＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<2021/7/31 postscript> In 2020, Japanese life expectancy will reach a new record high
In 2020, the average life expectancy of Japanese people is 81.64 years for men (81.41 years in 2019), the second highest in the world after Switzerland, and 87.74 years for women (87.45 years in 2019), remaining the highest in the world.
On July 30, 2019, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that the average life expectancy of the Japanese people has reached a record high of 81.25 years for men (3rd in the world) and 87.32 years for women (2nd in the world), making the “100-year life expectancy era” an increasingly real possibility.
In this context, “healthy longevity” is becoming increasingly important for us elderly people. Moreover, this “health” is a state of both physical and mental well-being.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
I believe that “spiritual health” (mental health) can be maintained by “finding a purpose in life and practicing it.
That is, hobbies, sports, learning, volunteering, and other social contributions.
１．”Emotional Aging” featured in a TV program called ”Genki no Jikan!”
By the way, the other day (August 25), I happened to wake up early on a Sunday and saw a TV program called “Kenko Capsule! Genki no Jikan” (TBS, every Sunday from 7:00 to 7:30), with Toshio Kakehi and Yukari Nishio as hosts, featured an interesting feature on ‘Emotional Aging’ (supervised by psychiatrist Hideki Wada).
(1) “Symptoms” of Emotional Aging
Have you recently noticed that you “no longer get moved,” “don’t watch movies anymore,” or are “too lazy to start something new”? If you can think of any of these things, you may be suffering from “emotional aging.
If left untreated, you may develop “dementia” or “depression”.
(2) “Causes” of emotional aging
① Decrease in male hormones (testosterone)
Testosterone has the characteristic of increasing curiosity, motivation, and getting along well with others. Decreased testosterone levels can lead to “male menopause” (LOH syndrome).
The major factors that decrease testosterone are stress and lack of sleep. According to Hideki Wada, at least 6 hours of sleep is necessary every day.
②Aging of the frontal lobe
The frontal lobe is located in the front part of the brain and is responsible for motivation, creativity, and switching. As the frontal lobe, which controls switching, ages, it becomes difficult to switch between emotions, such as continued sadness or anger.
The factor that causes aging of the frontal lobe is “a continuous life without stimulation of the brain. This is why it is important to have conversations with others. Talking with other people helps stimulate the brain because it has to respond to unexpected words. Smoking, however, causes atrophy of the frontal lobe, so it is important to be careful.
③Decrease in the Happiness Hormone (Serotonin)
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps stabilize the mind. When serotonin is deficient, there is a possibility of developing “depression.
When exposed to sunlight, the eyes send signals to the brain, which stimulates the synthesis of serotonin.
(3) “How to improve” emotional aging
① Try things for the first time
② Build muscle through moderate muscle training
③ Eat meat actively
２．RC Syndrome
I forget which newspaper article it was, but there was a column in which a university professor was shocked when his classmate’s friend was told by his family doctor that he had a conversation disorder problem, so the professor checked with the doctor with the friend’s consent.
The friend was a good conversationalist, and when they met, the college professor felt that there was nothing wrong with the conversation.
The doctor’s true meaning of the term “conversation disorder problem” is: “After retirement, people have fewer opportunities to talk with others than when they were working for a company, which may lead to dementia and depression. In addition, the tendency to ‘avoid failure’ will increase and the desire to try new things will decrease. Therefore, they should try to talk with people as much as possible”.
So this university professor came up with the “coined” term “RC Syndrome” (Retirement Communication Syndrome).
This story was told in the “Health Capsule! Genki no Jikan” (Time of Genki!), which is a special feature on ”Emotional Aging.
We, the retired elderly, should definitely keep in mind the “ways to improve emotional aging” introduced in the above-mentioned program in order to avoid dementia and senile depression.
As a side note, there is a proverb that says, “Monzen jakura wo haru”（「門前雀羅（もんぜんじゃくら）を張る」）. The source of this saying is “Shiji”
In “Tsurezuregusa,” there is a sentence that says, “There is no one to visit except the droplets of water from the gutter buried in the fallen leaves.
This must have been how the hermits of the past, such as Kamo no Chomei in the Hojoki, lived in seclusion deep in the mountains.
Today, few people would go out of their way to live in a remote mountainous area where there is “just one house,” but even in a city with many people, there is a danger of falling into a state of “no conversation with others. I think we should be very careful about this.
