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: 745
Deaths: 29
Positivity: 7.6%
There are automobile crashes every day in Tennessee. People die on in these crashes. Yet they get relatively little media attention because they are too common and people are not interested unless there's something unique or spectacular about the accident.
There are plane crashes much more rarely, but nearly every one ends up getting covered in the media.
It's because they are rare and they scare people.
In the news today, a single patient who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (neurological symptoms including weakness and sensory changes) after a Covid vaccine dose was highlighted.
Of course, this is truly unfortunate, and my sympathies go out to the patient, but the rarity of this event is what makes it news.
Remember when you hear a news article that, generally speaking, the rarity of the event being reported is what makes it news.
It is now being reported that Regen-COV, the Regeneron antibody cocktail, provides strong protection for up to 8 months after administration. This is one way that it will be different from the oral anti-viral pills being brought to market currently.
If you've been reading my posts for some time, you may recall that, before vaccines were proven to have benefit, I was promoting the use of monoclonal antibodies as prophylactic treatment in healthy people, just as we used to use immune globulin injections to provide passive protection against Hepatitis A.
And here, a year later, where we're now hearing that vaccines are only providing protection for maybe 8 months (depending on how you define protection, of course), it turns out that Regen-COV is performing similarly.
Now, let's be clear that the monoclonals are far more expensive and more difficult to administer than vaccines, and so they aren't truly equivalent on the population scale. But in frail and high-risk people, Regen-COV as a prophylactic dose could be of benefit.
But the most important thing is still to be as healthy as you can possibly be.
Address obesity as a curable disease, because it is.
Control your blood sugars well if you're diabetic.
Don't have vitamin or mineral deficiencies.
Get your sleep.
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 ...
