Endorphins

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Food for Happy Thoughts

Endorphins, Food and Drink / By

Wellandgood.com recently gave us some tips on boosting serotonin and, therefore, our mood…with food!  We’ve edited the article to cooperate with our short attention span. 

“There are some snacks that can boost your body’s serotonin as well as foods that deplete serotonin. Serotonin—an important chemical neurotransmitter—helps regulate many functions in the brain and body, including mood, sleep, bone health, blood clotting, and memory formation.

Balanced serotonin levels help us regulate our emotions and steady our mood, which is why serotonin is often called a natural mood stabilizer.  So first, what foods aren’t so good?

The three key foods that deplete serotonin, according to a neuroscientist are:

1. Sugary snacks

2. Food with high levels of trans-fat

3. Highly-processed foods

Serotonin is produced from tryptophan, which is not naturally produced by our bodies. As such, you’ll want to ensure that your diet includes this essential amino acid—and luckily, many a delicious ingredient fits the bill. 

Some great foods that contain tryptophan are eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon, and cheese.

Besides food, regular exercise is also a great way to increase your serotonin levels, as well as making sure you get sunshine and light, especially first thing in the morning if possible. This can help regulate your circadian rhythm and further improve your mood. Learning new information and, more specifically, building happy memories also helps with serotonin levels.

Hanging out with your loved ones can achieve the same effect. When we engage with others in meaningful ways, our cortisol levels go down while the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine balance in our brains.

So the next time you’re feeling a little down, consider spiking your serotonin levels with a healthy snack—or a few hugs and a sun-soaked walk with a friend.”

– Jet Cannon

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This Won’t Hurt a bit

Endorphins / By

It was a boring Dry January and then, due to some medical concerns, we cut out weed and caffeine.  So nothing left to catch a Buzz with except some exercise endorphins.  But finally, we got that long awaited doctor’s appointment. 

Doctor: I have some bad news and some very bad news.

Us: Well, might as well give me the bad news first.

Doctor: The lab called with your test results. They said you have 24 hours to live.

Us: 24 HOURS! That’s terrible!! WHAT could be WORSE? What’s the very bad news?

Doctor: I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.

– Jet Cannon

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endorphin Buzz

Endorphins, Fitness / By

With Dry January coming to an end, some Buzzed Boomers may be carrying on dry for a bit longer.  To experience that mellow Buzz without alcohol, generating endorphins via exercise is one option.  Exercise also helps with those New Year’s health and weigh-loss resolutions.

According to healthline.com, moderate exercise works just fine for generating endorphins; around 30 minutes after concluding.  That’s good news for Buzzed Boomers who need to be careful about over-exerting.  Moderate means you can still talk but might be short of breath.  And you might sweat a bit.

Covid-permitting, a small study found that group exercise was better at creating those endorphins that working out solo.

– Jet Cannon

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2022 Fitness Trends

Endorphins, Fitness / By

With Covid still circling the globe, keeping fit continues to present challenges. Gyms closed, some reopened, some closed again. As a result, home fitness got a huge boost. Some gyms have gone hybrid offering both in-person classes and online classes. And of course Peloton and others offer robust online classes. So what are the trends?

Well, according to some, wearable fitness trackers lead the 2022 fitness trends. The ability to track distances, heart rate, calories, and more on one’s wrist adds interest and motivation.

Next, home gyms. No surprise there, with gyms closing and some folks choosing not to go back to indoor gyms with Covid still festering.

Outdoor activities are next. Walking, yard work, pickle ball, and dodging floating Covid viruses are some of the obvious alternatives to staying fit indoors.

Next is strength training. Building muscle mass burns calories and tailors that beach bod and more people are discovering the positives strength training offers.

Oh, there’s more trends and we will continue to review and report. In the meantime, start your workout timer on the fitness watch, step outside to your outdoor home gym, and start pumping that iron!

  • Jet Cannon
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dive Bar Anthems

Endorphins, Music / By

We’ve been known to yammer-on about missing listening to an entire album, or at least one side of the LP.  We still do it yet there’s certainly something to be said for playlists.  We just noticed Apple Music has one called Dive Bar.  American Girl, Back in Black, Folsom Prison Blues,  I Love Rock ’N Roll, etc.  Gets those endorphins going without any help.   With good, solid  Rock ’N Roll we can do without the Sex and Drugs.

