[LeThanhPhong]

Đặc ân được săn sóc cha chồng bị bệnh dementia.

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(Quora) What are your insights and realizations about death?

Answered by Kelly Alblinger:

I have been the primary caretaker for my father-in-law (fil) for the past two years. He’s 86, with rapidly accelerating dementia.

Fil has never been a compliant person. He does his own thing, in his own way, in his own time. I’ve had a relationship with him for more than 30 years, and during that time we have battled more times than I can count. He does not like strong women, thus a major reason that he has disliked me.

I was completely shocked in 2016 when he requested that I accept power of attorney for him if he should become incapacitated. I accompanied him to the attorney, signed the paperwork, and forgot about it.

During the following year he began acting “squirrely” (that’s a technical term our family likes to use.) He would show up randomly or not at all; he would promise to replace the worn out tires on his van and six weeks later would roll up to our home on the same bald wheels. He missed doctor appointments, he didn’t shower or change clothing for weeks. We knew something was wrong, but were helpless to do anything about it.

Then the sheriff showed up on our doorstep with him in tow. “Does he belong to you?” For lack of a better answer I said yes. “He backed his van up over a curb, narrowly missing a fire hydrant and a lawn full of children. He doesn’t know his own name or address. We found your info in the glove box. We’re impounding the vehicle. Call this number to claim it. Have a nice day.”

My life changed radically in that moment.

He lived with us for a short while, but he refused to sleep in the house. We pulled our camping trailer up to the back patio, and he had his own bachelor pad. He spent the day in the house watching TV and slept in the trailer. Fil had no idea why he was a captive in our home, and kept asking for the keys to his van. We repeatedly explained that the police had suspended his drivers license, and the van was damaged beyond repair. “Oh” he would reply, and then two hours later we’d have the same conversation. I became his cook, chauffeur, laundress, and maid.

We found a lovely retirement home nearby. Not fancy, not modern, but comfortable, run by a compassionate family. We moved him in; he seemed fine with the decision. After 4 months he got kicked out for striking the manager with his cane. We moved him to a more rough and tumble facility. He lasted there for 11 months. We moved him a third time, to a memory care facility. The staff there was trained differently; they knew how to handle him, and he was as happy as the situation permitted. He was still a pain, refusing showers, eating raw sugar from the packets on the dining table, emptying his coffee cup into the artificial plants.

I handled all his financial affairs, bought him clothes, shuttled him back and forth to endless medical appointments and physical therapy. His capacity to understand his own life was diminishing, and there were long, awkward periods of silence in the car. He didn’t want to listen to music. The talk radio hosts spoke too quickly. It was too hot/cold in the car. I swear, sometimes I think he made stuff up just to be difficult.

Then one day the realization hit me that he was not choosing to be this way. He had no control of the disconnects in his brain. There were huge gaps in his memory, and he couldn’t process information fast enough to make sense of it. He was losing control of bodily functions like standing, balance, walking, toileting. Fil lost all concept of time. If he couldn’t see the position of the sun he had no idea if it was day or night. He’d eat a full meal, then yell at the server for not bringing him any breakfast. Simply getting through the day became a perilous obstacle course designed to trip him up at every turn.

My heart went out to him. This was not the fiercely independent man I had known. This was not “the last great pioneer” (a nickname he’d given himself). I now saw him through a different lens. He had morphed into a six foot tall, two hundred pound toddler. I began to feel protective of him, as though I was his guardian. And indeed, that is what I became. I advocated on his behalf with doctors and creditors. I wrangled for special favors from his caregivers. I made the rules bend to his needs everywhere we went.

And yet I complained to anyone who would listen about what a burden he had become, and how much of my time his care sucked up. Many people have called me a saint, but I knew that I hadn’t earned that title.

His caregiver called and said he didn’t look well, was acting strangely. He was compliant. Let her do all her business with him silently, no protests. She was scared. My husband and I rushed him to the ER.

Yesterday he died.

