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FitTips for One and All - Vol. XXIII, No. 2
FitTips for One and All
Volume XXIII, Number 2
2025
Presented by
Fitness for One and All
Director: Gary F. Zeolla
In This Issue
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Newsletter News
Once again, I am late in publishing this newsletter. This time it is due to adding content to my other websites and due to working on the project mentioned next.
Audiobooks by Virtual Voice
I’ve been publishing books though Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for many years now. I was one of the first to jump on board when Amazon started the service with the ability to make eBooks for its Kindle reader and app. Then later they added the ability to create paperbacks, then even later hardbacks, and I immediately jumped on board for those formats as well.
I knew the Kindle format would quickly become popular, and it sure did. For quite some time now, I sell far more Kindle eBooks than books in all other formats combined. And nationally, eBooks began to outsell hardcopy books many years ago.
But then last fall I heard on the news that audiobooks are now outselling eBooks. But sadly, my efforts with ACX to publish audiobooks have not proved to be fruitful. But now, KDP has begun a beta program to publish audiobooks through it, and I was asked to be a beta tester.
The books are read by “virtual voice” which is to say AI (Artificial Intelligence). The AI reads the Kindle version of the book. I thought it would be a breeze. Just pick the book to be read. Choice a voice. (There are dozens of male and female voices to choice from, with an American, British, or Australian accent.) Then let the AI do its thing. But sadly, the AI does not do a very good job, as it makes many stupid mistakes. Then again, in listening to the recordings, I caught several stupid mistakes I had made.
KDP gives the ability to edit the narration to correct those mistakes. But its editing system has lots of quirks, making it very difficult to use. As a result, it is time-consuming and tedious to fix those many mistakes. With ACX, I told the human narrator about the mistakes, and he or she fixed them. But with KDP and its AI, I had to correct all of those mistakes myself. If I had known the AI would make so many mistakes, and it would be so hard to fix them, I would not have bothered with it. This is the last time I will volunteer to be a beta tester.
However, a plus with KDP is I can set the price for the books, while with ACX, ACX set the retail prices, which are quite high due to me and the narrator splitting the royalty. But with KDP and its AI, I do not need to share the royalty with the narrator. That means, the retail prices of the audiobooks are less than with ACX.
But I cannot redo books I did with ACX, as a book cannot already be available in audiobook format to be done with KDP. But, as with ACX, the audiobooks are available from Amazon and Audible, but not iTunes.
All that said, after two weeks of work and much frustration, I finished editing and publishing two audiobooks. But then, when I updated the associated Kindles to correct a few typos I found in them while reviewing the audiobooks, KDP declared one of them “ineligible” for an audiobook and “lost” four chapters at the end of the other one!
I am still fighting with them over the first book. But the chapters were eventually restored to other one. After all of the editing, it does sound very good, almost as good as the ones done with ACX using human narrators. But I will wait until KDP’s new audiobook system is out of the beta phase to do any more books, if I do any more at all, depending one what happens with the other book.
In any case, the lone KDP audiobook now available is:
Starting and
Progressing in Powerlifting:
A Comprehensive Guide to the World’s Strongest Sport
Available from Amazon and Audible.
Sleep News Articles
In previous issues of this newsletter I ran articles about sleep (see Vol. XXII, No. 4 and Vol. XXII, No. 5). In this article, I will follow those up with quotes from a variety of news articles about sleep from last year and this year (2024-25), with comments from yours truly.
The Time Change Debate
Our semiannual time change is the source of much controversy. No one likes it, and it carries health and safety risks. But to get rid of it, we have to choose which time to stick with: Standard Time (ST) or Daylight Saving Time (DST). Most Americans favor the former due to the one more hour of sunlight in the evenings. However, most health experts favor the latter, as it is more natural and in tune with our bodies’ rhythms. I fall in the latter camp.
The first article below is from autumn of last year before the “fall back” time change. The second is from this year before the “spring forward” time change.
AP. How to Prepare for End of Daylight Saving Time (via Newsmax).
“Lawmakers occasionally propose getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act, proposes making daylight saving time permanent. Health experts say the lawmakers have it backward — standard time should be made permanent.”
WTAE. How springing forward to daylight saving time could affect your health — and how to prepare.
