The Age-Well Project

Change the way you age

Get our posts direct to your inbox

  • About The Age-Well Project
  • Books
    • Our Books
    • Reviews
    • References
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Recipes By Ingredient
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Family
    • On The Go
    • Soups and Salads
    • Treats and Snacks
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Press

ENHANCING MEMORY, AND AN ICE CREAM TO HELP YOU SLEEP!

June 2, 2019 11 Comments

Why did nobody tell me that midlife would be a constant battle to get enough sleep?! I took sleep for granted until I had children, but since then it’s been a scarce commodity. The broken nights of early parenthood have given way to the broken nights of middle age, menopause and beyond.

A steady stream of research revealing the link between sleep deprivation and a host of degenerative diseases hasn’t exactly made me feel any better. As we report in our book,  the World Health Organisation categorised night shift work as a carcinogen due to its suspected impact on sleep. A University of California study hailed sleep as ‘the missing piece of the Alzheimer’s jigsaw’, explaining that poor sleep creates a ‘channel’ through which beta-amyloid protein attacks the brain’s long term memory. And there are many more reports out there to depress an insomniac.

NEW RESEARCH ON SLEEP

Now, two new studies have assessed the relationship between age, mood, sleep deprivation and both the quality and quantity of working memory. The studies found that the more we age, the less accurate our working memory becomes (I think we knew that…and have written about it previously here). But they also revealed that the less we sleep and the more often we experience negative moods, the less likely it is that we store short-term memories (the quantitative element of working memory).

Although this isn’t exactly cheering news, over the years, Annabel and I have both learnt that stressing about not sleeping is even worse than the lack of sleep itself. We need to be pro-active in trying to enhance our sleep quality, but not worry when it doesn’t work and we have a bad night.

ICE CREAM TO HELP YOU SLEEP

As part of our age-well project, I’ve learnt to treat getting to sleep like a job: approaching it with discipline, and dedicating time to it. I’ll give you a detailed run down of what’s worked for me – and what hasn’t – in a separate post. But I’m always intrigued by nutritional guidelines for sleeping well. Certain foods – including kiwi fruit – seem to boost the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Cherries, bananas, honey and yogurt also seem to deliver sleep-enhancing nutrition, and it occurred to me that, together, they would make a rather delicious ice cream.

THE LINK BETWEEN HEAVILY PROCESSED FOODS AND EARLY DEATH

The need for a healthy ice cream in my life was highlighted by headlines this week citing two studies linking consumption of ultra-processed foods, including industrially-made ice cream, to increased risk of death from all causes. One of the reports showed that people who ate at least four servings of ultra-processed foods a day were over 60% more likely to have died during the 15-year trial than those who ate less than two servings. For each additional daily serving the risk of death rose 18%.

The processes behind this rise are unclear. It appears that it’s more than just the lack of nutritional value calorie for calorie, and the fact that eating processed junk crowds out more nourishing foods. It may be that the additives or chemicals in the packaging play a role. But the researchers don’t know.

While they try to figure it out, I’ll be sticking to this delicious, super-simple home-made ice cream, and hoping it helps me get some sleep too.

SLEEPY-TIME ICE CREAM (serves 4)

  • 500g plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 tbs honey (or to taste)*
  • 1 tbs almond butter + more to serve
  • 150g (stoned weight) cherries (fresh or frozen)

Blend the first four ingredients in a food processor. Roughly chop the cherries and stir into the yogurt mixture. Scrape into a freezer-proof container and freeze for at least two hours. Allow to soften slightly before serving with an extra drizzle of almond butter.

*The freezing process reduces our perception of flavour, so I make sure this is slightly sweeter at room temperature than I want it to be when it’s frozen.

 

Susan

  • Meal Types: Family, Treats and Snacks
  • Conditions: Ageing, Alzheimer's, Insomnia
  • Ingredients: Almonds, bananas, Cherries, yogurt
« WHY WE NEED LIGHT
THE ASTONISHING POWER OF SUNLIGHT: PART 2 »

Comments

  1. Teresa Barnard says

    June 2, 2019 at 9:52 pm

    Is it ok to freeze food that has already been frozen (frozen cherries)?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 3, 2019 at 8:07 pm

      Good point. I tend to eat the ice cream pretty quickly after making it and have suffered no ill effects. As long as you get the cherries back in the freezer speedily they should be ok.

      Reply
  2. Alison says

    June 3, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    Does it matter what time of day we eat these foods?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 3, 2019 at 8:05 pm

      Good point – I should have made it clear in the blog post. Best to eat in the evening.

      Reply
  3. Charles says

    June 10, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Interesting, I like to mix Greek yoghurt with some rolled oats and pour a spoon of honey over it as a midnight snack when I cannot sleep.