It was sudden, swift, unexpected. We got that phone call, and 24 hours later, to the minute, he was dead. Massive stroke, renal failure, a cancerous tumor the size of a lemon in his abdomen that had gone undetected because it didn’t cause any pain.

I was the only one in the room when he departed. I was holding his hand, and I had just finished telling him that it was okay to leave. We’d be fine. It was time for him to move on to his next great adventure. He was unconscious. I will never know if he actually heard me because there was no indication that he had. He simply stopped breathing.

I realized what had happened and acknowledged it, then alarms started going off and the scene quickly became chaos. He had a DNR and my last act of protection was to refuse resuscitation for him. His final wish was to have a pain free death, and I made sure that he got it.

Today, I realize that although people tell me that he was lucky to have me (which he was) I benefited as much as he did. I was forced to see him differently; not as the adversary I had faced down over so many years, but as a vulnerable human being trying to cope with a body that was breaking down and a mind that was deserting him. He was out of his element, and he needed someone he could trust to be strong on his behalf. Instinctively he knew that I was that person, and he was brave enough to ask me to stand up for him.

Despite our differences in the past, today I realize that it has been my unique privilege to be of service to fil, because there was no one else in the family equipped to do what I did. I was repeatedly forced to move far out of my comfort zone, and do things I never imagined I could do. That has been a blessing for me, because now I know that I am capable and strong. I’m not a saint, but I am a genuinely good person; I am fiercely loyal; I am intelligent; I am kind. Becoming fil’s go-to person helped me define who I truly am, and I realize that has been his special gift to me.

[LeThanhPhong]

Mười gia đinh dạy con 10 cách khác nhau. Cách nào hiệu nghiệm khi đứa con đối diện với người lạ?

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Parents watch how children react when approached by a stranger | Parental Guidance | Channel 9

[LeThanhPhong]

https://www.facebook.com/furrytailsoffic...062199547/

[LeThanhPhong]

Neuroscientist REVEALS The First Thing You Should Do EVERY MORNING For Longevity! | Wendy Suzuki




Wendy Suzuki, Ph. D, nói chuyện với Rangan Chatterjee, MD, về lợi ích của tập thể dục:

1. Cơ thể cảm thấy sảng khoái nhờ các chất neurotransmitters như dopamine, serotonin, cũng như lượng growth hormones được tăng cao, giúp khả năng trí nhớ ngắn hạn (short term memory).
   
2. Tế bào não tăng trưởng giúp khả năng trí nhớ lâu dài (long term memory).
   
3. Suy nghĩ minh mẫn.
   
4. Tâm lý trở nên vững mạnh yêu đời, hướng đến hạnh phúc.
   

Mặc dù ai cũng biết lợi ích của tập thể dục trên lý thuyết  nhưng tất cả chúng ta cần giây phút "thức tỉnh" mới nhận ra quả thật tập thể dục rất cần thiết, để rồi từ đó sẽ không lơ là nữa.

Dr. Suzuki đã xuất bản một số sách như:

Healthy Brain, Happy Life
Good Anxiety
Anxiety is Your Super Power
Good Anxiety, Bad Anxiety

[LeThanhPhong]

(Quora) What were the worst two minutes of your life?

Answered by Elena Ledoux:

One day in July my dad called me while I was at work and said to urgently come to my son’s elementary school. He said my mom was picking my son up from school and fell on a sidewalk.

I called 911 and started running to the school (it was about 10 minutes away). When I got there, she was laying on a sidewalk, surrounded by the emergency responders and bystanders. Half of her face was droopy and she couldn’t move it. With the other half she kept saying: “I’m OK. I’m OK. I’m OK.” She had a stroke and a heart attack.

What followed was a harrowing journey of surgeries, suffering, and long recovery. At the end, she ended up OK. However, there were a few minutes that afternoon where I realized my mom was mortal. And those were the worst two minutes of my life.


Commented by Kathleen Richter:

My worst was when I got the call that my just-turned-40-yr-old son had died suddenly.