“The American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine agree it’s time to do away with time switches but say sticking with standard time year-round aligns better with the sun — and human biology — for more consistent sleep.”
I absolutely agree with the “health experts” and the AMA and AASM. I know I feel much better when we are on “real” time rather than “fake” time. I say real time, because it is only during ST that midnight is in the middle of the night (with an equal number of hours of darkness before and after it), and high noon occurs when the sun is at its highest point in the sky (with an equal number of hours of sunlight before and after it). DST messes that all up.
DST also messes up our circadian rhythms. God created us to be in sync with the rising and setting of the sun and moon. But we in our infantile wisdom think we know better and are trying to change it, much to our detriment.
14And God said, “Let there become lights in the firmament of the heaven for light of the earth, to divide between the day and between the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. 15And let them be for light in the firmament of the heaven, so as to be shining upon the earth.” And it became so.
16And God made the two great lights, the greater light for beginning the day and the lesser light for beginning the night. And [He made] the stars. 17And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, so as to be shining upon the earth 18and to rule the day and the night and to separate between the light and between the darkness. And God saw that [it was] good. 19And there became evening, and there became morning, [the] fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19; ALT).
An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks, including increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes. Although chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving time year-round have not been well studied, daylight saving time is less aligned with human circadian biology—which, due to the impacts of the delayed natural light/dark cycle on human activity, could result in circadian misalignment, which has been associated in some studies with increased cardiovascular disease risk, metabolic syndrome and other health risks. It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time (JCSM. Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement.)
Unfortunately, as I was working on this newsletter (early April 2025), I heard on Fox News Hourly Update that Trump had changed course and was open to signing a bill into a law keeping DST permanent, if Congress sent him a bill to do so. He had previously said he would not act, as it was a “50/50 issue.” Buy that he meant half of Americans want to make DST permanent for that extra hour of sunlight in the evenings, but the other half want to make ST permanent as they don’t like sending their children to school in the dark.
That latter point is vital. If we do stick with DST year-round, it will be dark until after 8:00 am in the winter. When children begin getting hit by vehicles on their way to school during those dark winter mornings, there will be cries to change back to ST.
Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep
CNN. Experts emphasize sleep’s role in boosting immune system during flu season.
The CDC is reporting a high number of people seeking health care for respiratory illnesses, particularly the flu, which is causing a substantial number of emergency department visits nationwide.
“Sleep does play a crucial role in supporting and regulating the immune system,” says Michelle Drerup from the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center.
Drerup explains that adequate sleep can help the body defend against infection and inflammation.
I can testify that this is true. There have been many times when I have gotten sick with a cold or flu after a period of having problems sleeping for a period of time, usually because one or more of my health problems were flaring up.
The most notable was way back in February of 2001. That was when I first developed restless leg syndrome (RLS). That kept me from sleeping for a couple of weeks. Before I was able to get a doctor’s appointment to look into that issue, I contracted the flu. I was sick for 10 days, with a temperature of 100-101 degrees the entire time. But even after I got over the flu, I never felt the same again.
Over the next few months I was fatigued, developed overall body pain, and was often very stiff. Over the next year I was diagnosed first with fibromyalgia and then stiff person syndrome. But I think it all could be call “long influenza” (if there is such a thing).
More recently, in the days before Christmas of last year (2024), I lost much sleep due to a flare-up of my multiple chemical sensitivity. That then led to me waking up Christmas Day sick with my first bout with Covid. That lasted about ten days. I then struggled for weeks to get back to feeling even as good as I did before that loss of sleep before Christmas.
My point is, losing sleep is no small matter. It most definitely can lead to sickness, and that can lead to many other and seemingly unrelated issues, as seen next.
Health Day. Poor Sleep in Middle Age Accelerates Brain Aging (via Newsmax).
If you’re in your 40s or 50s and have trouble getting and staying asleep, that’s not a good sign for brain health as you age, new research suggests.
“Our study, which used brain scans to determine participants’ brain age, suggests that poor sleep is linked to nearly three years of additional brain aging as early as middle age,” said study lead author Clémence Cavaillès, of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
There is no doubt after a poor night’s sleep, I do not function cognitively as well as after the rare times I get a good night’s sleep. Everything just seems harder, work goes slower, and I keep making mistakes. That forces me to go back and correct those mistakes, further slowing me down workwise.
