Bonus episode: Live longer, live better - Moira Welsh in conversation with Dr. Samir Sinha and Laura Tamblyn Watts (CEO of Can Age)

24:48And I think that many of us have that experience of social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic. And we don't want to think about it anymore. But most of the things that we did during the pandemic to stay connected are things that really do work. It is the Zoom call. It is continuous learning. It is the sense of trying a new thing, even if you're not good at it. It is, you know, saying hi to your neighbor next door. Even if you're in a big city and you mostly don't do that, a smile makes a difference. My next book is on aging relationships, because that's another thing that we have to talk about.

25:18It may be that you're doing okay, but your partner, your spouse, or your best friend, or your mom may not be doing okay. And even as you're getting older, maybe together, that relationship may not be as healthy as it once was. You got to exercise your relationships as much as you exercise your body and your mind. And so it's important to remember that you check in. My husband and I always say there's three of us in our marriage, right? You, me, and the relationship. And part of what's important about that is you may be doing okay individually, but your relationships or your social connections or your friendships, they may be suffering.

25:53And so thinking about them as a separate entity that you're taking care of really can help. The last thing I'll say is so small, smile and say hi to people, even if they give you the weird look, right? We're Canadian and it is actually important. We know, research says, Lancet, If you smile at someone and you say hi and you make a connection of sort of three to ten seconds with your eyes and nod, even if you don't actually say anything else, it makes a big difference. And, you know, pet the dogs as they go by. That physical connection and dog walking is one of the best things you can do to overcome loneliness and social isolation, oddly.

26:31That's great. Dr. Sina, financial well-being is another really important issue. and we're going to be living longer, so how do we afford to maintain ourselves during these extra years? And the National Institute on Aging has done surveys that show that a lot of people who are not even ready to retire by the so-called traditional retirement age, they don't have savings or they have a few thousand dollars in their savings. So what did those surveys by the NIA teach us about how to prepare for financial health or what's coming our way if we do not prepare?

27:14Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah, so we've talked a lot about the importance of staying physically well, and also our emotional and social well-being. These are two key elements that really help set us up for a good older age. But that third piece that makes that triad, or I have some thoughts with the Bermuda Triangle of Aging, if you don't get it right, you know, is that financial security? So that's why a lot of the work that we do at the NIA is focused on health and social well-being, but also financial security. Because when you look at the stats, they're pretty scary. And so when we do our annual survey, for example, we know that there are a number of Canadians, you know, of working age who are not sure if they're going to be able to afford to retire.

28:01Dr. Samir Sinha:Because if we think about traditional retirement age being, say, 65 years of age, we know that you have at least about 20 years of life expectancy ahead of you. And many people will live beyond that. So the question is, you know, how are you making ends meet now? And are you also, you know, thinking about what your financial plan is? Because if you're hoping for just Canada pension plan and old age security and guaranteed income supplement, those weren't meant to be your sole source of support when you retire. And the scary part is that we have upwards of a quarter of working Canadians who say they're not sure they're going to be able to afford to retire.

28:39Dr. Samir Sinha:And we also have a significant number of Canadians. This is the stat that scares me the most. It says the average Canadian retiring, the median amount saved in their savings account is only about$5 ,000. So again, some people have done a lot better than$5 ,000. But when the median amount that, you know, that an older person who's retiring has about 5 ,000 in their account, that means a lot of us are not going to be financially prepared. And the reason I focus on this is because if you don't have the finances you need to live independently, you know, rent doesn't stay the same, right? You know, our costs of living are going to continue to increase and we might have additional health and other expenses that we want.

29:25Dr. Samir Sinha:And if we can't afford, you know, kind of the food that we want, if we can't afford to transportation to get around our communities, that can then actually further cause more isolation and loneliness, not because you don't want to go to the party, but now you can't even afford to get out there to call an Uber or to, you know, to drive a car because you can't afford the gas, whatever the case is. So that's why it's really important to not only think about our physical, emotional, social well-being, but also from a young age, start thinking about, gosh, I could live to 100. And if I could, then what do I need to start thinking about financially so that I can actually make sure that I'm financially as well prepared as possible?