Commented by Leticia Batrez:

Worst two minutes ever. When I found my mother dead in hallway of her house with her dog laying over her- she died unexpectedly of heart attack & stroke at age 51 on Dec 17, 2009. So sudden and unexpected- thirteen years later now I am 50 and hope I will make it past 51 at least for the sake of taking care of my grandparents her parents who she had been caregiving- they are in ther 80s and 90s respectively and I have never felt so time limited as I do now…life and death the great equalizer.


Commented by Deb Foy:

My worst was when my dad had been hospitalized for months, recovering, and sent to a rehab for a week to get his body moving again. We were all excited he was finally coming home. The second day in rehab I got a call, my dad had choked to death on some food and they could not resuscitate him, he passed away. After all he went through in the hospital, and to get a call like that was the worst few moments of my life. RIP dad.


Commented by Cindi Fischer:

My dad was in rehab also and scheduled to go home in 4 days when he dropped dead of an aneurysm while walking. Never knew he had it and all that he went through to be able to go home and enjoy life again. You just never know when he's going to take your hands. I just wish that he didn't have to go through everything he went through to drop dead like that. Kind of makes you bitter really but nothing I can do about it.


Commented by Daphne:

(LTP: Don't forget to visit our relatives every day so that they are well cared for at the rehab center.)

Deb: I am sorry about w7hat happened with your father. There is a possiblity your father should have been on a soft-food diet. In this case, his rehab was negligent.

I had a similar situation with my mother that led to the worst minutes of my life.

Rehab nursing facilities are actually dangerous places.

My 91 yo mother recovered from a broken leg and orthopaedic surgery. While at one rehab, she caught COVID (Omicron), then had dehydration, then delirium. The rehab did nothing, so I called 911 and made sure she was taken to Duke Univ Hospital, where she was admitted. They helped turn her into a new person. When she left there to enter a new rehab, she was in good spirits, her mind was sharp again, ortho raised her to full weight bearing status, and she was starting to walk again. While at this new rehab, a wound on her back became infected, causing her bloodstream to get infected, and she was overcome by sepsis (septicemia), then septic shock. Discovering her in septic shock in the ICU was one of the worst minutes; the other worst minute was when she died a few hours later.

The second rehab should have never let the wound become, or remain, infected. (They knew about it from day one. It was from a prior dermatology procedure.)

[LeThanhPhong]

How to Escape Rip Currents | NOAA SciJinks – All About Weather

https://scijinks.gov/rip-currents/#:~:te...nt%20eases.

How do I escape rip currents?

Stay afloat, yell for help, swim parallel to the shore. Do not exhaust yourself fighting the current.

Beachgoers sometimes see scary looking warning signs telling them to watch out for rip currents. “Rip” in this case could stand for “rest in peace,” because these currents can be deadly. In the U.S., about 100 people drown in rip currents every year. Lifeguards in the U.S. rescue another 30,000 swimmers from rip currents each year.

We usually think of waves as washing stuff onto the beach—seaweed, shells and other ocean debris. But sometimes the waves hit the beach in a certain way to create a current that flows away from the beach. This is a rip current. When waves travel from deep to shallow water, they break near the shoreline and generate currents that are influenced by the shape of the ocean floor, at times producing rip currents. Waves interacting with each other can also cause short-lived rip currents.



[size=undefined]Rip currents are often difficult to see, but you can spot them in areas where waves aren’t breaking, or where there’s foam, seaweed, or discolored water being pulled offshore (area marked by red arrows). Image credit: NOAA Ocean Today (modified)[/size]







Rip currents may form around low spots in the ocean floor near the shoreline or in breaks between sandbars. They may also form around human-made structures such as jetties and piers. They vary from 50 to 300 feet wide. (A 4-lane highway is about 50 feet wide.) Limited as they are in size, you don’t want to get caught in a rip current while swimming. Rip currents typically flow at 1 to 2 feet per second. However, they have been known to flow as fast as 8 feet per second (about 5 miles per hour)—faster than an Olympic swimmer can sprint! They can sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.



Rip current speed is influenced by the size of the waves, but sometimes waves only two feet high can produce hazardous rips. Perhaps surprisingly, rip currents are strongest at low tide.