But this study shows there are also long term cognitive problems associated with a lack of quality sleep. The brain actually ages faster. That does not bode well for me, since I rarely get a good night’s sleep. And in fact, I have been experiencing increasing forgetfulness that has me worried.
Health Day. Irregular Sleep Might Raise Odds for Heart Attack, Stroke (via Newsmax).
People with highly irregular sleep patterns – falling asleep and waking up at different times every day – had a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death related to heart problems, researchers found.
In fact, the worse a person’s sleep regularity, the higher their risk of a life-threatening or fatal heart attack or stroke, results show.
A greater proportion of regular sleepers got the recommended amount of sleep, 61% versus 48% of irregular sleepers.
Getting enough sleep could moderate the heart health risk among people whose sleep patterns are somewhat irregular, analysis revealed.
Irregular sleep is of the greatest concern for shift workers. But it would also be an issue for those who work and sleep regular hours during the week but then follow a completely different sleep pattern on weekends. It is also an issue for those who have trouble falling asleep, so they effectively have a different bedtime. Then sleeping in to make up for it further aggravates the problem due to a different wake time. That is me. Thus, in two ways, my problems with sleep could be causing long term damage to my brain ad heart.
Don’t let this be you. For most, sleep issues can be overcome with the tips presented in my previous two articles on sleep. And next there are a few more.
Tips on Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
CNN. Cognitive shuffling: a mental trick to help you quiet racing thoughts and fall asleep.
Cognitive shuffling typically involves mentally conjuring up random, impersonal and non-emotionally charged words. For each letter of a word you pick at random, you think of as many corresponding words as you can for five to eight seconds each before moving to the next letter, [Dr. Luc] Beaudoin said.
For the word “piano,” for example, you might think “Pear, parachute, Paul, pirouette … Item, intention, immature, igloo …”…
While the technique may not sound calming, it “takes your mind off of your problems and your issues, and helps you get into a more relaxed state of mind,” said Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, a sleep medicine physician and neurologist at the Millennium Physician Group in Fort Myers, Florida.
I have not tried it, so I don’t know if this specific technique works or not. It seems rather strange to me. But the main point seems to be to get your mind off of issues that are upsetting, frustrating, or just causing your mind to race. The basic idea is to think about something boring. That is what is behind the old standby of counting sheep. But I guess this technique requires a bit more thinking. That in turn keeps you from thinking about whatever it is that is keeping you awake.
CNN. This sleep accessory could really improve your sleep, experts say (via WTAE).
“It sounds counterintuitive, I know, but by wearing socks to bed and warming your feet, you may actually lower your core body temperature and fall asleep faster,” said [Michelle] Drerup, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Cleveland Clinic….
A process called distal vasodilation helps with cooling by widening blood vessels in the extremities — primarily the hands and feet — thus increasing heat loss though the skin. As the skin warms, the core of the body cools, which is where those toasty socks come in handy.
I tried this idea, but it did not work. The socks made me feel hot all over, and I barely slept, until I took them off. But then, it was a warm night to begin with, and I only have knee high socks. Maybe the results would be better with mid-calf or lower socks. But another tip in this article I have found to be very helpful.
Another tip is to take a warm (not hot) shower or bath before bed. The principle is the same, Drerup said.
“If I’m slightly increasing my core body temperature a bit just before bedtime, then there’s a bigger drop as it lowers, and that potentially helps with feeling sleepy,” she said.
I recently changed my schedule. I used to work out in the late afternoons, shower, then eat dinner, then go to bed about three hours later. But now I work out in the evenings after dinner, shower, then go to bed.
One reason I made the change was I thought I would sleep better as taking a shower often calms down any allergic or sensitive state I might be in due to my multiple chemical sensitivities. And it has worked. I have been sleeping better. But it looks like there might be another reason for it, as described here. Although, I think just the feeling of being clean after a shower could help anyone fall asleep faster and to stay asleep.
More on Sleep
AP. Expert Advice on How Much Sleep We Really Need (via Newsmax).
Most of the population gets between seven to nine hours — and that particular category has the lowest association with health problems, said Molly Atwood, a behavioral sleep medicine clinician at Johns Hopkins.
