[SPEAKER_02]: Mrs.

Haging Ford, a podcast from Mayo Clinic about the science behind healthy aging and longevity.

[SPEAKER_02]: Each episode, we explore new ways to take care of our long-term health, the health of our loved ones and our community, so it can all live longer and better.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm Dr.

Christina Chen, a geriatrician and internist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

[SPEAKER_02]: In this episode, we are talking about aging as it affects older women.

[SPEAKER_02]: So women experience different health challenges than men as we age, including the after effects of menopause and generally experiencing a longer life, which means that in later years, many women age alone.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, how else is aging different for women and what can they do to increase their health span, brain span, and lifespan?

[SPEAKER_02]: Today, I'm delighted to introduce our guest, Maddie Degdwald, who is such a strong presence in the healthy aging longevity and women's empowerment space.

[SPEAKER_02]: She is the co-founder of Age Wave, which has helped lead industries and companies to understand the key trends impacting the aging population.

[SPEAKER_02]: She is a well-known keynote speaker and author of the newly released book, Ageless Aging, which I actually had the pleasure of medically reviewing.

[SPEAKER_02]: Great to be here with you.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, there's just so many books out there nowadays on healthy aging, ones that are more scientific focused, there's ones that highlight key components like lifestyle and diet, there's a whole longevity trend.

[SPEAKER_02]: And what I really appreciate about ageless aging is that it has just enough of the scientific explanations, but it really [SPEAKER_02]: highlights those core pillars of healthy aging that I try to do as much as possible my clinic visits and most of all it speaks to women so thank you for your work on that.

[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for saying that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And most of our guests are clinicians.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's really nice to have a different voice, a different perspective.

[SPEAKER_02]: Can you share a little bit about your background, how you got involved in the aging space and what led you to writing this book.

[SPEAKER_01]: I am a co-founder of age wave.

[SPEAKER_01]: My husband and I sounded age wave back in 1986.

[SPEAKER_01]: And literally we started it at our kitchen table.

[SPEAKER_01]: We were interested in the demographic changes that we saw happening in terms of the aging of our populations.

[SPEAKER_01]: What we saw happening was fewer babies, more older people.

[SPEAKER_01]: And at the time, there seemed to be a real prejudice [SPEAKER_01]: over the age of 50.

[SPEAKER_01]: Literally, 50 was the marker of over the hill.

[SPEAKER_01]: And we were like, whoa, if people are living longer, and at 50, they're considered over the hill.

[SPEAKER_01]: And marketers are not trying to reach out to them.

[SPEAKER_01]: Health practitioners are all but ignoring them.

[SPEAKER_01]: What's that about?

[SPEAKER_01]: So my husband and all decided that we were going to go out there and try to change the image [SPEAKER_01]: And along the way, we've built up this network of experts because I'm that a doctor and I'm not a researcher at the cutting edge.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I have access to the top expert's doctor's academics and I also got older.

[SPEAKER_01]: I started doing this when I was in my 30s.

[SPEAKER_01]: I now 75 years old and you are not.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, oh my goodness.

[SPEAKER_01]: You look amazing, Maddie.

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you, thank you.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, following this age of staging recipe really, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: But along the way, I did realize I had the direct experience of the fact that aging, it's a lot like playing dodgeball.

[SPEAKER_01]: We are dodging health and emotional and personal crises along the way.

[SPEAKER_01]: And frankly, it helps us build resilience but it also made me realize that I think we have more control over how we age than we've been led to believe.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that was like a huge aha for me because I was under the scientific impression that 70% of our health and well-being had to do with our genetics and then I discovered through some of the experts I interacted with that scientific fact has been turned on its head and the narrative on aging has really shifted.

[SPEAKER_01]: Today, according to the most recent science, we know that up to 90% of our health and wellbeing has to do with our lifestyle and environment.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we're literally the CEOs of our own health.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's true.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're in charge for some people that's like, oh my god, that's really scary.

[SPEAKER_01]: And for other people, it's totally empowering.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's part of why I wrote AIDS Assaging to make it more empowering, especially for women.

[SPEAKER_02]: Matt, do you want to share this book specifically for women in the aging journey because we experience it so differently?

[SPEAKER_02]: Can you tell us more about that?

[SPEAKER_01]: When I looked into the marketplace of books, for instance, some information that was being put out there by scientists and physicians, I saw that much of it was aimed either at a very general audience [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm like, well, huh, what's going on here?