    At the risk of sounding more nasty than I really am someone who is eating 4 or more portions of highly processed food is probably not living a healthy lifestyle in other areas as well, such as exercise or sleep. This would affect their health in obvious ways. Mind you anyone who does not have the occasional fry up is probably so stressed that any health benefits are probably negated by the worry of always being healthy. Moderation in all things, including moderation.

    Still cannot get over how good the Turkish red lentil soup is, it is now a firm family favourite.

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      June 12, 2019 at 7:11 am

      Thanks Charles, glad you’re still enjoying the Turkish red lentil soup – so are we! We love the sound of your midnight snack too…

      Reply
  4. Kate says

    June 10, 2019 at 4:24 pm

    Hello,
    I am curious if there is a guide for what is considered ultra-processed. Does store bought bread counts? Canned beans? Or are we talking more like Pop Tarts and Twinkies?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 14, 2019 at 3:29 pm

      Good point Kate. Ultra-processed refers to foods which have been made in a factory, with non-natural ingredients. So it depends what has been added to your store-bought loaf. An apple is not processed. An apple puree to which sugar has been added is processed. An apple dessert with artificial sweeteners, thickeners and gelling agents is ultra-processed. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  5. Antonia Miles says

    June 11, 2019 at 12:11 am

    This is genius. I am trying to find ways to modify these elements to be kid friendly as well. We both work full time and travel so if we can apply to whole family it helps my working mother guilt.
    Do you think in the above recipe there could be a substitute to banana?
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 14, 2019 at 3:26 pm

      Thank you! Hmmm I’m not sure re substitution. I would suggest you replace the banana with more yoghurt, and maybe a tablespoon of a sweetener like maple syrup. The taste and texture of frozen banana are quite different to fresh if you have a banana-avoider in the family, so they may not notice? Different if it’s an allergy of course. Let us know how you get on!

      Reply
  6. molly says

    July 11, 2019 at 9:37 am

    2. The cost of sequencing genomes has simply fallen into line with other healthcare costs. If you compare the value of the information you can gather from a single genome, and compare it to similar medical procedures that cost significantly more – at $1000 you could argue we’re still getting massive ‘bang for your buck”. So – again – there’s not a commercial incentive. People are ‘accepting’ the current price, particularly for clinical applications.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

Favourite Posts

WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

THINNING AGEING HAIR – WARM CHICKEN LIVER SALAD

About The Age Well Project

This site is for anyone who wants to make the second half of their life as healthy, happy and disease-free as possible. Sign up to get the latest research on ageing – and delicious recipes to match – direct to your inbox.

agewellproject

⭐️Change the way you age
📚The Age-Well Project + Age-Well Plan ⭐️Get tips & recipes on our blog - sign up ⬇️

The Age-Well Project blog
Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth #betterbrainhealth #brainfog  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell
Obsessed with the smoked quinoa in this salad! You Obsessed with the smoked quinoa in this salad! You know we love a good grain and this one is particularly delicious. It’s from our friends @hodmedods and they very kindly gave us a discount code to share with you - it’s valid until the end of September. Code and recipe are on the blog - link in bio (it’s the blog post about reducing dementia risk) #prproduct #recipe #healthyrecipe #discountcode #wholegrains #quinoarecipes #womenover50 #over50 #over50health #postmenopause #over50andfit #dementiaprevention #alzheimers #brainhealth #cognition #agewell
Dear followers, we have been hacked and are in the Dear followers, we have been hacked and are in the process of resolving it. Please do not respond to, or interact with, a request from our impersonator calling themselves theagewellproject. We are agewell project - no The! 

Thank you!
Of course, it’s not about numbers, but we’re s Of course, it’s not about numbers, but we’re so thrilled over 5000 of you have joined us on our mission to age well! Thank you 🙏

If you’re new here, we’re Susan and Annabel, long-time friends turned longevity writers. We started blogging about our quest to age well almost a decade ago (!) - you can find the blog at agewellproject.com or via the link in our bio. 

As working mums, we started looking for simple, science-backed ways to make the best of the second halves of our lives. We wanted to improve our own health and reduce our risk of the chronic conditions of ageing. When we started writing, Susan was caring for her mum, who had dementia, and Annabel has also faced challenges with her family’s health. 

Along the way, the blog became a best-selling book, The Age-Well Project, and further books have followed. You can find out more about us individually @annabelabbs and @susansaundershealth 

The blog is packed with posts on the latest research into the science of longevity, and how we make sense of it in our own lives. And there’s also loads of lovely age-well recipes - all approved by our families! 

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #postmenopause
Wherever you’re walking this August weekend (a b Wherever you’re walking this August weekend (a bank holiday for us 🇬🇧🇬🇧), take time for your feet. They’re mini miracles and looking after them is key to ageing well. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio.

And save this as a reminder to look after your feet! 

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalhealth #walking #hiking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Contact Us

For any enquiries please email theagewellproject@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2023 The Age-Well Project