– Jet Cannon

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The Hunt for Happiness Week

Endorphins, Good Clean Fun / By

That’s right Baby Boomers.  Next week is Hunt for Happiness Week, according to National Day Calendar.  Here’s their tips to help with the hunt:

  • Who are the people in your life that bring you happiness? Seeing them might bring you joy.
  • When you walk into work, do you feel surrounded by supportive peers? At the end of the day, you may feel satisfied with a job well done.
  • Have you experienced a sense of peace when meditating or praying? A spiritual connection is often an essential part of overall happiness.
  • Taking care of your health and connecting to the outdoors improves your physical wellbeing. It allows us to be independent and be an asset to others.
  • Develop community connections and social activities that broaden your horizons.
  • Identify your favorite activities and pursue them more often.
  • Review your finances. While money doesn’t buy happiness, managing the money we do make well does helps us to create security in our lives.

Hmmmm.  Nothing about catching a mellow Buzz to bring us joy.  Maybe that’s the fourth week of January.

– Jet Cannon

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Record Setting Records

Endorphins, Music / By

The vinyl LP fad continues!  42 million sold last year.  

We love our good old fashioned albums for nostalgia sake (yet we have to periodically explain why we still hang on to them.)  It’s just that we still remember the thrill when bands would release new albums and we’d crank them up on the parent’s hi-fi and eventually on our stereo.

Nowadays, Taylor Swift and Adele top the vinyl charts.  So Boomers, get out there and pick up a copy of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.  Pop out those AirPods and feel the music.  Share the music.  Remember how great that was!?  

– Jet Cannon

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Tips For Seniors To Stay Motivated (or Covidated) To Exercise

Endorphins, Fitness / By

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a National Institute on Aging. We did not know that. The Institute has some suggestions for keeping that exercise motivation in gear.

Variety. Mix it up to work on strength, balance, flexibility and endurance. Makes sense.

Combine daily tasks like walking the dog or taking out the garbage with exercise by picking up the pace.

Make exercise a social activity. (Scratch this one for now unless you want to help thin the herd.)

Track your exercise and reward progress with a movie or massage. (Scratch the movie and massage for now. See thinning the herd above.)

Not particularly helpful? Well, blame Covid and drop down and give us 20!

  • Jet Cannon
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Drynuary

Caffeine, Cannabis, Endorphins, Fitness, Food and Drink / By

Some Buzzed Boomers are trying Dry January or moderating their drinking this month.  Some are amping up the exercise endorphins while trying to shed those holiday pounds.  Some are exploring their cannabis options.  And some are just sticking to that delicious cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

Whatever your path, whether a cocktail, a latte, a cannabis drink, or cold water after a good workout…. Savor the the beverage!  

Happy New Year!

– Jet Cannon

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Be Careful Out There

Endorphins, Fitness / By

Exercise is important to good health.  We all know that.  Yet as we age, the list of what exercises are safe for our bodies starts to decrease.  

We read an interesting article in Babyboomer.com called the Faulty Five.  The article suggests that folks over 50 be very cautious with martial arts, running on hard surfaces, plyometrics, Crossfit, and yes, even yoga.  It’s worth reading.  

The website usually has some pretty darn good information on a variety of subjects for Boomers.  Meanwhile, at Buzzed Boomer we will continue to promote escapes from reality (e.g. Painkiller cocktail, consumed responsibly of course).  Okay, the article doesn’t say to stop doing the exercises we used to enjoy; just to be careful, consult your doctor, etc.  While those healthy endorphins become more and more elusive we will continue to find a way. 

Can you say water aerobics?

– Jet Cannon

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The Only Exercise machine You’ll Ever need

Endorphins, Fitness / By

Men’s Health has a great article on fitness fads.  It’s a trip down memory lane for sure and some of them really work when actually used on a regular basis. 

We think the best fad of all is the Vibrating Belt.  No, they didn’t really work from a weigh-loss standpoint but the appeal of just standing in place and losing weight is pretty irresistible.  

Not surprisingly, there are variations still out there and even some claims that the vibration can be beneficial for obese folks.  That is not an endorsement.  Just a head-scratcher.

