KEEP IT SIMPLE

We folks who live alone need to make more of an effort to be happy and healthy.

Remember the book my sister gave me when I turned 60?  Master Class by Peter Spiers.  (Peter Spiers is senior vice president at Road Scholar, the world’s leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring adults to learn, discover, and travel. He is a graduate of Harvard College and lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with his wife, Melissa, and sons, Tomas and Andy.  So he's got some credentials and I believe he lives by his own advice.)

Everything we do should involve:
     Socializing
     Moving
     Creating
     Thinking

Using a scale of 0-4 and we should aim for 100 points per week.  Luckily for me, he put together a list of common activities so I can just pick ... for example having my own blog earns 6 points for every hour I invest.  If I spend 2 hours a day, I could earn almost 100 points doing just that.  But there isn't much moving.  So we need to have a balance.

I'm big on keeping myself high in the social category.  I have an older friend whose husband died five years ago.  The first two years she stayed at home, did everything by herself.  Bridge once or twice a month.  She was sad and depressed and I could hear it over the phone.  She LOVES learning and I helped talk her into taking some classes at her community college (free).  I could hear the difference in her after just a few classes!  One of her two daughters got her to move from a retirement community to a small house near her ... several states away.  

She is doing GREAT ... plays bridge at least twice a week.  Has a bit of yard work, change of seasons and just loves her new town.  Exploring where to shop, get a hair cut, etc.

Today my favorite sister sent me a link to a NPR article written by a doctor (she is married to a doctor .... who needs to heed this advice!!)  It is called Keep Things Simple For A Healthy, Long Life by John Schuman.  People (especially family members) are always asking him for advice and he feels they are underwhelmed when he shares his information with them.

Get enough sleep.

Move your body throughout the day.

Eat well — a healthy assortment of foods. Mostly plants, and not too much. (An idea popularized by author Michael Pollan.)

Interact socially. Isolation is not good for the body, soul or mind.

Take some time to reflect on what you are grateful for.

You can read the whole article at http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/16/459970110/keep-things-simple-for-a-healthy-long-life?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160102

I found a new word today while doing research for this blog.  Maybe I will give myself an extra point for using it in conversation every week.