintains that the way we exercise is odd in that “we never evolved to exercise.” He pointed out that in the last 150 years or so we developed machines that assist us in every way.  In fact, it negatively contributes to burning fewer calories and limits blood flow to both arms and legs. In his study of the Hadza .the Hunter-Gatherers of a Tanzania tribe, like our Stone Age cousins, found they were strong but lean so as not to waste calories on activities that did not contribute to acquiring food. They did not look like the body builders of today. They were afraid to lose calories because it might result in their death.  Dr. Lieberman acknowledged that aerobic exercise, strength training and high intensity interval training are beneficial for physical health in dealing with diseases like obesity ,diabetes ,cardiovascular conditions, Alzheimer’s and cancer. He didn’t blame many for not exercising because he realized that exercise isn’t fun. It is my position that the need to play, a physical activity, coupled with other needs are associated with exercise and are significant and necessary components for well-being. Play and exercise bring joy and aplomb.

It’s apparent that aggressiveness is in man’s nature .Aggressiveness is built into our cortex and serves as a defensive function against threats to survival and is necessary for survival. It’s also apparent that man has created aggressive and hostile producing conditions. There are major differences between biological adaptive life serving benign aggressive conditions and biological non-adaptive malignant, sadomasochistic, and hostile aggression. Further, within biological adaptive life serving benign conditions, we can identify and illustrate pseudo-aggression.

Pseudo-aggression may cause harm but it is not intended to do so. An example of pseudo-aggression can be initial playful aggression that centers on exercise, skill and not intended to harm and not motivated by hate. Take a Stone Age child that runs {play} because it feels good to move. Later, he may test his ability by running {achievement, dominance, affiliation} with others. He may also throw a rock at a considerable distance and then test the skill against others. He then learns to throw a spear for distance, accuracy and becomes a hunter {dominance} for survival.

Mike Keller, was a Michigan All-American and Dallas Cowboy.  At four years of age, Mike raced his mother. His mother never let him win. Initially playful activities prepared the Stone Agers and Mike for adolescence, survival and competitiveness. Initially, the need to play surfaces which is often physical activity. It was simply having “fun” at first. Later, it became an enjoyable way to relax and remove stress. Much later, the need to play evolved to competitive games along with other needs (dominance, abasement, affiliation, achievement}, resulting in activities of sports, dancing, career, health etc.

According to Lewis Mumford, “to exert power in every form was the essence of civilization, the cities found a source of ways of expressing struggle, aggression, domination and servitude .” With the development and evolution of civilization, man’s psychological needs of dominance [to control one’s environment]; abasement [ to accept injury, blame, criticism, punishment and to seek and enjoy pain,  illness and misfortune]; achievement [to accomplish something difficult, to master, overcome obstacles, establish a high standard, to excel, to rival and surpass others to increase self-regard by the successful exercise  of talent]; affiliation [to draw near and to  cooperate or reciprocate with an allied other, to please and win affection of a cathected object and to adhere and remain loyal to a friend] ; play{  to act for fun without further purpose, to like to laugh and make jokes, to seek enjoyable relaxation of stress} were  developed  within character . Character evolves and develops as a consequence of interpersonal interactions with parents, society within the culture.

Games, play, competition, skill and needs of dominance, abasement, achievement, affiliation and play were exemplified in 776 BC with the establishment of the Olympic Games which also honored Zeus. These games became a political tool used by the city states to assert dominance over their rivals. They even had a truce that enabled the athletes to travel from their cities to the games in safety. These games spread the Hellenistic culture, and featured religious celebrations .In fact, the statue of Zeus, at the Olympics, was described as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Note, only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate and have fun.

Today, we have “amateur” sports at the high school, club and college levels. Some that excel at the high school level are given scholarships to attend college. Those that excel at the college level enter in the professional and economic world of sports. Once again we see needs of dominance, abasement, achievement, affiliation and play necessary for sports participation. In order to participate in sports, one exercises. Practice can be brutal stated Mike Keller.

Physiologically we evolved to be upright. We know that movement is beneficial for physical and psychological health. Developmentally, we learned to walk. Note, we are psychologically aggressive for survival and with the development within our psychological need and physiological structure, the need to play surfaced. Play allowed us to develop running, kicking, throwing, and catching. These skills became apparent in individual competitions with games, and for team sports. Additional need structures were developed like dominance, abasement, achievement, affiliation and play that are expressed within character. These need factors allowed us to succeed, master, achieve and live productively.

