Hi,

Welcome to the Procrastilearning Newsletter, where your time is well spent even though you should probably be doing something else.

3 things worth procrastilearning over

1. Cognitive decline is avoidable, if you use your brain

While we all know, sadly, that cognitive skills generally decline with age, a new study confirms that if you continue to frequently perform skill-related activities, you can help fend off this decline, especially beyond your 40s.

And that doesn't mean just do sudoku, but actually do sums and write things.

If you can't be bothered to read the study - you won't, let's face it - you can listen to this 15-minute interview with one of the paper's authors.

2. AI personal tutors may change the education system

In 1984, a study by Benjamin Bloom found that people who had 1-on-1 tutoring were miles ahead of their class. This is something well-off parents around the world are betting their money on, hiring extra-curricular tutoring sessions for their kids. Many famous intellectuals over the centuries have had tutors too, so it's not something new.

But before now, this was something you could only do if you had the money.

Today, AI can be your 1-on-1 tutor. You can prompt it to teach you calculus, or the capitals of the world, or javascript, and it won't cost you much at all. This is the method being adopted by a new breed of schools like Alpha, but truly it's something that is already open to children and adults alike around the world.

Soon it won't be a matter of money or location holding back a child's education. It will only be their motivation.

3. Viagra is now available as a chewable gummy

A lot of medications and supplements are being reconstituted into confectionary form. I'm not entirely sure why. Initially this may have been all about getting kids to get more vitamin D - having those oily drops suddenly appearing in little gummy bears or jelly babies was a genius move.

But now if you have erectile dysfunction, you get to pick whether you want to take a pill or chew a sweet. I guess you have to decide which is sexier? 🤷‍♂️

Other supplements now available as gummies include the active ingredients of marijuana (okay, so that one is unsurprising), nitric oxide, horny goat weed, and testosterone.

2 quotes to keep in mind

1 simple tip for a better night's sleep

Stretch before bed.

Whatever your sleep is like, you can improve it at least a bit if you get some stretching in just before. Stretching improves blood flow and relieves muscle tension, which both help muscle recovery and sleep quality

Where do you start? Unfortunately there are countless stretches you can do, which can be overwhelming. You could find a short follow-along YouTube video and try that before bed (this one looks okay or maybe try these doctor-recommended ones).

But the main thing I would recommend (having done this regularly for nearly a year) is to just make sure whatever you do takes somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. Not so short it won't have an effect, and not so long you'll get bored and not want to do it again the next night.

That's all for today. Many thanks for reading. Here’s a photo of a squirrel taking a photo.

Adam

Adam Zulawski
Procrastilearning on Beehiiv / More stuff

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