[SPEAKER_01]: And what I began to see and Christy, I know you're well aware of this as a physician.

[SPEAKER_01]: The whole healthcare system, which is well-meaning, it's a well-meaning system, but it has been primarily designed for men by men.

[SPEAKER_01]: And honestly, we think of women's health as being reproductive health, [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't even until 1993 that clinicians began to include some women in later stage clinical trials, and it wasn't until even more recently, 2016 that the FDA stepped in and said you really ought to include women in clinical trials.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that means that much of the medicine that we're taking, it's not even designed for women.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that concerns me because, let's be honest about it, women, we've won the longevity lottery because we live an average of five to six years longer than men, but there is that health gender paradox that, yeah, women are lifespans are longer, but when it comes to our house spans and our brain spans, we're not doing as well as men, in fact.

[SPEAKER_01]: We spend the last 12 to 14 years of our life on average in a cascade of poor health, things like frailty, osteoporosis, heart disease, lung disease, and the worst of all Alzheimer's disease.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's really interesting you mentioned that because I also noticed it from a clinician perspective.

[SPEAKER_02]: There are certain health topics, for example, that women are just not comfortable talking about, because they feel like I shouldn't talk about it, or that something I should just live with, because it's supposed to be that way, perimenopausal symptoms, for example, sexual health, mental health, and emotional health.

[SPEAKER_02]: But it's changing now because I think providers are also more open about asking [SPEAKER_02]: You mentioned that you've been in the space since 1984, that's when you founded 1886, 1986.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, I was four years old.

[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that's me, I tell people all the time.

[SPEAKER_01]: I've probably been in this field longer than you've been alive.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm really curious how have you noticed aging trends have changed since then.

[SPEAKER_02]: You mentioned a little bit that earlier, but in terms of the industry itself and our attitudes towards aging just as a whole, what have you noticed?

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I've noticed that I've wished it would change more than it has, one thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think that the marker of what is old has actually morphed.

[SPEAKER_01]: And we're beginning to see some role models in our culture of what it means to age well.

[SPEAKER_01]: Mostly their famous people, like we see someone like Dally Parton who is [SPEAKER_01]: Probably one of the most awesome people out there.

[SPEAKER_01]: And she said, look, aging, it's a number, and I don't think about it.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have time to think about it.

[SPEAKER_01]: Rita Moreno, in her 90s, and I gotta say, if that's what 92 looks like, sign me up, because she's not just looks good, but her brain is clear, and she moves beautifully.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, she's a great exemplar of what is possible.

[SPEAKER_02]: what I look online of just aging looks like it's less and less of people in wheelchairs and walkers and disabled poor health and I'm seeing a lot more push towards vibrancy and activity and just being socially engaged even into our 80s and 90s.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I do like that that we're trying to influence it in that direction of living longer but also living healthier, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: And so that kind of goes to my next few questions, the difference between lifespan and health span.

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like health span is a fairly newer concept where it's different than how long we live.

[SPEAKER_01]: Life's not as the number of years that you live.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it's your life expectancy.

[SPEAKER_01]: Health span is the number of healthy years that you live.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_01]: So if you're like in a cascade of negative health, even if it's just aches and pains, you're not living your best life.

[SPEAKER_01]: is the ultimate factor that's affecting people today and that is the number of healthy years that your brain is functioning.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, a third of all people over the age of 85, women and men have some form of cognitive decline.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's so scary.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that is just, it is scary.

[SPEAKER_02]: You mentioned earlier in women, we tend to live longer.

[SPEAKER_02]: Downs physiologic aspects to that, but there's also social aspects to that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Why do we live longer as women?

[SPEAKER_01]: First, the science is not clear exactly why women live longer than men, but, in fact, we do.

[SPEAKER_01]: Many scientists will tell you that it has to do with estrogen.

[SPEAKER_01]: Estrogen acts as a protective thing in your body, protecting not just your reproductive system, but your brain, your organs, everything.

[SPEAKER_01]: So you get an extra tenure itself, just as an example.

[SPEAKER_01]: Women, they're number one disease that they die of, it's hard to seize, but we don't get it until 10 years later than men, because we have the protective quality of estrogen in our system.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's interesting because women in general are more social beings than men, and we know that loneliness itself is more prone [SPEAKER_01]: younger people right now.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the very old, especially women.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's a little scary because we know that loneliness is the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, this whole idea of social fitness is the real deal.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just a nice to have.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a got to have.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's something that we all need to think about.

