Simple Pleasures

In the busyness of life I think it is important to stop and recognize and appreciate the simple pleasures in life, like daily routines or experiences, that help us decompression from the stress of work and life.

So two simple pleasures from my day today are illustrative of this.  The first is something I enjoy every morning, and the other something I usually enjoy a few evenings a week.

About a year ago I started drinking coffee.  My primary reason for doing so was to experiment with improving my athletic performance  (weight training, running, biking and XC in winter).  A few years ago I had started taking caffeine tablets before working out since I did not get much caffeine any other way.  But last year I thought I would give coffee a try. A few years ago I tried drinking coffee, but gave up after only a week.  This time I was determined to be more persistent in forging a new daily routine of coffee consumption.

Each morning for the past year I begin my day with making some fresh coffee with my French coffee press.  Also, I never have my coffee in a coffee mug.  Instead, I have my coffee in a double wall thermal glass, like this one (which I saw someone using in a video when I was researching coffee):

I don't really know why, but I need to use these cups.  I rarely ever have coffee outside my house.  

The other odd thing is that I still, after a year of drinking coffee, do not really care for its taste.  I have a small dash of milk, nothing else, and drink two cups an hour before going to the gym.  But the pleasure I have come to enjoy is the practice of sipping coffee while I read over the news, check emails, pet my dog, etc. in the morning.  I think it is the calming morning routine of my coffee practice that has given my mornings some more pleasure.  Before drinking coffee, I would awake and head straight to the gym or for a cardio workout.  But now I appreciate the starting the day with some time to awaken before exercise.  It also gives the caffeine time to work its way through my system before exercise.

A second small source of pleasure is watching the cooking TV show Beat Bobby Flay.  The older I get I find I have less patience I have for watching TV, but cooking shows are the exception.  In the evening I find it relaxing and enjoyable to watch this particular show, which pits 2 outside chefs against each other in the first round, and the victor then takes on Bobby (who usually wins).  In the round with Bobby the outside chef gets to pick the dish they both have to cook.  So there is competition, and you get to watch the cooking process.  Watching an episode of that show helps me escape from the stress and grind of work.

The reason I decided to post about this topic is that I think it is so easy for us to forget or neglect small daily activities that bring pleasure.  I have noticed that, over the past 10-15 years most people's attention seems consumed to be consumed more and more by social media use and being on their phones.  I have intentionally chosen to live a life that is "text" and "social media" minimal.  I am vigilant about ensuring that my time and attention is primarily devoted to quality in-person time with family and friends, exercise and research and teaching.  But the little habits, like coffee in the morning or the entertainment of a TV show in the evening, are also important. And therefore worthy of a short blog post! 

Cheers, 

Colin    

The genetic transmission of stress across generations

Scientific Reports has this new published study on the the genetic transmission of stress across generations, a study that focused on violence in three generations of Syrian refugees.  The abstract:

Maternal trauma influences infant and adult health outcomes and may impact future generations through epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation (DNAm). Research in humans on the intergenerational epigenetic transmission of trauma effects is limited. In this study, we assessed DNAm signatures of war-related violence by comparing germline, prenatal, and direct exposures to violence across three generations of Syrian refugees. We compared families in which a pregnant grandmother versus a pregnant mother was exposed to violence and included a control group with no exposure to war. We collected buccal swab samples and survey data from mothers and 1–2 children in each of 48 families (n = 131 participants). Based on an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), we identified differentially methylated regions (DMPs): 14 were associated with germline and 21 with direct exposure to violence. Most DMPs showed the same directionality in DNAm change across germline, prenatal, and direct exposures, suggesting a common epigenetic response to violence. Additionally, we identified epigenetic age acceleration in association with prenatal exposure to violence in children, highlighting the critical period of in utero development. This is the first report of an intergenerational epigenetic signature of violence, which has important implications for understanding the inheritance of trauma.

Cheers, 

Colin 

Lewis quote on Dewey

 

The Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned

 I am doing some research which requires a deep dive into the history of medicine.  Today’s fascinating find is that the Royal Humane Society (founded in 1774) originally had the rather cumbersome title the ‘Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned’.  The two physicians who created the society were troubled by the number of people, presumed dead, that were being buried alive.  To raise public awareness about the new medical technique of resuscitation they offered financial rewards to those who saved or aided drowning victims. Of course this then lead to an increase in fake drownings scams, and the monetary rewards were replaced with medals.  