Exercise for an athlete may entail routine, repetition, and overuse injury. Some may think it’s idiotic to run in a circle while keeping track of the time it takes. Yet, the competitiveness and the fear of failure can provide the fuel to motivate the behavior. I admit to continuing to run in circles totaling about 80 kilometers per a 7 day week. Exercise and competition brings joy of victory and the pain of defeat. A. E. Housman’s elegant poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” comes to mind as one example. The young athlete’s funeral suggests the man has died early with the anxiety about the meaning of his mortality. The young athlete perhaps was a hero and then his fame faded into despair.

 In today’s society, Individuals are superficially crowned, elevated to hero status and then torn down as humans. In any event, an athlete like all others has to confront and deal with age and mortality. Some consider exercise boring and difficult because it is difficult. Daniel, on the positive side, look at the many benefits physically and psychologically of exercise. Running allows me to clear my head and create essays; it allows me to laugh and interact with Tony and Paul; it allows me to compete with Tony {since 1997}; it allows me to be in nature; and enjoy movement; it contributes to my mental and physical well-being.  Is it difficult, of course it is?  If something is not a challenge, then it’s boring and irrelevant. Daniel, exercise is not boring but because of my character, exercise, competitiveness and fear of failure have become a significant component of who I am. I feel sorry for those that do not nor are unable to exercise. Psychologically, because of our aggressive nature, and societal conditions, the need to play has evolved as in exercise with beneficial physiological and psychological health consequences.

 

References

Lieberman, Frank. Bo’s Warriors  Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football. Triumph Books, 2014

Murray, H. A. Explorations in Personality. New York: Oxford, 1938.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Memories Part 4

 

Dementia is a progressive loss of cognitive functions. It is often accompanied by disturbances of mood, behavior and personality and leads to significant impairment in the ability to perform normal activities of daily living. Dementia is not a specific disease but is a term for a group of symptoms caused by numerous different disorders that affect the brain.

Dementias are becoming more common and are currently found in 14% of Americans age 71 and older which means that age is the biggest risk factor. In fact, the risk doubles every five years after age 65.  Lifestyle factors and genetics also affect the risk of developing dementia.

Symptoms of dementia are severe, numerous and very among individuals. Symptoms include the following: 1.Being dependent on others for daily living 2. Complaints of memory loss .Unable to give details 3. Family member concern about memory. With Covid -19, reduced family awareness 4. Recent memory for events, conversations noticeably impaired 5. Difficulty in conversations in finding words 6. Pauses in speech and word substitutions 7. Being lost walking or driving; may take hours to get home 8. Cannot operate appliances; and new learning impaired 9. Loss of interest in social activities and socially inappropriate 10. Mental status impaired for age, education and culture. 11. Impulsive purchases, running up debt, bill payment irregularities, lower credit ratings, more errors at work and other financial mistakes.

The following are” Good News “and are called Secondary Reversible Dementias because the cause can be treated and the dementia reversed. They are as follows: 1. Excessive alcohol use and tobacco smoking 2. Brain inflammation and periodontal disease 3. Anxiety and depression. Yes, psychotherapy and regular exercise has been shown to reverse the damage 4. Drug effects and interactions that include antidepressants, sleeping pills, anxiety medications, painkillers, anticholinergic medications and antihistamines 5. Respiratory problems 6. Metabolic diseases 7. Normal pressure with Hydrocephalus 8. Sleep problems and disorders 9. Chronic stress 10. Dietary deficiencies-with aging. The rate of nutrient absorption slows and makes it difficult to get adequate levels of vitamins and other nutrients 11. Hospitalizations -individuals that had prior hospitalizations for acute-care critical illness were more likely to have developed dementia in the preceding six years in one study 12. Delirium 13. Other reversible dementias can be caused by chronic illicit drug use-operable brain tumors, subdural and epidural hematomas, hypothyroidism and hypoglycemia.