[SPEAKER_01]: Women and men, but especially [SPEAKER_01]: since so many who are in the older years right now, tend to marry men a little bit older than them.

[SPEAKER_01]: They often end up being solo ages.

[SPEAKER_01]: And if they're aging alone, they need to come up with a plan.

[SPEAKER_01]: You really need to think through, how do you add social connection into your life in a proactive way?

[SPEAKER_02]: The other observation I made was that when the spouse passes away the widow can live actually a little bit longer, but if the wife passes away first, it's very short afterwards with a male pass-as-a-way after where it could be like, oh, I'm so confused.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's that caregiving aspect, you know, when we have the purpose of caregiving for other people, it builds up that resilience in many ways.

[SPEAKER_02]: What are the health benefits of feeling useful and purposeful in our life, [SPEAKER_02]: aspect.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that the social connection and the purpose have really started to gain some traction from a cultural standpoint these days.

[SPEAKER_01]: Chip Conley created modern elder academy and he said it to me brilliantly.

[SPEAKER_01]: I [SPEAKER_01]: relates to illness, we relates to wellness, a local idea that we are social creatures, and we benefit from interacting with other people, and we saw the impact during COVID of not doing that.

[SPEAKER_01]: We did studies at age wave during COVID, and what we found was that the younger people in particular were really suffering.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then many older people, especially those who were confined to their homes, they really suffered too.

[SPEAKER_01]: More than you would expect, whereas people in the middle didn't suffer quite as much, because they were still working, and they were meeting with people via Zoom.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a real challenge.

[SPEAKER_01]: And one of the people that I spoke to a psychology professor at Columbia University, and she told me that even having these micro-connections were really important.

[SPEAKER_01]: So, for instance, let's say you just leave your house and you go to Starbucks or some coffee place for breakfast in the morning, and you [SPEAKER_01]: interact with the barista and they've started to know your name and you know their name and you like maybe say more than a few words that's considered a micro communication connection.

[SPEAKER_01]: Same thing if you go to the grocery store, you know go to Whole Foods or say if we're wherever you go your local market having a connection with that cashier, believe it or not those things add up.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's true.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now that I think about it, I feel like the most interesting conversations I've ever had are the ones on airplanes next to random strangers.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I remember every person that I've talked to on the airplane because their story is so new and so interesting and it's like, wow, that's a human that I just had a connection with.

[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_02]: My next question is you've identified a long list of behaviors that are either age, accelerants or what you call age deterrence.

[SPEAKER_02]: We talked about a few here, but can you give us a few more examples?

[SPEAKER_01]: So going a day or more without exercising is a way to accelerate your aging on the flip side of it is if you get at least 30 minutes of some kind of exercise strengthening of muscles being the best, [SPEAKER_01]: three to five times a week, five to seven times a week in my mind.

[SPEAKER_01]: That means that you are chipping away at aging poorly, smoking, smoking will accelerate your aging.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll drinking alcohol.

[SPEAKER_01]: We used to think, oh, just drink one alcoholic beverage a day.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now they're telling us that drinking any alcohol can actually increase your risk of cancer.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's relatively new studies.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of a bummer, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: Sitting, sitting is the new smoking.

[SPEAKER_01]: If you sit for more than three hours without getting up, that's going to accelerate your aging.

[SPEAKER_01]: So on the flip side, if you stand up or get up, out of your seat every hour or two, that's going to help you age a little bit better.

[SPEAKER_01]: Just going to keep physically moving.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: I personally think that if there were a silver bullet, it would be fitness.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: skipping brushing your teeth, that accelerates your aging because there's bacteria in your mouth that can actually make its way up to your brain and contribute to amolid building up in your brain, which is one of the contributors to cognitive decline.

[SPEAKER_01]: eating sugar, eating ultra-process foods.

[SPEAKER_01]: These are all going to accelerate your aging whereas on the flip side, what's going to make you age better is to eat a lot of greens and organic foods.

[SPEAKER_01]: Hydration.

[SPEAKER_01]: You want to stay hydrated and that will help you to live better longer.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think on my website, we've a list of the accelerants and the decelerants so that you can look at them and say, Oh, I do all this right.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's great news.

[SPEAKER_01]: And here's places I can improve.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what it's about, I think, one of the Mayo Clinic physicians I spoke to was Dr.