The shape of the ocean bottom sometimes changes during storms or when waves are particularly big. The ocean floor may suddenly have an ideal shape for creating unpredictable rip currents where there were none before.





Rip current vs. undertow



Don’t confuse a rip current with an undertow. Rip currents are much more dangerous, because they flow on the surface of the water, can be very strong, and can extend some distance from the shore. An undertow can occur when water sinks back downhill into the sea after a wave has carried it uphill onto the beach. Unless the beach has a steep incline, the undertow will probably not be very powerful. However, if the tide is high, the wave is large, and the beach slopes sharply downhill toward the water, the undertow could be strong enough to knock you down, but it won’t carry you far—maybe just far enough to get smacked by the next big wave coming in.





Rip tides? Nope!


You might have heard of something called “rip tides,” but this term is incorrect. Rip currents have nothing do with the tides, which are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon on the whole ocean. Rip currents, on the other hand, are a purely local effect.

[LeThanhPhong]

Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without - Research on Aging




Dr. Natasha Josefowitz was 88 years old when she gave the speech in 2014.

Learn more about the various states of the grieving process and how men and women grieve and heal differently. Natasha Josefowitz, PhD, bestselling author and professor of management will use poems from her award-winning book, Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without (November 2013), to illustrate the emotional aftermath of loss and the changes that must take place in order for people to heal.
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Her website:

https://natashaswords.com/

Her latest article written on Jan. 26, 2023 is found at:

https://natashaswords.com/articles/a-rec...erstaffed/

[LeThanhPhong]

Reverse/Prevent OSTEOPOROSIS (Get Stronger Bones) 2023

[LeThanhPhong]

Trees That Ruin Yards: What You Should Never Plant on Your Property

https://itsthevibe.com/trees-that-ruin-yards/

Don't plant these trees:
1. Chinese flame trees
2. Eucalyptus trees
3. Tulip Poplar
4. Leyland Cypress
5. Bradford Pear Tree Flowers
6. Black Walnut Trees
7. Mimosa Trees
8. Sweetgum Trees
9. Magnolia Trees
10. Gingko Trees: male trees are better than female ones.

[LeThanhPhong]

(Quora) Which days and hours are the gym most empty?

Answered by Brandon Mancini:

I've been working in gyms since the late 90s. Here is the trend I notice:

Mon.-Thurs. - 5:30-8:30AM & 5:45-9:15PM are the busiest.

Fri. - 5:30AM-8:30AM are the busiest

Sat. - 7:30-10:00AM are busiest (Packed)

Sun. - Noon-5pm are the busiest but really not that bad.

Here's my theory:

Mondays are the packed because everyone is in to pay their penance for the weekend's activities. Wednesday is the next day you will see them since most are on a 3 day a week schedule. Most won't be in again until Saturday since they don't want to give their Friday night activity up. (This is the worst b/c it's everyone from the different time waves of the other days of the week and weekend warriors.) Sunday most people are getting things together for their week.

The best times to go are:

10:00AM - 5:00PM Mon-Thurs

after 10:00AM on Friday

after 11:00AM on Saturday and

anytime on Sunday.

The best days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

[LeThanhPhong]

Xuất huyết não.
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What is the most horrifying noise you have ever heard?

Answered by Rocky Rockholt:

On April 25, 2022 my girlfriend and I were watching TV at my house. She suddenly complained of a terrible headache. I got up and went to the kitchen to get her some ibuprofen. When I came back to the bedroom, maybe a minute later, she was slumping to her right side and her speech was severely slurred. I called 911 immediately. Within a minute after that she was unconscious. Very quickly after that she was choking and stopped breathing. I initiated CPR. Despite getting her to the hospital within 30 minutes of the onset of symptoms, she died on April 27, 2022 without regaining consciousness. A pea sized aneurysm had burst in her brainstem.

I don't know which sound associated with this event is more horrifying. Her slurred speech, the choking noise, or the sound of her ribs breaking as I was performing CPR.

