The Weekend Warrior Edition

In medical school, future doctors are constantly reminded that whether or not a patient is demented – basically shorthand for how well their brain processes information – can be assessed using a very simple but highly reliable test of orientation. You ask three simple questions and if the patient scores three out of three, things are lookin’ pretty good.

Question 1. What is your name? Okay, I’ve got that one at the moment.

Question 2. Do you know where you are? I know that too, because it’s the same place I have been for the past six weeks.

Question 3. What day of the week is it? Oh %@#!

There are a number of things we can all do to try to distinguish the weekdays from the weekends, orienting ourselves better to time. Not that it really matters whether it’s Tuesday or Saturday, but the rhythm of the two feels notably different, and that difference energizes us… or at least it provides a cadence so that days don’t blend together indistinguishably. And honestly, I don’t know why it even matters that we can tell one day from the next, except that without the distinction I for one feel fuzzier, less focused, at times completely incapable of remembering what happened yesterday (because it’s easy to forget that was yesterday!). And so, here’s an edition of the newsletter meant to enhance your wellness routines, get you moving, perhaps outside (with a mask, of course) and possibly even reorient you to time. The unifying theme is to be a warrior, not a worrier. Good luck to us all!

If you are a runner – or a speedwalker, biker, skateboarder or scooterer – take advantage of warmer days ahead by getting outside a bit more. But heed this advice: you’ll need to keep further from your workout partner (not to mention all those strangers with the same idea) than you might think. This is why the 6-foot rule really only applies to people while they are still.

Whether or not you get your kicks on social media (literally or figuratively), chances are your kid does. Or desperately wants to. Well here’s some news about how parents can stress less about what’s happening on devices. TikTok just changed its settings so that parents have more control over direct messaging, content, and even app-specific screen time. This comes at the exact same moment that parents are all about doing TikTok dance moves with their kids.

Speaking of dancing, all of us feel for those high school seniors who are missing that ultimate dance-rite of passage: prom. Maybe they won’t have to miss it afterall. Teen Vogue is hosting a virtual prom, and every high school is invited. Looks like it’s going to be way cooler than the one in your local school gym, because TikTokers are going to make appearances along with well-known performers and DJs. Here’s a link to pass to your senior if she or he wants to sign-up their school.

If laundry is your thing – and yes, household chores can be a workout – Dwell has a ton of tips for how to launder during the pandemic. Even Business Insider is covering the topic, with a couple of laundry-related skills ranking near the top of the list of things you really should teach your kids while they are home. I personally appreciated the entry “knife skills” !

Speaking of knife skills, if you get injured while being active – and this goes for parents and kids alike – make sure to check in with your doctor. Reach out if you are feeling ill, too.  People are trying to steer clear of medical offices, urgent cares, and ERs at the moment, and that’s perfectly logical. But if you need to be seen, the consequences can be far worse when you’re not. For adults, this has manifested in new worries about an apparent rapid drop in heart attacks, which of course isn’t really a sudden improvement in heart health but rather a statistical anomaly caused by adults with chest pain being so nervous about the exposures inside healthcare settings, they aren’t going in to be seen. When it comes to kids, a good friend of mine who works as a plastic surgeon has emailed me several times this week describing injuries that needed to be stitched but weren’t – now those kids risk infection and scarring. While it is still prudent to stay away from healthcare facilities when you don’t need the care, please go in when you do!

There is one sure-fire way NOT to be a warrior. In fact, this is the thing that worried me the most this week (and side note: it takes a lot to worry me these days): yesterday President Trump suggested that injecting disinfectants might be a coronavirus cure. In case you needed a doctor’s opinion here, IT’S NOT! Even Deborah Birx, who stands on stage at nearly every White House coronavirus press conference, couldn’t hide her disdain. This morning, the maker of Lysol published a formal statement warning people against the internal use of their products.