Stephen Copackie.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he said, find one place.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's [SPEAKER_01]: food, maybe it's fitness, maybe it's social connection where you can get started and see some changes take place and that's going to motivate you to make changes in other areas.

[SPEAKER_02]: Mm-hmm.

[SPEAKER_02]: I love that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then you did mention another tip that we may not be as familiar with on how to age more healthily and one of them is understanding your own age identity.

[SPEAKER_02]: Can you explain that a little bit more and what that means?

[SPEAKER_01]: Christie, I love this one.

[SPEAKER_01]: First of all, I practice it.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's called the positivity effect and the research that has been done on this was begun by Dr.

Becca Levy from Yale and she went into the Midwest and studied people and their attitudes towards dating and what she found, which is pretty remarkable, [SPEAKER_01]: Those of us who have a more positive attitude towards our own aging and others, aging, we lived an average of seven and a half years longer than those who had a negative attitude, but more research has been done since then.

[SPEAKER_01]: And they found that having a positive attitude towards aging, it can actually reduce your risk of heart disease by 40 percent and cognitive decline by 40 percent.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's motivating.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's amazing.

[SPEAKER_01]: Changing your attitude, it doesn't cost a penny.

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like it's hard to do, though.

[SPEAKER_02]: It can be really overwhelming sometimes to make a complete change in your life.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I know in your book you outline various specific things that we can do to care of our bodies and minds and maybe by doing that first, the change in mindset can then come later as a result.

[SPEAKER_02]: Can you tell us more of the concrete advice you give for how to age well?

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, things like diet, that's no shock, sleep, not a shock, but as we've been talking about social connection and purpose and brain health, these things don't exist in silos.

[SPEAKER_01]: They actually interact with one another, so for instance, if you're exercising on a regular basis, you're going to have more energy to [SPEAKER_01]: do the things like connect with friends and family and maybe have a sense of purpose.

[SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, having a sense of purpose, people go, oh my God, what do I have to start non-profit or go back to work?

[SPEAKER_01]: And no, it could be walking your dog or taking care of your grandkids.

[SPEAKER_01]: It can be small things that make you feel like you have a reason to get up in the morning.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, when you mentioned that recipe, it reminds me of the blue zones.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so...

[SPEAKER_02]: Everyone in those small population areas, they're all aging well, and they're doing something different in each zone, but it's all kind of the same concept.

[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's built into their life.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's what makes it easier because they have a community of like-minded people.

[SPEAKER_02]: Let's focus on some practical tips we can share with our listeners about the lifestyle and environment piece.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've had one conversation earlier with the fitness coach about the strength training piece.

[SPEAKER_02]: But you mentioned there's six essential types of movement and exercise.

[SPEAKER_01]: just to add a little bit of a pinpoint to the muscle strength building.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's the most important part as you get older, because you want to fight sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle mass, and that can begin as early as in your 30s.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's one kind.

[SPEAKER_01]: Cardio is another really important kind.

[SPEAKER_01]: We want to build endurance, our ability to [SPEAKER_01]: walk, run, be able to compete from a cardiovascular perspective.

[SPEAKER_01]: Then there's flexibility.

[SPEAKER_01]: He want to remain flexible.

[SPEAKER_01]: Doing yoga is a really good thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: I try to do that at least three to five times a week.

[SPEAKER_01]: I do it in my own home.

[SPEAKER_01]: for is balance and I personally think balance is super important because if you're not balanced you could fall and break a hip or really hurt yourself and that's going to put you at a commission.

[SPEAKER_01]: I practice my balance through Lottis and I find myself getting better and better which is [SPEAKER_01]: Great news.

[SPEAKER_01]: You want to see improvement.

[SPEAKER_01]: The next one is posture and functional capacity.

[SPEAKER_01]: I actually think this is becoming more and more important as we spend more time in front of our computers, leaning over, putting our head forward.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a big concern.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then the last, which is the best kind for many people, is the relaxation and breathing.

[SPEAKER_01]: And [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to underestimate it, I mean, it sounds like, oh, yeah, just go take a little chill pill.

[SPEAKER_01]: But meditation would fall under that category, breathing exercises, and I know for me and my own personal life, I fall asleep.

[SPEAKER_01]: by doing breathing exercises.

[SPEAKER_01]: When I prep for a keynote speech, I do the boxed breathing.

[SPEAKER_01]: It just really calms me down and makes me feel energized.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's all kinds of apps that are available, practicing gratitude.