30:11yeah it's such an important topic and laura you joined me on the our podcast episode which will be coming up in the next week or so on discussion around work and how we're going to be many of us will be working longer and for many good reasons other than financial but finances are a big part of that but i think i'll let attendees hopefully tune into that episode and hear that discussion for themselves. But one of the points that we discussed, and I love the way you described it, was the value among older workers of crystallized intelligence. What does that mean? Can you tell our attendees today what that means?

30:54Very broadly, there's two kinds of intelligence that we measure. There's many ways of thinking about this, but fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. And crystallized intelligence is your book smarts. It's stuff you learned, right? Someone asked me the other day about the general quadratic equation. And I knew it. I didn't know where my keys were. I actually was looking for my keys. But I said, oh, X equals negative B plus or minus the root of B squared minus 4, blah, blah, blah. And I thought, where did that come from? Like, I haven't thought about the general quadratic equation since grade 11, essentially.

31:31But it's baked in there. It tends to be long term and it's stable. It grows and then sort of stays quite stable. Doesn't decline very much, unlike fluid, which is stuff you're learning all the time. And it kind of peaks about 27. It's sort of a downhill. So crystallized intelligence is also not just, you know, things like the general quadratic equation, but it's cultural norms. It's lived experience. I had an opportunity to do a global meeting in the fall. And I learned from colleagues about how a small community was saved because of farming techniques that had been used 50, 60 and 70 years ago.

32:10So much of the climate change and so much reliance on technology and gasoline and fuel products meant the community couldn't do it that same way anymore. And they were having all these terrible floods and droughts. And it was that older person, that elder in the community that said, oh, 60 years ago, we had episodes like this similarly, and we did different things with the tranches and saved the community, saved. And now that information, that library of elderhood is being really extracted or written down. I wrote a paper called My Grandmother is Google, right? Because now if you know things or want to find things, maybe it's your grandmother is now AI, but actually it's not true.

32:52So much of those cultural norms, social norms, key learning strategies, and extrapolative information. So if you're in a business environment or you're with somebody for problem solving, one of the things that we know is that younger people have sometimes less good problem solving techniques, because less face-to-face engagement, less learning. And there is something about having learned, been through this, this too shall pass, and how people's feelings and emotions are connected. And that's why multidisciplinary teams work so well. But unless you have older workers there with that good crystallized intelligence, you're missing a huge amount of social, cultural, and emotional strength.

33:31And that we know, and has been measured by the World Economic Forum, the OECD, the UN, my organization and the AARP did it, and have found that with that crystallized intelligence on your workforce, you're going to be more productive, your younger people are going to be happier, and you're going to have much better sort of a thought about your brand or your marketing. So every aspect gets better. You need the crystallized as well as the fluid. It's interesting. I know it's a term already used, but somebody could brand that for older workers, perhaps. It's true. You know, market them that way. Question for Dr.

34:11Sina. Acknowledging, as we have discussed, that we all have different physical abilities and health issues and things can change at any time, unexpectedly. Do you think that a growing focus on fitness, preparation for our older years among the younger people who are now acknowledging that they're aging, do you think that can change their experience when they reach old age, if they start preparing now in a concerted way? Will we see a different response?

34:50Dr. Samir Sinha:Absolutely. You know, I think what we're learning now, and I think, as you say, you know, are our younger age groups actually participating in more fitness than previously, you know, when we were younger, like probably, maybe, you know, there's a certainly, you know, I live in downtown Toronto, I see a lot more gyms, a lot more people, younger people being physically active. So maybe that's my neighborhood, maybe that's what I see. But I think the key is, is that we like to always say it's never too late. And it's never too early to start actually doing the things you can do to say, prevent dementia to to to do those things.

35:26Dr. Samir Sinha:So again, you know, for older viewers out there saying, gosh, I've never done any exercise. Have I missed the boat? No. You know, if you want to get out there and walk and go for a walk, you know, that's actually how you start. And so when younger people are starting earlier, they're getting what I call longevity dividends, right? So it's this idea that the more you stay physically active, the more you stay socially engaged, you know, the more education, the more crystallized intelligence that you start developing at a younger age, those things all have benefits. Like there's no bad downsides about them.

