Good morning!

Thank you for joining me on this journey toward our mission of achieving a more vibrant, longer (and healthy) life through five essential action categories.

Over time, these actions will really add up. Small changes = big results!

The Weekly Pounce shares research and actionable ideas to help you experience all five each week—quick and curated to save you time.

Like what you see? Forward this email to your favorite people, and let’s widen our circle of friends and family. Just one new subscriber from each reader will double our community overnight!

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My daughter graduates from university this weekend! Her curiosity inspires me to think about all the ways we can keep learning after our formal education ends.

No, you don’t need to sign up for a community college night class (although that would be fun); even small activities like improving your vocabulary help boost your brain.

This week, make a list of a few words, as you come across them, that you don’t really know. 

Look them up (I love the Merriam Webster Dictionary app), and then challenge yourself to sprinkle them into your conversations this week.

Your future self will thank you.

Neuropsychologist Dr. Lenny Goldschmidt says that social activities “activate multiple, complex networks in our brains more than almost any other daily activity.” I’ll be taking a deeper dive into our conversation in the Pounce Pot Post.

With Mother’s Day this Sunday, Dr. Goldschmidt suggests that it’s a fabulous opportunity to connect with the special women in your life who have provided you with nurturing support, encouragement, and love.

Meeting in person would be best, but even a phone call or a text conversation can be beneficial to your brain health, and thus your vibrant longevity…and your relationship.

Get enough sleep this week with my favorite podcaster’s bedtime tips. Notably, Mel does just what I already do: If I need 8 hours of sleep, and I know I’m waking up at 6 a.m., then I must prep to get into bed (count backwards…) at 9 p.m.!

Sounds ridiculously early, doesn’t it? But by the time I’ve showered, filled up my water glass, taken evening supplements, fluffed up my pillows, reviewed tomorrow’s to do list, applied nail oil and lip balm, texted a friend (or 5) to say goodnight, turned on white noise, read a chapter or two from my stack of books, settled the cats down, located my eye mask, and taken 10 to 15 minutes to actually fall asleep, there’s my extra hour.

Am I wrong?! 9 hours for 8 hours of sleep. 8 hours for 7 hours of sleep. You get the picture. And even that’s assuming pets don’t wake you up repeatedly or too early. (I’m looking at you, Momo, Bobo, Tater, and Green Bean….)

It’s a common issue. Many people don’t think to add that extra hour into their bedtime. But now you know. Try it this week to harness the hidden powers of your sleep.

Email me for a written summary of the podcast, or watch it here. ➜

Yesterday, May 8th, was “National Have a Coke Day.” To be 100% honest with you, I do enjoy the bubbles, taste, and tang of a real Coke in a glass bottle once in a rare while with a big cheeseburger at a cookout; however, Cokes and other soft drinks should never, ever be a part of your daily nutrition.

One can is a quick dose of 10 teaspoons of pure, liquid sugar; that’s enough to make us hurl, but the phosphoric acid additive helps us keep it down.

Cokes and other soft drinks are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and lower bone mineral density, not to mention contributing to more than half of the world’s toxic plastic waste. Even artificially sweetened sodas are bad, or worse. 

This week, let your essential action in the Fuel Your Journey category be to go without drinking sodas. If you can’t make it all week, start small by cutting them out for just one day. Perhaps have a cup of your favorite tea instead or a glass of iced plain or bubbly water.

Your taste buds will eventually adjust, and your sweet drink cravings will fade over time. Read more ➜

Instead of drinking a Coke, read about one. Sit down with your tea or water and take a 5-minute break reading and rereading Frank O’Hara’s stream of consciousness poem “Having a Coke With You.”

Bonus points for Boosting Your Brain if you write your very own stream of consciousness poem this week. Share it with me!

I enjoyed this article from NC Blue Cross Blue Shield about 8 ways a walk can help with stress. But listen, if you avoid walking because you think you need to find an entire hour, then you should know that 10-minute quick strolls are extremely beneficial.

Try taking a 10-minute walk right after you eat. Read here to understand how and why this is so helpful. 

If you can’t get outside, here’s a 10-minute video that you can use to march in place indoors after your meals this week. Watch here ➜