11 Oct 2020
My sanctuary has been to ride my bike in the NorCal mountains, but when the fires hit we couldn't even go outside for about 2 weeks. Started to feel like some tipping point was getting closer, but then we got a few days of relief and I was able to ride again a couple of times.
Studies has shown a bunch of effects by just being in nature, lower stress hormones, lower blood pressure etc. Then the mental side benefits too.
Reading up on and exercising mindfulness is a good thing too, can help with the stress and anxiety from the garbage we are going through this year.
I'm pretty annoyed how incompetent/ignorant the health organizations are about Covid. Already in March some studies started to come out showing the benefits of Vit-D. An interesting one around summer time, showed that hospitalized people having low Vit D had a death rate of 99%, whereas those with >normal vit D had a death rate of 4%. Further studies has been provided showing there is a cut off around 30ng/dL of Vit D. If above you are at very low risk, below it, you are at high risk.
Personally I started my Vit D in Feb with a goal of staying around 50-70ng/dL. (add Vit A and Vit E for synergy). In spring it was discovered how Vit D protects, has to do with the ACE2 cell receptor. But Vit D also suppresses the inflammatory storm and histamin like storm, both can wreak havoc if getting out of control, this was learned from a couple of studies this fall.
Vit D costs around $5 bucks, and that will cover you for 3 mo. This Covid crisis could have been done and over by June if the authorities used this science, but I'm still rolling my eyes daily to this incompetency, and they do not even talk about still. It is the biggest health scandal in decades, surpasses even Vioxx and the 40 000 people that drug killed. Covid is basically a vitamin D deficiency problem. Though, those that are >70 or seriously sick / immunocompromised would probably still be vulnerable, but everyone else in society could be back to normal behavior since July if this science was acted upon by WHO/politicians/health agencies. But no, let's deny the existence of this research (no money to be made from cheap vit D...?).
As for mixing/listening in headphones - I never liked it for long sessions. But after getting Abbey Road Studio 3 it changed. It creates a "room" so the brain feels like you are listening in a room on monitors, thus avoiding the strict L/R separation. It is currently $50 and has never been below that, and always excluded from their coupons. At least so far...