36:03Dr. Samir Sinha:It almost kind of sets you up with a greater likelihood of success because if you start, you know, you know, you know, kind of eating well and exercising and, you know, drinking in moderation, you know, kind of doing those sorts of things, it will hopefully stave off, you know, chronic health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, you know, lower your cancer risk, those sorts of things. And all of those things cumulatively can reduce your risk of dementia, they can reduce your chance of developing arthritis, they can develop, you know, those other chronic illnesses that I mentioned. And so all of those things can actually have that payoff.

36:38Dr. Samir Sinha:It's part of the reason why fewer people today are actually living with dementia than we imagined would be living with dementia 20 years ago. Now, yes, there are more people living with dementia than ever before. That's because age is the greatest risk factor. But because of those things that we've now been doing, those positive steps, that's partly why we're living longer lives than ever before. That's why there's an expanded health span and an expanded lifespan. But this is why we actually think that if we continue to pursue these things, more of us are going to live into not only now the average life expectancy is 82, but to our late eighties or early nineties.

37:17Dr. Samir Sinha:That's why I, I'm hoping that if all goes according to plan, not only what I do, but you know, as long as the great creator doesn't get me hit by a bus this afternoon, I'm hoping that I might be able to make it to a hundred as well. It's a goal that I've set. I know, you know, maybe that's not going to happen, but it's kind of fun to think about, wow, I've got so many years of life ahead of me. So that's why as I approach my 50th birthday, I am thinking, you know, part of my winter break here was, you know, having chats with my partner about what are we going to be doing in the future? I love Laura's comment about he, me and our relationship, right?

37:56Dr. Samir Sinha:You know, thinking about how do we keep that strong and well. But also we had conversations about how do we stay socially connected? How do we stay physically better? How do we think about our financial well-being? Because, again, it's kind of neat when you have that target and that goal. and knowing that there are things we can actively do to help us live longer and healthier and socially connected lives. One of the easiest things you can do besides eat right and exercise is tell yourself, these are the good days. This is a real thing. The longest ever study on happiness done out of Harvard and tried to ask what's called hedonic levels.

38:35So they look at people who'd won the lottery and people who had bad things and people who won the lottery felt better for a while and people had bad things felt worse for a while. But kind of on the end, they they wherever you are kind of baseline as an up or down person, it's kind of what you'd return to. So this giant study looked at what can we do to actually change that baseline and how does that baseline make a difference? So, you know, good genes are good. Good habits are really important. But actually, your mentality is really those old motherhood and apple pie. How you think really does matter to how you feel.

39:09And the one phrase that the happiness study on aging found was if you tell people and yourself, these are the good days. And it's just about the only thing that will move your hedonic level, your baseline level up. And the more up you are, also, the more likely you are to meet that friend for the walk, the more likely you are to take that step that you need to take as well, the more likely you are to be a good person in that relationship, not just be good to yourself. So these are the good days. Add that into your day.

39:42Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah. And I like to say, you know, Laura, on top of that, I would say I've learned this, you know, every day is a gift, right? So now what are you going to do with it? Right. And I think if you have that kind of that mindset, as you just said, I think it puts you in a positive headspace to kind of say, OK, so how are we going to make the most of this gift that we've been given? So speaking of that, Dr. Sina, you have a number of patients who are centenarians. And do you find there's any sort of perspective they have that's different than others? Or how did they get there? And I think from speaking to you in the past, some of them are pretty active people out in the world enjoying life.

40:24So is there anything that they're doing, any kind of perspective, as Laura noted, that helps?

40:32Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah, you know, it's such a privilege, right? It's like, you know, caring for all of my patients is such an enormous privilege. And I really lean into kind of, you know, thinking about what makes these particular individuals special. I think, you know, having that positive attitude, you know, having that sense of resilience, you know, being grateful for what you have and also having that perspective, you know, not sweating the small stuff. Right. You know, and realizing like in the grand scheme of things, holding that grudge and being angry is just going to make you feel worse and it's going to make everyone around you feel worse.