[SPEAKER_01]: Actually, would fall into that category, keeping a gratitude journal.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's so many things that fall into this relaxation and breathing that are important.

[SPEAKER_01]: those are the six kinds.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I love that you bring in ones that aren't typically thought about the relaxation breathing and stretching is something that people forget to do and they try to go into heavy cardio and straight trading without getting their muscles prepared and then that's [SPEAKER_02]: injury pro and that's the risk of damage to the muscles and ligaments and tendons and so I'm really glad that we're looking at this as a whole as times change as our bodies change we can't be doing things that 20 year olds are doing and maybe some of us still can but we really have to focus on the restoration piece and the preparation piece as well.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that you're 100% right, aging is a lifelong process.

[SPEAKER_01]: And we begin it at birth, and we go all the way to we die.

[SPEAKER_01]: And what we're beginning to see because of the lifestyle and environmental challenges that many people are trying to fight, I guess you would say, through our choices that we make on a daily basis, many of us are doing great in our 70s and our 80s [UNKNOWN]: Thank you so much for watching this video and I'll see you in the next video.

[SPEAKER_02]: So let's talk about brain span.

[SPEAKER_02]: I want to make sure that we have a chance to talk about this because my area of passion is cognitive health and a lot of my work is in dementia care because you know we still don't have a cure for Alzheimer's disease yet despite knowing about it for almost 120 years.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so what we as individuals can focus really on is prevention, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: My, my skills for people is a happy brain makes for happy body and unhappy brain is a dysfunctional brain that then leads to a dysfunctional body.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I think we have, you know, general awareness that we have to [SPEAKER_02]: have healthy sleep and good emotional health and all these things, but there's a lot of other things that people may be less aware of, which you do mention in your book.

[SPEAKER_01]: or a hundred percent right.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the prevention piece is relatively new.

[SPEAKER_01]: I've Alzheimer's running in my family.

[SPEAKER_01]: My mom had it.

[SPEAKER_01]: We threw her a party for her 85th birthday.

[SPEAKER_01]: And she loved it.

[SPEAKER_01]: She was the best time.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the next morning we sat down to talk about it and she didn't remember.

[SPEAKER_01]: I know.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's heartbreaking.

[SPEAKER_01]: It really is heartbreaking.

[SPEAKER_01]: But the genetic side of it has been lessons in the minds of scientists and experts like yourself, whereas the preventative side of it has grown in one importance.

[SPEAKER_01]: And one of the shortcuts I think about is what's good for your heart is good for your brain.

[SPEAKER_01]: I recently had the great pleasure of running into Dr.

Rudy Tante, who you know is one of the foremost experts on Alzheimer's research.

[SPEAKER_01]: He told me that the most recent science is far different than what we used to think it was because we've always associated Amaloid and Tao, but we've also known that in certain [SPEAKER_01]: instances when we've looked at the brains of people who are no longer alive, some of whom have had Alzheimer's and some haven't, some of the ones who have had Alzheimer's had no amolite in their brain and others who had a lot of it in their brain had no symptoms of Alzheimer's.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so for our listeners, build up of amolite and towel is really a key feature for Alzheimer's.

[SPEAKER_01]: that what he told me was, yes, you need to have amoloid and tau, but what really makes cognitive decline and Alzheimer's in particular happen has to do with the fact of neuroinflammation.

[SPEAKER_01]: Another thing that I really do find [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting is vagus nerve stimulation.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we know that vagus nerve goes all the way from your brain stem all the way down to your gut and that's considered the gut brain highway and stimulating your vagus nerve in a variety of different ways.

[SPEAKER_01]: It really comes the body and the brain down and what's so great about that is that if you have trouble sleeping, for instance, using some kind of a vagus nerve stimulator can actually make a huge difference, especially if what's going on for you is that your brain doesn't feel like it's shutting off.

[SPEAKER_01]: Never shuts off.

[SPEAKER_01]: What is supposed to?

[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, so there's still a Roma therapy treatments that work, and when I use the word treatment, I'm using it in a very general way, but I personally find that the aroma of lavender stimulates my brain in such a way that it makes me [SPEAKER_01]: relaxed, and that's a vagus nerve reaction.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that that's pretty cool.

[SPEAKER_01]: Audio therapy has become really popular.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's like music therapy.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's music and sounds.

[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes it's just the sounds or the beats that can actually stimulate your brain in new ways.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure you're familiar with some people use the tapping method that they feel like you tap certain areas of your head and neck.