So dig through the closet, pull out the fads you bought and get back to exercising!

  • Bowflex Home Gym
  • Tae Bo
  • Vibrating Belt
  • Body By Jake
  • ThighMaster
  • Jane Fonda Videos
  • 8-Minute Abs
  • Roller Blading
  • The Shake Weight
  • Diet Pills
  • Ab Roller
  • Wii Fitness
  • Boot Camps
  • Power Plate
  • Pilates
  • NordicTrack
  • Couch to 5K
  • Cleansing/Juicing
  • Medicine Balls
  • Richard Simmons
  • Spinning/Soul Cycling
  • Toning Shoes
  • Pole Dancing Classes
  • Sauna Suits
  • Power Balance Bracelets
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ZZZzzzz

Endorphins, Fitness / By

We like sleep but sleep doesn’t always like us.  Getting enough sleep is key to heart health, eye health, immune health, productivity, coping with stress, and workout energy.  There are a number of possible causes of sleeplessness and the good news is there are answers.  See your doc for a referral to a specialist and sleep like a Baby.  Boomer. 

– Jet Cannon

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Bocce Buzz

Endorphins, Good Clean Fun / By

Baby Boomers need to stay mentally and physically fit and low-impact sports like shuffleboard and bocce ball, don’t laugh, can be more beneficial than you might think.  While you’re not likely to catch an endorphin Buzz from playing bocce, there are positive mental and physical health benefits including:

  • Self Control
  • Strategic Planner
  • Social Activist
  • Improved Coordination
  • Relieves Stress
  • Increased Confidence
  • Light Cardio

Per worldbocce.org, Bocce Ball was first documented in a 5200 B.C. painting of two boys playing, which was discovered by an English scientist, Sir Francis Petrial, in an Egyptian tomb.  Bocce Ball spread throughout Palestine and into Asia Minor. In 600 B.C., Bocce was picked up by the Greeks and passed to the Romans. It was played everywhere, from the churches and castles to the city streets. People from all walks of life could play the game; young or old, man or woman.  In 1319 A.D., Bocce Ball was actually prohibited to people of lesser nobility because it was felt that it diverted attention from more important tasks, such as archery and war training. In 1519, Bocce became a public game. It was played in Flanders, Holland and Belgium.Greek colonists brought Bocce with them to what is now modern Italy. It became so popular that it was once again threatened with prohibition, as people who were playing Bocce in the streets were hitting the knees of passing noblemen with the Bocce balls.

The popularity of Bocce in America has been on the rise since it swept California in 1989. There are more than 25,000,000 Bocce enthusiasts that have heard of the sport, play recreationally, or play on structured courts in the United States today. Bocce has also become a tournament sport. Tournaments are held weekly, some carrying large cash awards for their winners. It is now a part of the World Corporate Games, is an event in the Special Olympics, and is being proposed to be in the Olympics.

Bocce can be played upon any level surface by anyone who is willing to try. It is a game for all ages, gender and athletic ability. It is a very versatile game in which the rules may be changed according to the players. Play may range from a nearly nonexistent set of rules to the strictest of tournament rules.

So, get out there and bowl some balls!  Take no prisoners! 

– Jet Cannon

Another Excuse Bites The Dust

Endorphins, Fitness / By

Sometimes we feel too old and tired to do our strength training, even though we know about the positive benefits of lifting weights.  Then we saw Edith on goodnewsnetwork.org.

“Reaching the age of 100 in good health and good spirits is an accomplishment in its own right, but training to take home your next weightlifting trophy truly takes the (birthday) cake.  At the age of 98 years and 94 days, great-great-grandmother Edith Murway-Traina already had a Guinness World Record (GWR) as the “oldest female competitive powerlifter” under her belt—and she successfully deadlifted 150 pounds to do it. Traina’s storied win will be featured in the Guinness World Records 2022 edition.” And she’s not done.  She’s going after more.

What’s her primary motivation?  Not the trophy.  It’s applause.

Well, maybe no one is around when you finish your workout and you haven’t set any records.   Give yourself a round of applause anyway.  For Baby Boomers who are staying fit….. everyone gets a trophy.

– Dumbell Cannon

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