41:07Dr. Samir Sinha:And so I love that kind of that attitude. I love that idea of that, that sense of kind of, you know, had that had, you know, 90 to 100 years to crystallize that knowledge. So they know what, what, what needs to be thought about and what, what doesn't need to be considered. I mean, there's other things, right? I think it's about being socially, like, these are folks who often are staying socially connected and engaged, you know, they want to read the news. I remember my my one of my centenarians, she was getting really frustrated that she couldn't read her newspaper. And I said to her, well, what we need to do is she's at a retirement.

41:45Dr. Samir Sinha:I said, let's get let's get you an iPad. And this particular newspaper, they actually have a little button beside every article, you know, so that you can actually just listen to it. And when we got our audio books through the Toronto Public Library, because she used to be the head of her book club, she could rejoin her book club and stay engaged. And the best part was when I checked in with her and said, so, so now you've got the audio books, you're back in the book club. What do you think? And she made me laugh. She said, you know, it's great being back in the book club, but not loving all of their selections.

42:17Dr. Samir Sinha:And then I'm like, well, maybe you should run for president of the book club again. She's like, no, that time has passed. And I don't have time for that right now. So I just love this idea of staying engaged, staying connected, asking for help to do so. And then one of my patients who I absolutely adored until he passed away at 102, he was a retired physician. And he and I bonded because we love to eat sardines. So he would say sardines are key. And I actually think sardines are phenomenal. So maybe that there's something there to it as well. But again, these are the things that I've been learning from my centenarians.

42:54Dr. Samir Sinha:It's really about attitude. It's about staying active. It's staying connected and not sweating the small stuff. I was going to ask you about the sardines, so I'm glad that you brought them up. We'll be right back. Hi, it's the makers of Genicol. Your knees called again. They're suffering. Please give them relief with Genicol Anti-Inflammatory. It contains aminolac collagen, biopyrine, and turmeric, which is traditionally used in herbal medicine as an anti-inflammatory to help relieve joint pain. You'll find Genicol anti-inflammatory in pharmacies and online. And a coupon is waiting for you at genicol.ca.

43:30Give it a try. This product may not be right for you. Always read and follow the label.

43:35Dr. Samir Sinha:Genicol makes me feel so good.

43:43Now is a really good time to move to some of our questions from the attendees. So I think I will start with the fact that there are a number that sort of merge together on different themes, such as a good health span or a flip side of that question is, what are three things to eliminate? And I know you spoke to some of those earlier on, but are there any other ideas? And perhaps even Laura, before we go to Dr. Sina, what do you think? I mean, just in terms of like social issues or anything else, what would you get rid of to help improve your lifespan? At the individual level, I would get rid of a sense as again, whether is it about age or fear.

44:37Like I would, I would, I would get rid of that bucket word old and actually really just have a look at what's in there for you. Cause it may not be the same things that's in there for somebody else. I just get rid of that word. And I have to say, I get rid of everything that's got these number cutoffs to them. Like most of these numbers came out of things that make no sense. The story behind 65, and it's been told enough times, I think it might be something like true, is that Otto von Bismarck needed to pay a pension to his soldiers. And the highest ranking oldest soldier was 67. So he made that 75, which was sort of like making a pension at 120.

45:15And then he needed, you know, a political boost 10 years later and lowered it to 65. And that was done, you know, at a time where nobody lived that long. And when we think about, you know, our health care systems, like the age based triage, some of these numbers are Old ideas make no sense. They're just not based on who we are anymore. So really, when you're looking at just those numbers, I get rid of those and try to say, what is it we're trying to achieve and what do we need to know now? So I get rid of that. The last thing I would just get rid of is this sense that you are alone in being annoyed that things keep changing.

45:52My almost 89-year-old mother was really mad because all the stuff on her computer system and her phone was looking different and nothing was working anymore. And we came and it would be easy to say, oh, you know, she's just out of date with technology. No, it was the new iOS system was really annoying. And I just had an experience as well, but she felt embarrassed. She felt embarrassed because she didn't know how to deal. I said, listen, we all feel like that. I feel like that with my kid. The rate of change is so fast right now that our hesitancy about not wanting to look stupid or not wanting to look out of touch or not wanting to be good at something, if you could just get rid of that, you'll find out that mostly everybody is feeling the same way.