[LeThanhPhong]

12 Tips to Improve Hearing and Prevent Hearing Loss

https://www.carecredit.com/well-u/health...r-hearing/

Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from some form of hearing loss. Check out these lifestyle tips and exercises to promote better hearing health and care.

Posted November 22, 2022

Do you struggle to hear the television? Are you frequently asking others to repeat themselves? If so, you're not alone: Approximately 40 million Americans have some form of hearing problem.1 Our sense of hearing is complex and delicate, and it plays an essential role in our physical and mental well-being.

While the field of audiology has made impressive advances in hearing aid technology and recognizing signs of hearing loss, there are also easy hearing care steps you can take on your own that may help promote healthy hearing.

Read on to learn about the different types of hearing loss, and how you can keep your ears protected, with 10 tips to help identify risks and prevent hearing loss — or stop it from getting worse.

Types of Hearing Loss

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), there are three types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural and mixed.2

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sounds cannot get through the outer and middle ear.
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs with inner ear damage or problems with the nerves leading from the inner ear to the brain.
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

12 Tips Improve Hearing and Prevent Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can have a significant impact on your health and well-being. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help prevent hearing loss.

Check out these twelve tips to protect your ears and keep your hearing sharp.

1. Avoid loud noises

Turn the volume down on your devices and use earplugs when you have t o be in a loud environment. Excessive noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss,1 but the good news is that it's also the most preventable, too.

2. Keep your ears dry

Excess moisture can lead to ear infections and wax buildup, which can cause hearing problems. Gently dry your ears with a towel after swimming or bathing to prevent excess water from entering the ear canal.

3. Don't Smoke

If smokers need yet another health-related reason to quit, here it is: research indicates that smoking can more than double your risk of hearing loss. That's because blood flow and oxygen are crucial to maintaining healthy cells in your inner ear, and both are hampered by nicotine and carbon monoxide. Smoking also irritates the lining of your middle ear and disturbs the normal function of your eustachian tube.

Nicotine has been shown to cause ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus. Some experts believe it may interfere with the neurotransmitters that carry messages from your hearing nerves to your brain.3


4. Be cautious with medications

Some prescription medications can have side effects related to hearing loss, so be sure to discuss any possible effects with your doctor prior to starting a new medication or supplement.

5. Be aware of excessive ear wax buildup

Ear wax, also known as cerumen, is a natural defense mechanism that protects the inside of your ear from foreign particles, bacteria and infection. Ear wax is secreted by glands located in your outer ear, and the wax can vary in color and consistency from person to person.

Excessive ear wax buildup can affect your hearing and make sounds seem muffled. Don't try to remove it yourself - doing so could damage the delicate lining of the ear canal. Instead, see your doctor for treatment options. Ear wax is secreted by glands located in your outer ear, and the wax can vary in color and consistency from person to person.

While a small amount of ear wax is beneficial, a buildup of excess ear wax can cause mild hearing loss and discomfort. If you think you have an ear wax blockage, schedule an appointment with your doctor. Never attempt to dig it out yourself, since you risk pushing the wax farther into your ear and damaging the delicate lining of your ear canal or eardrum.4

6. Avoid cotton swabs and other small objects

Never place any objects inside your ear canal, including cotton swabs. Doing so risks damage to your eardrum, which can cause pain and hearing loss.

7. Take supplements and vitamins for better hearing health

A healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals, regular exercise, and reducing your stress levels are all important for your overall health, and they can all impact your hearing, too.

Several vitamins and minerals have been linked to an improvement in ear function and hearing:

B vitamins offer a host of potential benefits for your ears, including regulation of fluid levels and optimization of oxygen use. Folic acid (B9) promotes circulation to your ears, as well as energy production in the cells responsible for hearing.

Magnesium aids healthy nerve function in the auditory system and helps prevent damage to the inner lining of your arteries.

Zinc protects the hair cells within your ear, which are responsible for emitting the vibrations that send electrical signals to your brain. Zinc also supports your body's immune system, helping prevent ear infections.

