Snoring to Soaring: The Path to 104
“…My goal is to remain drug-free, maintain a healthy brain, and live to 104” – Beverly
Sometimes, I feel that the world spins at a dizzying pace, easily trapping me in the whirlwind of daily routines and causing me to miss out on the true essence of life. In the spring of 2023 at the Douglas Magazine “10 to Watch” awards, I met Dr. Nolan Beise, an inspiring individual who turned out to be a missing piece of my puzzle.
Dr. Beise is dedicated to researching the health of the brain. After years of studying diseased brains, he crossed paths with a neuroscientist whose work on preventing brain deterioration piqued his curiosity. His key message to me underscored a pivotal truth: our well-being, especially brain health, is intrinsically linked to family, fun, and, fundamentally, sleep.
Conversations with Dr. Beise and his insights have profoundly influenced my perspective, especially his emphasis on sleep. Essentially, he warned me that without lots of high-quality sleep, all other efforts towards health and well-being are largely futile. After sharing my husband’s concerns of my snoring (yes, I admit it) and apnea with him, Dr. Beise urged me to immediately address those sleep issues, emphasizing their fundamental importance to my health and aging process. He also spoke of studies showing the negative impacts of apnea on our organs, such as the heart and brain, where regular oxygen deprivation causes incremental damage that can lead to unhealthy, diseased organs over time.
Having a mother and grandmother who both suffered from dementia made me consider the possible genetic factors at play in my life. This realization has motivated me to do everything within my power to change this pattern. My goal is to remain drug-free, maintain a healthy brain, and live to 104. Since my 20s, I’ve been curious about people who age well into their 90s or even 100s. I was fortunate to gain insight from my first mother-in-law, who lived independently until she was 100 and passed away at 109 ½ years old. Her remarkable life, and being loved by many, provided glimpses into her “secret sauce.” I am also aware that my two sons may carry longevity genes.
Since meeting Dr. Beise, I have taken the following steps to make my goals a reality:
- Undergoing sleep testing with a professional and becoming a proud owner of a CPAP machine.
- Exercising (at least) 3x week.
- Improving my hydration and diet.
- Investing in a new and awesome pillow.
To be honest, my sleep was rated as severe, a shocking revelation to me. I truly didn’t know my sleep quality was so bad, experiencing on average 30 incidents per hour where I stopped breathing. CPAP dramatically improved this to less than 1 incident per hour. And, I love ….love ….love my new pillow because it adds an extra measure of comfort and cradles my head. I hope that my experience will inspire you to go from snoring to soaring and make changes to improve your sleep too.
While I haven’t delved into the aspects of fun or family, it is my plan to continue enhancing these areas of my life. Stay tuned for my updates.
P.S If you want to love, love, love a new pillow you can enter to win one through the link in our February 2024 email newsletter.