46:37Be willing to be bad at something is so much more empowering as we age. And that's one of those things that when we look back and you look at regret, so many people say, I wish I'd done this, or I wish I'd gone traveling, or I wish I'd, you know, tried that job, or I wish. Don't be held back by the sense of fear or shame or the state of change. Turns out probably everyone's feeling the same way. Another attendee named Linda N. asks, are there any yearly medical tests I should get after the age of 65? Dr. Sinnott?

47:14Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah, so I wouldn't say that there's, again, this idea of the annual health physical has actually almost been debunked now as something that you need to go and get this annual kind of ritual where a doctor looks you over and all these things, I think you should, A, have a primary care provider, B, try and see them at least annually and kind of ask that question, are there any things that I should be doing? There's not a test that we say you should get done every year. But, you know, as Laura and I often advocate for collectively, is there are vaccines that we should be getting every single year.

47:49Dr. Samir Sinha:And there are other vaccines that are age based, you know, proven by science to say at this age, this is the vaccine you should have. and, and, and that. So, but, you know, you know, by checking in with your regular healthcare provider, you know, let them know, how's it going? You know, you know, is there anything holding you back? Because that's when I then look at my older patient and say, okay, well, that's not normal. That actually, you know, kind of comes with wear and tear and mileage. And now, you know, by you telling me these things, I know what tests we need to do. So now I need to know if I need to screen you for cognitive impairment or dementia.

48:26Dr. Samir Sinha:I need to know we have to do a cancer workup, or if we have to think about your heart and your lung or see how your blood pressure is doing. So I would say there's not an annual test, but I would say, make sure that you do an annual check in with your healthcare provider, ask them, am I up to date on my vaccines? Here's what's going on. Is there anything I should be worried about? And by having that sort of approach, and as Laura was and getting rid of the numbers, you're going to make sure that you're actually making sure that your healthcare needs are being appropriately addressed to help you stay healthy and independent for as long as possible.

49:05And you saw me point to my ears. I really mean it. Like one of the most important things you can do and people skip all the time is getting your hearing checked. It is one of those areas that makes a huge difference for social isolation and loneliness because you can't hear anything anymore. You can't have a one-to-one conversation. Maybe you can say something, but then you can't have an exchange or you can't go to a social event or you can't go when there's a group of people. It also, you know, creates great frustration in relationships. Right. Nobody likes that. And for yourself, it increases your chances of getting dementia as well as affects your balance.

49:42So a hearing test is one of those things people often skip. And as you get older, people say, oh, you know, I'm just getting older. My hearing's not as good as it used to be. No, you can actually do lots of things now. And eyes need to be checked more often. So again, not just every two years or five years. No, you need to get your eyes checked quite often because they can change much more regularly. I like people to get their balance checked. You don't have to go to a healthcare provider for your balance check. There's things that you can do yourself and including can you get up out of a chair without holding your hands?

50:17Things like your balance make a huge difference in your life. I would like to advocate for a legal check-in. Put my lawyer hat on for a second. Because one of the things you're trying to do is plan ahead or plan for yourself or plan for your well-being. Many people forget we only have about a third of Canadians who have wills or powers of attorney. And it's a big mess if you don't have them. And in many parts of Canada, you don't need a lawyer or pay someone to do them. There's now computer systems. As a lawyer, I would like you to go and get legal advice. But there's some of those worries that what's going to cost, you know, huge amounts of money are not always borne out.

50:51But it's really important that you get your legal stuff done as much as it is to get your health stuff done. That's so interesting. And I know that a lot of us will listen to, for example, podcasts that talk about all kinds of different things that we should be doing to prepare for aging. and people talk about lots of different possibilities, but there's still only possibilities through animal testing and so on. So there's a lot of information coming out there. So one of our listeners, Cal G, is asking about the recommended daily vitamins or minerals. And in particular, he's asking about, should he be taking resveratrol, omega-3, and QC10?

51:40So perhaps Dr. Sinov, could you speak to that?

51:43Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah, no, and it's important, right? Because I think the key is right now, if you're on social media and particularly, like everyone has something that they're selling, you know, to tell you, you know, you take this or you do that or you do a cold plunge, for example, that was the hot trend a little while ago, you know, that this is going to help you live longer and stuff. And so when, when, when my patients ask me about, okay, vitamins, like, what's the deal? What do I need to be doing? You know, first of all, you know, you know, we all need to have vitamins and minerals, you know, to maintain a healthy life.