8. Protect your ears

Keep your ears covered during extremely cold weather using a hat or earmuffs. And don't forget to use ear protection, such as earplugs or noise-canceling headphones, any time you're in an area with a lot of noise.

9. See your doctor regularly

Regular check-ups with your doctor are an important aspect of maintaining your overall health and can catch potential problems early. Other health conditions, like high blood pressure or diabetes, can also put you at risk for hearing loss.5

10. Get regular hearing screenings

Routine hearing tests can detect early signs of hearing loss and improve your chances of returning to normal hearing. A routine hearing test also provides your doctor with a baseline to which your hearing can be compared as you age, allowing changes to be detected more quickly.

11. Go for a walk in the woods.

Another option is a walk on the beach or in a similar setting with little man-made noise. Focus on your surroundings and write down everything you hear, from birds chirping to the wind blowing. Repeat this exercise several days in a row to gradually become more attuned to the ambient noise.

12. Have a friend or family remember read aloud to you.
After each sentence, try to repeat back exactly what was said. Once you're able to consistently repeat the sentences word-for-word, try the exercise again with the T.V. on in the background or in a noisy restaurant.

Effects of Hearing Loss

Untreated hearing loss can have surprising impacts on your overall health. Not only can hearing loss cause people to socially isolate themselves—leading to complications like loneliness and depression—but it can also lead to physical symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, chronic tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.6

If you suspect that you or a loved one may have hearing loss, it is important to see a doctor for a hearing test to evaluate the problem before it worsens or leads to other complications.

[LeThanhPhong]

(Quora) What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever seen a tourist or foreigner do in your country?

Answered by Anton Taiki:

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down, it was common to see Caucasian backpackers begging for money on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

I have come across a few, and put in a little cash into the hat each encounter… but I feel bad for them, it is embarrassing.

These 'world travellers' would frequently beg locals for money in order to purchase plane tickets to return back to their home countries, as well as food and other necessities.

They have become so well-known among Malaysians that they have earned the moniker 'begpackers', a portmanteau of the words 'begging' and 'backpacking'.

Now that it's no longer a pandemic, the begpackers are back to beg again, marking their personal 'space' in the busy Bukit Bintang neighbourhood. Embarrassing situation.

I’ve always wondered why such travellers do not seek assistance from their respective embassies, instead of resorting to begging?

The other fact of life is that Malaysians in general are finding it a struggle to make a living. Costs of living has gone up. It is a making-ends-meet every month situation. How can the man-in-the-street even find spare change to give to these street begpackers? They expect us to pay for their food and help finance their travel?

[LeThanhPhong]

The #1 Brain Exercise for Memory Improvement, According to Neurologists

https://www.yahoo.com/now/1-brain-exerci...YM7qoqdUQY

Doing a variety of activities like these may protect your brain from cognitive decline.

By Kaitlyn Phoenix Feb 25, 2023

You likely already know to brush teeth to prevent dental cavities, work out to strengthen muscles and wear sunscreen to protect skin, you may not realize there are things you can do to keep your brain sharp. 

For starters, a 2019 study of nearly 200,000 adults found that those who had a healthier lifestyle were less likely to develop dementia over the course of eight years, even if they were genetically at risk for dementia — and a 2020 study came to a similar conclusion. Beyond general healthy habits, though, specific activities have been shown to boost brainpower and prevent cognitive decline: brain exercises. 

Do brain exercises work?

Probably — but it’s complicated. “Memory is not one thing, but it's a combination of different things so when we talk about exercises or training for memory, I think it depends on what type of memory we're referring to,” says Zaldy S. Tan, M.D., M.P.H., the director of the Cedars-Sinai Health System Memory and Aging Program. Consider a trip to the grocery store: Remembering what you intended to buy without having a list to look at requires an ability to recall things. Remembering the layout of the store and where to find things requires more of a visual/spatial memory. Running into a peer from elementary school, remembering how you know them and holding a conversation requires a quick processing speed on top of recall.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to study the effects that certain activities have on our brain. It’s not as simple as say, watching someone practice bicep curls every day and seeing their muscle girth increase over time. “The things that we're engaged in on a day-to-day basis that are not specific to deliberately improving our memory — for example, reading a book, attending classes at a junior college because we're interested, listening to NPR or something else that will expand your view of the world or watching documentaries — those are all great, but they haven't been studied for us to conclusively say that if you do all of these things, you're less likely to develop memory problems,” says Dr. Tan. “Speed of information processing can be enhanced by cognitive training by computer-based tests, for example, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.” 