[SPEAKER_01]: It works the same kind of way.

[SPEAKER_01]: Light therapy, the same thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have one of those 40 megahertz lights in my office.

[SPEAKER_01]: Then if I put it on every day, which I don't, but if I were to do that supposedly, [SPEAKER_01]: detox is your brain.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a good thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's what sleep does, by the way.

[SPEAKER_01]: Sleep is the opportunity to not just rest but to repair.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right, right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Some of the reasons that I do is on circadian lighting therapy for persons with early cognitive impairment, because it's not just morning lighting with a call seasonal effective.

[SPEAKER_02]: disorder, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: It's all day that the lighting changes to mimic the movement of the sun, to see that helps re-synchronize the brain, melatonin levels, and help with sleep and hopefully reduce mood-related problems.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, yeah, I think there's a lot to explore in that area.

[SPEAKER_01]: And what you do in the morning and even during the day, really impacts your sleep just as much as what you're doing at night.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, Maddie, I do have a few closing questions for you.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of a little tradition we do on the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: We like to get to know you a little bit more.

[SPEAKER_02]: What do you personally do to age well?

[SPEAKER_01]: I wake up in the morning, I just have a lemon and water or water and apple cider vinegar every morning, I try to get my circadian rhythms going in the right direction by walking my dog outside when it's sun first comes up and I try to take either a Pilates class or to cardio first thing in the morning like by seven or eight o'clock in the morning.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm really influenced by something that one of the Alzheimer's researchers talked to me about.

[SPEAKER_01]: She was based in France, so she's a very French perspective on things.

[SPEAKER_01]: And she said, you know, in France, we prioritize joy.

[SPEAKER_01]: And...

[SPEAKER_01]: As important as it is to eat a healthy diet is also important to prioritize feeling a sense of joy and recognizing that you're feeling that joy and embracing it and I think about that all the time try to embrace joy.

[SPEAKER_02]: And our last question is actually for our listeners, just to give them something to think about as they reflect on our conversation today and how they can age well for themselves.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, Maddie, what is the question you have for our listeners to make them consider how ageless aging applies to them?

[SPEAKER_01]: I learned two things from to really well-respected physicians, researchers, in terms of how do you implement this ageless aging holistic recipe?

[SPEAKER_01]: So Dr.

Steve Kopakki, over male clinic, he told me that he suggests that people find one entry point.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think I mentioned this earlier, so changing your diet or maybe it's starting to exercise every day.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then from that, you're going to feel better over a matter of weeks and months and you're going to want to go further.

[SPEAKER_01]: On the other hand, if you are struggling with a cascade of aches and pains or maybe heart disease or maybe you feel like your brain isn't functioning [SPEAKER_01]: He said to me, no, you should take this ageless aging, holistic recipe, and you should implement as many of the things that once as you can, and then give yourself a month.

[SPEAKER_01]: And in that month, you are going to feel so much better, and then take the diagnostic test.

[SPEAKER_01]: Get those blood tests, ask your doctor, I want those blood tests.

[SPEAKER_01]: And when you see the results, compare to what they were, it's going to motivate you to stay with them.

[SPEAKER_01]: He did add one other party said and be sure to have a social network of people who can help you stay on track.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, this has been such a fun conversation and I just love speaking to authors because I can tell you're so passionate about your work and you've just been such a huge influence in pivotal figure in the space of healthy aging.

[SPEAKER_02]: please keep doing what you're doing for as long as possible as a leader and as someone who is clearly setting an example of ageless aging.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, Maddie.

[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Christy.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's been such a pleasure being here with you.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that's all for this episode.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hopefully you're feeling a little bit more informed, inspired, and empowered.

[SPEAKER_02]: For more information on Maddie's book, Ageless Aging, you can find a link in our show notes.

[SPEAKER_02]: On the next episode of Aging Ford, one of the most profound and challenging journeys in the Aging experience.

[SPEAKER_02]: Being a caregiver.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mom and dad were married for more than 60 years.

[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't until he was gone that we realized her dementia had progressed as much as it had I see I see.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you have a topics suggestion for future episode, you can leave us a voicemail at 507-538-6272.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we might even feature your voice on the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: For more aging fort episodes and resources, head to mailclinic.org slash aging fort.

[SPEAKER_02]: And if you found this show helpful, please subscribe and make sure to rate and review us on your podcast app.

[SPEAKER_02]: It really helps others find our show.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for listening and until next time, stay curious and stay active.