2024 Year End Meditations and Reflections

Dec 31 2024

As this year ends, and we partake of the holiday lull in frenzied to and fro, what activities would enhance our brains? Which will instead push us towards dementia? Physical activity is a strong protector against dementia risk, but what about the less vigorous pursuits?

A recent study from Australia, assessed the 24-hour activity patterns of 397 elders, and they discovered that the context of the activity that you engage in, determines whether it is beneficial to the brain. Specifically, some sedentary behaviors can be a boost for cognitive function while others have detrimental effects. Social or mentally stimulating activities such as reading, listening to music, praying, crafting, playing a musical instrument, or conversing with others are beneficial for memory and thinking abilities. On the other hand, watching television or playing video games lead to cognitive loss.

So, we can benefit our brain health by swapping one sedentary behavior for another. Perhaps, you can choose to read my newsletters to stretch the borders of your mind?

Power of Storytelling. In this newsletter, I report on how stories feed our minds: “The austere Smithsonian Magazine recently featured findings from a self-named “Story Scientist” who is part of the Project Narrative - an academic think tank for the study of stories. There they build on the belief articulated by Aristotle, that story elements infiltrate our imagination, our emotions, our psyche, which can then improve our mental function.”

Handwrite to Remember. Moving to make memories. In this newsletter, data tells us that the motor act of handwriting the words, improves our memory abilities. So with pen in hand, jot down your thoughts, make lists, write letters, capture past vignettes for a future memoir.

More oldie but goodie newsletters to peruse for contemplating this year’s end:

Year End Meditations: What did it all mean? What were the sacrifices for? Is there a crystal in the ashes of the crucible? A pearl created from sand in the oyster?

Year End Meditations: Dec 31 2022 Easing into 2023, oh what will be? Hopefully, THE GREAT AWAKENING !

Year End Meditation Dec 31 2023; was blind but now I see: Toasting you with my traditional favorites

But let us close with one of my favorite poems.

WISHING A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!! - Laura Kragie M.D.

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REFERENCES

ML Mellow, et al. Should We Work Smarter or Harder for Our Health? A Comparison of Intensity and Domain-Based Time-Use Compositions and Their Associations With Cognitive and Cardiometabolic Health. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences (2024). DOI:10.1093/gerona/glae233