That said, engaging in certain exercises (even if they’re specific to one type of memory skill) can’t hurt and may even help you in the long run. “Increasing these synaptic connections — increasing these areas of connections in the brain — that might help build reserve,” says Douglas Scharre, M.D., the director of The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Division of Cognitive Neurology. “If, in the future, you have unfortunate issues that affect the brain, such as strokes or dementia conditions, you'd have a little bit more reserved.”

Brain exercises for memory to do at home

Your best bet is to all different kinds of things that exercise your brain in different ways. “Variety is great,” says Dr. Scharre. “The more you do with your brain, typically, the better it is.” This list of exercises for your brain can help get you started.

1. Work out

It seems one of the best things you can do for better cognition is physical exercise. It increases blood flow to the brain; reduces the risk of stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes (three risk factors for developing memory problems); and lowers inflammation oxidation (which has also been implicated in dementia), according to Dr. Tan. In fact, a 2023 study of nearly 1,300 women age 65 and older found that for every 31 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a participant did every day, she had a 21% lower risk of developing dementia. Meanwhile, a 2022 meta-analysis concluded that people who regularly participated in walking, running, swimming, bicycling, dancing, yoga, sports and exercise machines had a 17% lower risk of developing dementia than those who didn’t. New to exercise and not sure where to start? Check out our list of the 10 best cardio exercises to try at home or in a gym.

2. Play a sport

If you want to take the benefits of exercise to a whole new level, consider a sport that requires you to play with other people. On top of the physical exercise, research shows that sports require you to make quick decisions and solve problems (Where is my teammate? Should I run faster? Which strategic play might work best right now?) and give you the opportunity to socialize with others, Dr. Scharre points out. “The whole brain is working really well, and it’s a great whole-brain activity,” he says.

3. Socialize

Seriously, getting together with other people is extremely good for your brain. “You have to use your eyes to see their expressions and nonverbal communications. You pick up things that way, and you make judgements,” explains Dr. Scharre. “They tell a story, you’re reminiscing and think, Oh, in regard to that topic, I have a great story to tell, and then you share your story. You go back and forth with this thing called discourse. You’re using your language, you’re using your vision, you’re using your hearing. All these parts of the brain are being involved and integrated.” If you can’t meet in person, pick up the phone and call someone — you’ll give a little brain boost to both of you.

4. Do some math

The next time you open the calculator app on your phone, research suggests you might want to pause for a second and decide if the math problem at hand is something you can solve without technology. In fact, one study found that senior citizens who given basic math and reading problems to work on every day for six months experienced boosts in processing speed and executive function.

5. Learn a new language

Knowing two languages allows you to connect with others you may not have communicated with before, makes travel easier and supports a healthy brain. A 2020 meta-analysis found that people who are bilingual develop dementia at a later age than people who only speak one language. It may sound like a big commitment, but we found the best language-learning apps to get you started — and some are totally free.

6. Become a puzzler

Doing a variety of puzzles is the key here since different ones engage different parts of your brain, but number games, crosswords and jigsaw puzzles may be particularly helpful. “Sudoku is great for logic — that’s the frontal part of the brain. Crosswords increase your abilities to store vocabulary and think of words on your verbal side,” says Dr. Scharre. “Jigsaw puzzles may be more of a visual/spatial thing.”

7. Play an instrument

Performing music requires you to mix the physicality of touch with remembering and hearing — in a short amount of time. One study even found that people over age 60 who took piano lessons scored higher on tests of episodic memory and attention six months later than people who didn’t. Episodic memories are things we remember that happened in the past (whether it be 30 years ago or 30 days ago). 

