Members get a daily Covid-19 topic focused on Covid in Tennessee.
Supporters are part of a self-improvement sub-group where value is dispensed daily on personal growth in all aspects of life, informed by many sources. New members welcome!
Tennessee Covid update:
Hospitalized: 1,389
Deaths: 79
Positivity: 8.61%
Definitely a downward trend on positivity and hospitalizations in Tennessee, thought deaths continue and will for a while.
The FDA today approved boosters for Moderna (half-dose shot) and J&J. It also approved so-called mix-and-match, meaning any booster after any prior vaccination. Also, anyone who got J&J at least 2 months ago can get any booster, including another round of J&J.
It crossed my mind today how many skills and memories, experiences and loves, have been lost to this virus. This virus has killed 3 times more Americans than World War 2 did.
The tragedies, both on personal level, and at the community level, have been so great that we fatigue of even trying to wrap our minds around them.
In some ways, this virus has broken much of healthcare as we know it. Trust in those who have the training to treat our illnesses and injuries has been gutted. And some of those who have been tasked with caring for Covid patients have aged visibly as the enormity of this delta surge has hit so many people who one would not expect to die.
As I've said before, we don't get used to people dying under our care.
But one thing that hit me hard recently when talking with a colleague who has been treating critically ill Covid patients since it started, was his comment: "I don't really know what works, because my patients all die!"
Here's the deal, though. If a person is to be saved from Covid, it has to happen before they get sick, or very shortly after they are exposed.
Before: Get vaccinated. Lose excess weight.
Immediately after exposure, even before onset of symptoms: Get antibodies if you can. Follow a protocol like iMASK as closely as you are able. Get your sleep. Don't be sedentary. Get outside and get as much sunshine as you safely can. Drink lots of water. Get inhaled steroids like budesonide.
These are all better than "Go home and come back if you can't breathe!"
Because once you need oxygen, the damage is already pretty significant. You're already behind the ball.
I remain convinced that, in the post-mortem of this pandemic, we will realize how badly the bureaucracies that control our healthcare have failed to protect us.
Stay healthy!
I'm on a weekend night call schedule this weekend, which always leaves me feeling under-rested and generally icky.
But I wanted to remind you that outdoor exercise without screens is really good for your mental health.
Go outdoors, preferably into the woods.
Get in tune with those surroundings, the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the movement of air and the varying temperatures as you walk.
We were made to be outdoors.
We were definitely not made to work in cubicles.
One Degree!
What you want from your body will dictate what you need to set as goals, and the goals will determine what you'll end up having to change to attain them.
I've spoken many times about systems being better than goals, and my position has not changed.
But goals are easier to discuss and to understand, so for this week, we'll be very specific about goals.
Do you want more muscle mass?
Do you want to be stronger?
Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to gain weight?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to improve general fitness?
Do you want longevity?
Do you want strong bones?
Do you want to earn a Black Belt?
Understanding the benefits and costs of each particular goal may help you decide what you want.
For example, if you want to compete in body-building competitions, you'll not be doing the same thing as if you were focused on longevity. Same with strength competitions.
But general fitness and longevity go fairly well together.
Running is great but will increase the likelihood of needing knee or hip ...
I'll make this one short and to the point.
Spring time change is hard on all of us. Having to get up an hour early doesn't make going to bed an hour earlier much easier.
Yes, it's nice to have more productive time in the evening.
But it's at the cost of forcing us out of be an hour earlier, as we all know.
Our challenge is to adjust our circadian rhythm to match the world's expectations around us.
My main strategy is supplementing with a dose of melatonin about a half hour before I need to be asleep. It helps most people fall asleep more readily.
If you need a nap during your day, take it between mid-morning and early afternoon. Limit it to 20 minutes.
Taking a longer or later nap may make it even harder to get off to sleep in time.
All of the other normal advice applies even moreso:
- Take a 20-minute walk after supper.
- No screen time for the last hour before bed.
- Listen to calm music after supper.
- Don't eat for 2 hours before bed.
- Don't have conflict-laden conversations ...
