about time…
Why is it that when we do something we love - we “lose” time, or feel we don’t have enough of it? Whereas when we are engaged in something we do not want to do - time goes on forever? How does our relationship with/perception of time change as we age (e.g. as a child school holidays feel as if they go on forever, but for an adult vacation is over so quickly)? Can we stretch time - to have more of it (perceptually)? If we mentally (connect old with memories) go back in time does that have a “youthing” effect (e.g. listen to music from adolescence or watch movies from that time)? How can we make the most of the time we have? Thanks kindly.
laughter and dopamine
I am curious to know if addiction can stop/reduce our ability to laugh. Is this related to dopamine in some way? If so, what is the neuroscience behind that phenomenon? I recently gave something up and (funnily enough) found myself re-engaged with laughter (which I didn’t even know I had lost until it came back again). Thanks!
Physical health tests
I'm a 37 y.o. man, fit and relatively healthy with history of ankylosing spondylitis in recession. I'd like to ask for an advice for a set of blood tests that I can just do at the local diagnostic lab (hemo testing lab or something similar). By the way I leave in areas of the world where there's no sun during winter periods. I want to do a complete body screening. There's suggestion from AI to do the following tests. Would you add/change anything or maybe steer attention to a certain markers? Blood Tests Complete Blood Count (CBC): Evaluates overall health and detects a variety of disorders, including anemia, infection, and many other diseases. Lipid Profile: Assesses the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases by measuring cholesterol levels, including LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Blood Glucose Tests: Measures blood sugar levels to check for diabetes or pre-diabetes. Liver Function Tests: Assesses the health of the liver by measuring enzymes, proteins, and substances produced or cleared by the liver. Renal (Kidney) Function Panel: Evaluates kidney function through various parameters like creatinine, BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen), and electrolyte levels. Thyroid Function Tests: Includes TSH, T3, and T4 tests to assess thyroid gland function. Electrolyte Panel: Measures electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate; important for assessing heart and kidney health. Vitamin and Mineral Levels: Including Vitamin D, B12, iron, calcium, and others as relevant. Inflammatory Markers: Such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate), which can indicate inflammation in the body. Hormone Tests: Depending on symptoms, tests like estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, etc., can be considered. Coagulation Panel: Tests like PT, INR, and aPTT, which assess blood clotting. Urine Tests Urinalysis: A common test that checks the appearance, concentration, and content of urine. It's used to detect a range of disorders, such as urinary tract infections, kidney disease, and diabetes. Microalbuminuria and Creatinine: These tests check for small amounts of protein in urine, an early sign of kidney damage.