8. Meditate

In one study, people with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease who did 30 minutes of guided meditations every day for six months showed slower degeneration in crucial brain areas than people who didn’t. New to meditation? We researched a whole bunch of meditation apps and compiled a list of the best ones to help lower anxiety. 

9. Stimulate your senses

Opt for activities that require you to use several of your senses. For instance, when baking an apple pie, you might feel the dough as you form the crust, hear and smell the apples sizzle on the stove if you pre-cook them, visually pay attention to what you’re doing as you assemble everything and then, of course, taste the fruit of your labor. Research suggests that when senses interact it helps us remember things better.

10. Sleep

You may not think of it as a brain exercise, but high-quality sleep is essential for our brains to function at their best. In fact, sleep helps “improve memory recall, regulate metabolism and reduce mental fatigue,” according to one research analysis. While we’re snoozing, our brain is busy removing toxins and reorganizing itself so if you don’t get at least 7 hours of high-quality shuteye night after night, don’t be surprised if you experience brain fog among other problems. If your sleep routine could use a little refresh, try these strategies for resetting your nights.

The bottom line: “The thing with dementia is that there is a pathologic mechanism to it, meaning for Alzheimer’s for example, you develop amyloid plaques and tangles,” says Dr. Tan. “Just doing cognitive training isn’t going to prevent you from having those things, but it might help you reduce the risk of developing symptoms.” So, it’s important to engage your brain in a variety of different ways right now so you have a little more leverage if things go south later on. Along those same lines, remember that your brain works with nearly every other system in your body — it’s not a soloist. “If your heart is unhealthy, that can affect the brain because the brain is the organ that needs the most oxygen in your system,” says Dr. Tan. “If your kidneys are not functioning well, then you accumulate more toxins that the kidneys filter from the blood. If your gastrointestinal tract is not healthy, then you won’t absorb the micronutrients that the brain needs to stay healthy.” Everything is connected so remember that when you’re trying to protect your brain, it’s best to focus on whole-body health.

[LeThanhPhong]

“He and his husband” means he’s gay. Perhaps, he’s fired because of discrimination.

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(Quora) What's the most savage way you've seen someone get fired?

Answered by Jerod Crawford:

I have a friend who was a Ph.D.microbiologist out in Silicon Valley. He was brilliant - He developed a rapid test for detecting resistant microorganisms that have netted his firm billions of dollars and saved countless lives. After he completed that, his female boss refused to give him any projects to work on and wanted him to ”let the woman employees have a chance to shine now”. For the next 3 years, he came to work, with no assignments, and just read or searched the internet for 8 hours a day. His boss told the other employees not to bother him. He was getting bored and restless with no work and had a couple of discussions about it with his boss.

He and his husband had purchased a retirement home in Fort Lauderdale and they had been spending vacation time fixing it up for when they retire. He was not ready to retire and was still working after 65.

One time when he was in Fort Lauderdale to work on the house, his company-owned cell phone suddenly quit working, He called his boss to see what was up. She told him that they were terminating him because he was not doing anything. They deposited his final check and a severance check directly to his bank account, They terminated his computer access (understandable, but they would not even let him have access to his personal research notes). They hurled all his personal items from work into a box and broke some of them. It was delivered to his apartment knowing he was out of town. It was placed by his apartment door. Fortunately, a neighbor found it and saved it for when he returned. Lastly, they demanded that he send his 10-year-old cell phone back by mail right now (that is just crazy, Do you know how much a 10-year-old phone is worth?)

The worst thing they did to him was to cash out his multi-million-dollar company retirement account and stocks and deposit it into his checking account so that he was suddenly responsible for federal and California income tax in one lump sum. He was devastated! And they refused to talk with him anymore.

He is a pleasant, affable person who always wanted to help out his coworkers. We have known each other for 45 years and this was the first time I saw him cry. He decided to bail out of working anymore. It was a tremendous loss to the microbiology community and the lab tests that he could have brought to market to save countless people’s lives.