We humans haven’t changed that much in 250 years!

Cheers, 

Colin

Weight Training

 

I am doing some serious research on exercise-- its health benefits, adverse side effects and compliance rate.  This got me thinking about my own relationship with exercise, especially weight training.  So I thought I would write up some personal reflections here.

Growing up exercise and sports was always an intricate part of my childhood.  My father was an Olympic athlete (race walking, 1976), and my childhood was consumed by exercise and sports.  I played in a soccer league from ages 8-14, bowling league around age 6-7. cross-country running ages 8-12.  In the summer months I use to attend an all day sports camp, where kids choose two sports- one for the morning and one for the afternoon.  My sports were track and field and soccer.  The camp would begin with a 2 mile run, then I had track and field, lunch and then soccer.  Once I got home I would have dinner and then my parents would take me to my soccer game for my league.  Basically I was running for the whole day!  I suspect that was my parents way of tiring me out, as I certainly was exhausted by the end of the day.  I still run (or cycle, depending on the weather) 4-5 days a week, cross-country ski and play in a league for beach volleyball. 

But without a doubt the most impactful form of exercise on me over my lifetime has been weight training, which I started at age 14.  When I started high school I weighed  only 98 lbs, I was very thin.  I was also fascinated with the world of bodybuilding.  My older brother and I would collect issues of Muscle & Fitness magazine and idolize the Mr. Olympia winners.  

And I had an old pamphlet by Arnold that served as my workout bible from the first few years, and then this larger book came out:

With very few exceptions (e.g. illness or recovering from surgery), for the past 40+ years I have done weight training 5 days every week.  A weight workout, for me, is 30 minutes of intense lifting and I have followed the same regime for 4 decades: 

Day 1:  chest, shoulders and biceps 

Day 2:  back, triceps and legs

  

I don't really socialize at the gym, I go there to workout and then leave.  This makes it viable for me to be consistent.

When I think back to the skinny teen I was when I started weight training the initial motivation was probably a desire to transform the way I looked.  But after a few years of consistent weight training it became so much more.  Now, weight training for me is:  

(1) my religion 

(2) my cognitive enhancement and 

(3) my mood enhancement. 

I say weight training is "my religion" as it is a near daily practice, something that starts and orients the rest of the day.  I do not consciously say to myself, "should I go to the gym today?"  If it is a gym day I get up and just go.  There is no perceivable "volition".  Typically I follow 2 days on, off day off, but it can vary depending on other factors like work/family.  As a daily practice for many decades weight training provides tranquility in my life.  When circumstances arise that disrupt my workout schedule, like recovering from injuries or gym closures during COVID, this has a major disruptive impact on me.  But I do have a home gym, so really only injury, illness or travel disrupts my workout routine.

Weight training has also served as a "cognitive enhancement" for me, and I say this for two reasons.  Firstly, I am very fortunate that, now in my mid-50s, I have retained what I at least perceive to be a high level of concentration and appetite for research and writing. I have spoken to many other people around my age who complain that either these things are not at the levels they use to be when younger, or that they never were particularly high to begin with.  The only thing I am aware that has changed for me is that can not work effectively in the evenings.  Trying to just proof read an article, let alone do the creative aspects of writing, is not something I would undertake after 9pm.  My brain is getting ready for sleep.  The younger me had a different sleep pattern.  But that is the only cognitive change I am aware of.

Ample empirical research has demonstrated different cognitive benefits from exercise, such as improved neuroplasticity. All I know is that after I have subjected my body to 30 minutes of intense weight training it is like my mind is waiting and welcoming of me.  When I sit down to write after exercise my brain says "Ah, welcome back!".  And the ideas and concentration are just there.  If, instead of working out most mornings my daily practice had been posting on social media I suspect that, when I needed to start the serious work requiring intellectual engagement my mind would already be slightly fatigued.  A decades long practice of oscillating between "short but intense body training" followed by "long intense cognitive training" seems to have synced my psyche.  It is like my body and mind have an agreement with each other to honour the efforts made in the other's domain. So that when my body has been exerted my mind shows up to enable me to put in the time taxing it.  Then the next morning when I wake up and call upon my body for exertion it too complies and delivers.  

