Proteins with each meal: Eggs, Greek yoghurt, beans, or meat can help “alert” your muscles to stay strong.
Scheduling hydration: Drink a glass of water with each meal and one in-between meals.
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Conclusion: The “upward spiral” and the power of cognitive reserve
The reason why these four pillars—purpose, connection, movement, and nutrition—are so effective is because none of them live by themselves; they form an intricate web in which your life experiences play out. When looking at what happens at the end of this cycle of habits, one sees the formation of Cognitive Reserve.
Consider that the brain is akin to a muscle. By remaining socially involved (connection) and engaging in novel activities (purpose), you are essentially challenging the brain to think through difficult situations and create new connections. This “cognitive reserve” refers to the ability of the brain to function spontaneously in a situation where one approach might no longer be possible due to physical deterioration. In other words, a highly cognitively reserved brain can find “other paths” to accomplish certain tasks, thereby making you immune to the harmful consequences of forgetting things.
Together, all of these make up the “Upward Spiral.” For example, if one feels a purpose to wake up each day, then there is a higher chance of leaving the house. By leaving the house, one is moving the body (movement), which in turn results in meeting up with neighbors (connection). The act of meeting neighbors lifts one’s spirits, resulting in increased hunger levels (nutrition).
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On the other hand, all that is needed in order to succeed above age 80 is merely to find out what “domino” has tipped over and tip it back up again. If one feels tired, check their movement. If one feels isolated, examine their purpose.
Aging well is not about dodging the difficulties of eighty; rather, it is about how you choose to face them. It requires an entirely new sort of courage: the courage to remain visible, to get up when it would be easier to sit down, and to reach out when you would rather withdraw. Your latter years need not mark a “slow fade” from life into retirement. Rather, it should be a period of true synthesis—when the lessons learned throughout your lifetime come together with a resolve to remain actively “in the game.”
By making all these tiny decisions each day, you aren’t simply extending your years but also enhancing them with a deeper sense of life. There is always room in our society for active, aware, and involved people in their eighties. In fact, since you’ve witnessed our world’s evolution, no one is more qualified to interpret its future than you.
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Bored Daddy
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