Now for the bad news. The following are primary neurodegenerative irreversible dementias: 1. Alzheimer’s disease affects 6 million Americans; is the seventh leading cause of death; and killed more than 33,000 last year 2. Parkinson’s 3. Lewy Body 4. Vascular and stroke 5. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy 6. Frontotemporal (Picks disease) 7. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy 8. Huntington’s disease 9. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.

There are many character lifestyle ways to damage ones precious brain irrespective of age. Examples include : Drinking while driving; not wearing a seatbelt; motorcycle ; equestrian; joining the military-high prevalence of explosive device brain injury; and playing sports.1.6 to 3.8 million sports related brain injuries occur in the US every year. One out of 10 of these require hospitalization. Children under 15 have twice as many Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from sports than from auto accidents.

Dementia is also caused by TBI. If severe enough, a blunt force trauma to the head can speed up the process. Statistically, this is a major public health problem for young Americans. It is a major cause of death and disability in persons under 25 years of age and those 15 to 24 are at the highest risk.

Football players are at high risk for TB I. 20% of high school football players and 40% of college football players are examples. Current football helmets do not prevent concussions from the kind of violent collisions seen in football.

Symptoms of TBI are acute and vary from person to person. Typically there are major problems in attention, concentration, memory, problem-solving, judgment, lack of empathy, impulse control, emotional control, social interactions and psychiatric conditions of depression and anxiety.

All in all, it should be clear by now, with this brief bit of information, that brain health is precious.  Death, aging and illness are givens. It’s a matter of fact that an individual’s character and lifestyle choices have a negative effect on aging and brain health. Too many members in our country are affected by memory deficits, other cognitive components with obviously asocial and negative financial interactions. “By their fruits shall ye know them?” Lifestyle of one’s character can be associated with a faulty orientation and devotion to self-defeating, harmful, masochistic and destructive behaviors. We all have our devotions. As a consequence, we have an obvious dumbing down in our country that’s exhibited by memory loss. Memory is who we are. World and American history are not abstruse as people continually repeat stupid and cruelty over and over again.

References

New York Times, “Financial Mistakes May Indicate Dementia”, May 2, 2021.

Understanding Dementia .INR.

Friday, May 14, 2021

Memory Part 3

 

 There is no precise definition of Mild Cognitive Impairment {MCI} since it describes the stage between age associated memory impairment and dementia. With that being said, this essay presents recent research findings along with some known risks for MCI.

The following are characteristics of those with MCI : 1. Difficulty remembering important family events 2. Trouble remembering what was just said and read 3. Problems with essential paperwork tasks - like income tax 4. Forgetting to take medications and use of  memory lists 5.  Problems with complex tasks like meal preparation.

The incidence of MCI is increasing about 4% annually and is currently found in 10 to 20% of Americans who are aged 65 and older. Older men are about 50% more likely than older women to develop MCI. The good news is that many with MCI do not progress to dementia. However, sadly, when it comes to Alzheimer’s there are no valid methods to accurately determine which individuals with MCI will proceed to and an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

MCI does not have a strong genetic or familial risk. Not surprisingly, the major risk are lifestyle choices. Some well-known risks for MCI include the following: 1. Having a vascular risk factor is a powerful predictor of who will proceed from MCI to dementia, especially Alzheimer’s 2. Having three or more -excess weight, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low ” good” HDL cholesterol and high blood sugar markedly raises the risk of MCI 4. Sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea were twice as  likely to develop MCI or dementia in a five-year study of 1300 women over age 75 5. Regular vigorous exercise for 45 to 60 minutes a day, four days a week, improved the cognitive functioning in a group of people with MCI. A long-term study found that those who reported getting moderate physical exercise-brisk walking, swimming, yoga, aerobics, and strength training in midlife were 39% like less likely to develop MCI. Those who engaged in moderate exercise, later in life, were 32% less likely to develop MCI 6. Several studies have shown that low-calorie diets with lots of fruits and veggies, getting regular and restful sleep, and keeping the brain active with new learning will lower the risk of developing MCI and improve functioning if diagnosed with MCI.