Thirdly, exercise has been shown to prevent depression  as well as be an effective treatment for depression.  I know for me there is a feeling of achievement after a good workout, and I can then attend, with concentration, clarity and commitment, to the demanding intellectual tasks that face me on a daily basis.  When I do miss workout days, because of injury or travel/work, etc. it negatively effects my mood.  Three days without exercise and there will be a perceivable alteration in my quality of life. 

Are there any adverse side effects/downsides to weight training?  Yes, of course.  Injury being the most obvious.  I have had shoulder surgery in both arms, as decades of bench press and over head lifts no doubt accelerated the deterioration of the cartilage in both shoulders.  Fortunately for me there is effective shoulder surgery to remedy this problem.  And so 10 years after surgery in both shoulders, in addition to 10 years of aging,  I can still bench press 95% of the weight I was doing prior to injury/surgery.  But I have a different mentality now, which I think comes with age.  Until my early 40s I still had a "no pain no gain" and "keep increasing weights" mentality.  But after two shoulder surgeries I shifted my mind to a "its about the long game!" mentality.  I want to enjoy weight training for the rest of my life.  So now, when injuries arise (which is more frequent), I take time to rest and heal.  It is typically pain in joints, like the wrists or elbows, that create the problems.  But as long as I modify when this occurs, the problem does not persist long. 

Consistently working out also requires time and a flexible work/parenting schedule.  I am fortunate that my work and family life has afforded me the opportunity to fit in time for weight training.  But I do believe that everyone, no matter how demanding one's work/family commitments are, can and should find time for exercise.  We only have one body, and if we take care of it and nurture its development it will repay our efforts with better physical and mental health. 

Cheers, 

Colin

Bush on Translational Science

 

This quote from 1945 is timely...

Cheers, 

Colin

Special Issue on Reproductive Aging

 

I just wanted to make a note to myself that the December issue of Nature Aging is a special issue on reproductive aging.  This is the last remaining substantive topic I need to still research for my new book on the ethics of geroscience.  

Cheers, 

Colin

Open Peer Review Policy

Last year I published 2 articles in journals of the Royal Society, and one of the unique features of their journals is that they have a policy of "open peer review".  This means that, should a paper be accepted and published, they publish the referee reports, editorial comments as well as the author's response to revisions etc.  For example, see the review report on my latest paper in Biology Letters here.

As an author the peer review process can certainly make one feel vulnerable, especially when reviewers emphasize shortcomings of one's original submission.  But this process can also be invaluable, especially to junior scholars who are not yet familiar with the "ins and outs" of publishing.  Firstly, you can see how the peer review process can actually substantively improve one's paper.  This was certainly the case for my paper mentioned above.  I received expert feedback from both reviewers that I was happy to incorporate as the suggestions from both referees greatly improved the argumentation I developed. 

The peer review process also reveals the common challenges authors face- the need to respond to many different points while trying to keep within prescribed word counts.  That was certainly a challenge for me with revising the paper.  As I added new details I had to delete something else.  And doing the latter then opens one up one's arguments to other potential concerns.  

Grappling with an R&R requires an author to make sage decisions about the tradeoffs they are willing to undertake to meet the concerns raised by referees, while remaining faithful to their own judgement of what they want to, and can feasible, achieve in a paper.  And all this has to be achieved within both time and word count constraints.  Not an easy task!  

Getting a glimpse into the peer review process can help junior scholars appreciate how much time, effort and persistence is required to take a paper from the "initial submission" stage to a potential "publication".  The publishing process is no doubt the most stressful part of being an academic.  But it is also one of the most rewarding parts of the career.  When one finally sees the finished product come out in print in the journal there is an incredible sense of achievement, something that would not be experienced if publishing did not have the rigours of the peer review process.  My experience of the open peer review policy has been very positive, I felt it was handled in a genuinely collaborative spirit and certainly helped strengthened my articles.  So I am appreciative of the time referees and editors devoted to the papers. 

Cheers, 

Colin