52:17Dr. Samir Sinha:Now, the key is if you're actually having a good regular diet, you're probably getting your essential vitamins and minerals. However, as we age, there are certain things we need to be mindful of. So we need to make sure we're getting adequate dietary calcium. If you're not getting adequate dietary calcium, then you need to take a calcium supplement. Everybody needs to be taking some vitamin D every day, at least a thousand international units. We're living, you know, quite far North, we get less sun and vitamin D and calcium build stronger bones. Um, and then when it comes to other things, you know, I put you on an iron supplement.

52:50Dr. Samir Sinha:If your iron is low, I put you on a B12 supplement. If your B12 is low and I, you know, put you on an additional vitamin D supplement if your vitamin D levels are low. So these are the core things that we want to check on. In terms of some of these other things, for example, you're probably getting enough of them through your regular diet. And when patients say to me, well, what about a daily multivitamin? Yeah, sure. You know, there's no harm in that. But often, you know, speak to your healthcare provider, because sometimes I have patients who come in with all sorts of supplements and other things, which can be very, very expensive.

53:27Dr. Samir Sinha:And I just say, you know, hey, you probably don't need to take extra vitamin C every day because you don't have scurvy, and you're getting enough in your diet. And so, you know, you know, you're probably just, you know, kind of, it's just kind of passing through you, but it's not adding extra benefits. So check with your healthcare provider to see, you know, what do you need to be on? Because sometimes I do prescribe certain vitamins and minerals, if there's a deficiency, but you know, When you go into any pharmacy or any health food store, they're going to tell you you need to be taking everything on the shelf.

54:00Dr. Samir Sinha:And that's not the case for most people. Another listener, Peter Wye, asks, how does sleep contribute to living longer or does it contribute to living longer? I know, Dr. Sina, we'll come back to you, but Laura, I'm sure you have thoughts on this as well. So what do you think? As a middle-aged woman, I sure do. Listen, sleep is one of those magic kind of things that we always know is good, right? I've never been a great sleeper and lots of us have harder times in later life. So we have to try to figure out what matters. Does it matter? Yes, it really does. It's when your brain recharges, right?

54:40You actually need time to let things sink in. If you are managing other kinds of health conditions, you need to have that good deep rest. Sometimes, based on the individual person, you may have sleep in different ways. So if you're a shift worker, for instance, me telling you to go to bed at 10 o 'clock every night and wake up at 7 o 'clock every morning isn't real. Because if you're working, you know, the graveyard shift, that's not it. So it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of regime. But you do need adequate rest. As we get older, lots of people take naps in the day. I like a nap right now, I have to say.

55:15There's lots of research out there about naps. So understand that there's a lot of work right now around sleep. It isn't just a one size fits all. People do have different sleep patterns, but do try to make sure that you are doing those good sleep hygiene things. I can't tell you the number of times, like eat right and exercise. Don't watch certain things right before bed. Try to have an environment, et cetera, et cetera. One of the things that we often forget about, though, is we think about it as I'm not a good sleeper. but we don't ask the question why is it incontinence well then it's not really a sleep problem it's a continence problem and we should be talking about what it is that you need to do around your continence if you're up three and four times a night maybe we need to do some tests about your continence it's not really about your sleep pain and arthritis is one of those really common things that affects sleep and you know i i'm excited about some things that are happening right now in medical science.

56:12I'm excited about the beginning of some dementia meds, the beginning of some new approaches to arthritis, beginnings to thinking about how joints function. These are all kind of just on the cusp of really getting great stuff out there. But don't just assume you're not a good sleeper. Really figure out what it is. And lots of people will have normalized pain, particularly arthritis or other joint pains or their back pain. So they don't even recognize that they're in pain because it's just where they are all the time. And it's not like dropping a thing on your foot and you go, ow, it's this sort of baseline and you need to move around a lot and so on.