Man, in the art of living, has two choices. He can either treat himself good or evil. It should be clear by now, that so many people are emotionally, cognitively  and behaviorally turning anger inward {for short term pleasure into long term masochism} with their , of course, failure of conscience and self-defeating masochism. Once again, character determines thinking, feeling and behavioral actions. With character, the art of living is the issue. Creating severe brain and physical health issues is certainly not an expression of loving oneself. What is the aim, values and devotion for these individuals?  What false idols are they chasing? What fiction are they telling themselves? How does their illusionary story end? Their indifference and ineffectiveness. Is mind-boggling  It’s difficult  to believe that making good healthy  decisions pertaining to diet, ingesting harmful substances, and exercise is hidden from the populace. We lead the world, per population, with so many poor health decisions. We pollute more, kill more, we eat more, we exercise less etc. it’s no wonder that the brain diseases with MCI, dementia and Alzheimer’s are on the rise. These statistics suggest a colossal brain failure on the part of so many. This fact is contributing to our countries authoritarian character.

Reference

Understanding Dementia. Institute for Natural Resources (INR)

Part 4 to follow and pertains to dementia

Friday, May 7, 2021

Memories Part 2

 

 

This disquisition relates to Age Associated Memory Impairment [AAMI]. It should be noted, that while A AMI memory declines, other cognitive abilities remain relatively intact. Research studies suggest that, with aging, the following 7 are AAMI causes: 1. There is a loss of “thin” dendrites and myelin sheaths 2. The volume of ventricles in the brain containing cerebral spinal fluid enlarge 3. Cerebral blood flow decreases 4. Levels of key hormones and neurotransmitters decline 5. Neurofibrillary tangles develop with neurons 6. Beta amyloid accumulates outside neurons 7.Gilal cells become less functional.

There are a number of irrational decision-making, not surprising, that are related to AAMI impairment and they are as follows: 1. Cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure 2. High levels of total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides 3. Low environmental stimulation, low new learning brain activity and lack of exercise 4. Diet high in calories, refined carbs and non-trans fats 5. Diet low in antioxidants, and Omega-3 6. Chronic physical and psychological stress 7. High levels of oxygen free radicals 8. Obesity, high blood sugar, insulin resistance and diabetes 9. Excessive inflammatory markers 10. Smoking, high alcohol and drug intake 11. Sleep deprivation chronic anxiety and chronic depression.

Now for the good news, yes, it is possible to avoid significant age related memory loss. Super Agers have the brain health and cognitive abilities of those 20 to 30 years younger. These studies show that much of the impairment is due to lifestyle choices. Rational choices include: 1. Regular exercise, at least 150 minutes per week 2 Sleeping approximately 7 hours per night 3. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains 4. Quitting smoking or non-smoking 5. Handling stress well 6. Having a strong social network and lots of mental activities.

The best Super Agers are called Centenarians. There’s approximately 60,000 of these individuals. Note, in those reaching 100, four out of five are women. Reaching 110 years of age is more difficult as there are only about 330 of those. Also not surprising, the chances of reaching 100 are greater if you live in Japan, France, Sweden or the United Kingdom.

In review of nearly 2 dozen studies of centenarians, Howard listed the following lifestyle habits: 1. Have low blood sugar 2. Have low blood pressure 3. Have low blood total cholesterol 4. Keep weight low and steady 5. Eat fewer calories 6. . Eat mostly vegetarian “Mediterranean diet” with coffee and tea 7. Avoid nutritional deficiencies 8.  Exercise regularly, be active and stay busy after retirement 9. Don’t smoke or stop smoking if you do 10. Drink less alcohol 11. Get regular restful sleep 12. Have healthy gums 13. Challenge your mind 14. Stay positive in attitude and avoid anxiety depression 15. Shed those stressors, have daily structure and be resilient 16 Stay socially connected with serenity and purpose.

It should be clear that the lifelong decisions we make affect our precious brain. Our memory is so important to who we are. With memory impairment, we are so compromised.  Part 3 to follow on mild cognitive impairment.

PS

My dear appreciation, for brain health, goes to sister Bev, Judy a former squeeze, my supportive wife Linda, my friends Tony, Paul, Thom, Jonathan, Denny, Linda, Chris, Tom, Laura, Steve, Susan, Bob, Jerome, Bill, Chuck, Robert, Jack, Mike, 2 Jim’ and others; the 8 R’s that include: Ride and Tie, retirement, reading, writing, riding, running, reducing stress, and regular napping and sleeping.

Reference

Howard, M. Living to Be 100. Biomed General Press Home study, 2012

INR . Understanding Dementia