Happy Friday!!!
Hope you’ve been having a most excellent week :-)
Mine was pretty full, now that classes are back in session.
I’m not going to lie, returning to this structure and pace after a few weeks off was a bit of an adjustment.
The first week or so always involves getting a feel for how each class is set up and how each instructor runs things.
This week was no different, but I’m feeling really good now.
I feel like I have a clear picture of what is expected in each class.
Even though I was apprehensive about taking 11 credits this semester, I think it’s going to be manageable.
Work was pretty low key, as it has been for quite some time.
There’s been enough going on such that I’ve felt productive, but not so much that I’ve felt overwhelmed.
The shorter, more frequent training sessions I mentioned last week have been wonderful.
I feel like I have so much more time to do other things, and I don’t feel so beat up after each training session.
To say I’m pleased with this change would be an understatement.
Sleep is still a work in progress, but it is progressing.
Still also dialing up my food intake, which seems to be helping.
Haven’t made any changes on the caffeine/coffee front since switching to decaf.
However, I would like to eventually cut it completely.
I suspect I’ll take that step within the next few weeks.
That just about does it for me.
Looking forward to a weekend of reading, relaxing, writing, walking (even though it’s expected to be cold AF), grabbing some beers, and enjoying some down time.
Whatever you get into this weekend, I hope it fills your cup.
I appreciate you.
Here are this week's most excellent resources for a most excellent life…
Is “arrival fallacy” affecting your happiness?, Libby Heeley
“Essentially, there’s always one new box to tick.”
Compassion Protects Mental Health and Social Safeness During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across 21 Countries, Matos et al.
“Self-compassion and compassion from others were associated with lower psychological distress and higher social safeness. Compassion for others was associated with lower depressive symptoms.”
Personal Goal Setting That Really Works, Lydia Heng
“Are you starting to wonder if you should even set goals since you don’t achieve them anyway?”
Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Adult Mortality Risk: A Systematic Review and Dose–Response Meta-Analysis of 207,291 Participants, Suksatan et al.
“The present dose–response meta-analysis showed that each 10% increase in UPF as a proportion of daily caloric intake was associated with a 15% higher risk of all-cause mortality.”
Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis, Garcia-Argibay et al.
“Our meta-analysis adds to the growing evidence that binaural-beat exposure is an effective way to affect cognition over and above reducing anxiety levels and the perception of pain without prior training, and that the direction and the magnitude of the effect depends upon the frequency used, time under exposure, and the moment in which the exposure takes place.”
“To prevent the decline in daily activities in older adults with diabetes, resistance training or multicomponent exercise should be recommended. To maintain muscle function, optimal energy and sufficient protein intake are necessary.”
A randomized controlled study of weighted chain blankets for insomnia in psychiatric disorders, Elkholm et al.
“Weighted chain blankets are an effective and safe intervention for insomnia in patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also improving daytime symptoms and levels of activity.”
Our Youth are Struggling with Mental Health, Katelyn Jetelina and Rebecca J. Molsberry
“Bottom line: Children had (and continue to have) a rough time during this pandemic. There’s a lot we can do on a national level, but also on an individual level to prioritize the needs of kids during this tough time.”
Effects of forest bathing on pre-hypertensive and hypertensive adults: a review of the literature, Yau et al.
“Studies reported that practicing a single forest walking or forest therapy program can produce short-term physiological and psychological benefits. It is concluded that forest bathing, particularly forest walking and therapy, has physiologically and psychologically relaxing effects on middle-aged and elderly people with pre-hypertension and hypertension.”
Choline during pregnancy impacts children’s sustained attention, Cornell University
“Seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy, a new Cornell study has found.”
Universities' Covid Policies Defy Science and Reason, Marty Makary M.D., M.P.H.
“Parents and students should challenge dogma with data.”
I’ll leave you with this...
Freezing in the face of challenging situations rarely serves any purpose.
It often, in fact, only makes things worse.
Take one small step.
Even in the wrong direction, this at least offers a sense of agency.
If you misstep, that's okay.
Assess, adjust, and then take another.
You've got this.