56:50So the other thing you have to do is you have to ask yourself, are you being woken up by the person who might be beside you or in the other room? So sometimes it's good to think about it. You know, sometimes when we get older, you know, marriages are often saved by two beds. And so think about it again, not these social norms, but really address yourself. What is affecting your pain? Is it important sleep? It absolutely is. You need to take it as seriously as anything else. Now, maybe the medical doctor could give you better information than that.

57:19Dr. Samir Sinha:You know, really quickly adding on to Laura saying absolutely good sleep is important, especially the older we get, because as we get older, we don't tend to sleep as deeply as we once did. So our sleep is more prone to interruptions. So as Laura was saying, like, are there factors like pain or other aspects, you know, that are actually interfering with your ability to get a good sleep at night? And then what are also the other things that can be mindful that you're not going to have that natural deep sleep, you know, as you age. So, you know, sleep hygiene, the quick things are, you know, a cool, dark room, ideally 19 degrees Celsius apparently is the perfect temperature.

57:56Dr. Samir Sinha:That's what I set mine at now. Make sure that it's dark. Don't leave the lights on, don't have the screens with you, those sorts of things that actually can help you create a good environment that promotes good sleep, because there is emerging evidence to suggest that making sure that you get good quality, adequate sleep can actually reduce your future risk of dementia as well. It's one of those things where the scientists are working on that to figure out how important is that as a factor, but it's on the watch list. So it's one of those sorts of things we got to really think about making sure that we're attempting, you know, being attentive to as we age.

58:35Not to think about it too much, just as you're trying to fall asleep, because you might not get there. All those worries. We just have a few minutes left. So I have one quick question. I'm hoping both of you can touch upon, because I think a lot of people are curious about this. And and joint pain, and so on. So again, maybe we can just sort of touch upon this in a slightly deeper way. Laura, what do you think? Well, I come from a family riddled with arthritis, and I'm rubbing my knee as we speak, and my daughter is one of the spokespeople for the Arthritis Society. So this is a near and dear thing to my heart.

59:15Talk about arthritis. It's not age. It's actually a medical condition, right? It's important to know that you can get arthritis at any age, and many young people have arthritis. So don't just say, oh, it's old age. No, it is actually a medical condition. And if you find another healthcare provider, that's kind of dismissing it. It's important to make sure that you tell that person, this is what it's affecting my life, right? I can't, it's not just, I can't get my rings on and off, or I can't go visit my, my friend because I can't walk there anymore or it hurts me in the morning or I'm waking up at night.

59:47So take joint pain, I think very seriously. And there's good stuff that you can do beyond just, you know, taking something kind of off a shelf. There's lots of good things you can do for joint pain. Dr. Stila, we have just about a minute left.

1:00:02Dr. Samir Sinha:Yeah, no, no. I mean, the quick thing is, again, just don't assume, you know, that arthritis is just due to old age. There's different types of arthritis. And some of the arthritis, like osteoarthritis, is more associated with wear and tear. There are other inflammatory forms of arthritis and so on. So again, if you're having joint pain or other joint issues, speak to a healthcare provider. And, you know, actually, again, back to those motherhood and apple pie things, regular exercise is actually one of the best things people can do who have arthritis. And then you can also think about if pain is a symptom, maybe there are topical things that you can do that are that are not the form of a pill.

1:00:37Dr. Samir Sinha:And sometimes there are, you know, certain kind of mild pain medications one can take that can, again, help you manage the pain so you can keep moving so you can better manage your arthritis. So again, there is a science behind this and it's good to seek help to make sure that you can deal with that well as well. Wonderful. Thank you so much. On behalf of the Toronto Star, I would really like to say thank you to Laura Tamblyn-Watts and Dr. Samir Sinaw. This was such an interesting conversation. I've learned so much even though I've been writing about these issues for years, so I really appreciate your time.

1:01:15And I want to thank all of our attendees for joining us today. The registration numbers again and the questions show that there really is a growing and compelling interest in these issues. And much gratitude to the sponsor, Genacol, which creates products focused on joint health. Again, one of today's guests will win a gift basket with a one-year supply of Genacol products. The star will be contacting the winner after this event via email. And I hope you all follow and listen to our podcast, How to Live to 100 or Die Trying. Thank you so much.

1:02:15Thank you.