Once people either dip into less than six hours of sleep or get more than nine hours on average, the risk of health problems inches up, Atwood said, but everybody is different.
When you’re trying to figure out how much sleep you need, it’s important to think about the quality of it, Pelayo said: “What you really want to do is wake up feeling refreshed — that’s what it’s about.”
“If somebody tells me that they sleep many hours but they wake up tired, something is wrong," Pelayo said. "You shouldn’t leave your favorite restaurant feeling hungry.”
There are some people who sleep less than seven hours a night but function just fine. President Trump for instance is known for sleeping just four hours a night. But for most people, sleeping less than seven hours will have you in the category of the last paragraph.
On the other hand, sleeping more than nine hours can also leave you groggy through the day. If you feel you need for that much sleep, you need to see a doctor. You also need to see a doctor if you regularly get less than seven hours, not because you do not allot for it, but because you just cannot sleep. It is also a problem if you are sleeping less than that because you do not allot for it. Either way, it can have long term consequences.
To sum up and to add to what was said previously, the following is another quote from this article:
“If you’re not getting enough sleep or you have untreated insomnia or sleep apnea, your risk of depression increases,” Atwood said. “Your risk of cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, risk of heart attack and stroke increases. Your immune system is compromised. You’re at greater risk for Alzheimer’s.”
Conclusion
Sleep is a vital part of life, and not getting enough of it can detract from one’s quality of life. I know, as I have several health issues that often keep me from getting a good night’s sleep, and I feel the effects of it on a daily basis. I also fear the long-term consequences of that lack of sleep.
But there are steps that can be taken to mitigate any sleep problems the reader might have. For me, that simple change of schedule of showering at bedtime has helped. Maybe that or some of the other tips in this or pervious articles will be of help to the reader. Your quality of life short and long term could depend on finding something that works for you.
Scripture taken from the Analytical-Literal Translation of the Old Testament: Volume I: The Torah. Copyright © 2012, 2023 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org).
Amazon Author Page for Gary F. Zeolla (#ad)
New on My Fitness for One and All Website
Below are new articles on my fitness website that have been posted since the last issue of this newsletter was published.
Powerlifting Workout Posts and Videos: January to March 2025 (Q1) has been completed with all of my workouts for this time period.
Powerlifting Workout Posts and Videos: April to June 2025 (Q2) will record
my workouts for this time period.
3/29/25
Now available in audiobook format!
Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting
A Comprehensive Guide to the World’s Strongest Sport
Available from Amazon and Audible
This book is geared towards the beginner to intermediate powerlifter, along with the person just thinking about getting into the sport. This book will present sound training, competition, dietary, and supplement advice to aid the reader in starting and progressing in the sport of powerlifting. It will also help the reader to wade through the maze of federations, divisions, and supportive gear now found in powerlifting.
In addition, this book will detail some of the personal difficulties the writer has encountered in his many years of training and competition in the hopes that doing so will help the reader to avoid the same mistakes and problems. So this book is truly a compressive guide to powerlifting.
For other formats of this book, see the Preview page.
#Ad #Powerlifting #Powerlifts #Squats #Benches #Deadlifts #StrengthTraining #Supplements #PostWorkoutDrink #CuttingWeight #Diet
3/19/25
New on My Christian Darkness to Light Website
Below are new articles on my Christian website that have been posted since the last issue of this newsletter was published.
Vol. XXIII, No. 2 is a new issue of Darkness to Light Newsletter.
God’s
Land Promise to Israel is a new article. The Promised Land was given by the
LORD to Jews as an eternal inheritance.
3/7/25
Now available in audiobook format!
Trusting Genesis and the Gospels
A Defense of Divine Creation, of the Resurrection of Christ, and of Salvation in Christ
Available from Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.
This book addresses three vital subjects in regards to the Christian faith.
The first is the reliability of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible and of the Old Testament, and most specifically its teachings about divine creation.
The second subject is the reliability of the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament of the Holy Bible, and most specifically their claims about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The preceding leads to the third subject of this book, “Forgiveness and Salvation in Christ.” Since God is our Creator, we are answerable to Him. And we have all sinned against Him. But Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated that God accepted Christ’s death as a sufficient sacrifice for our sins. We can thus be forgiven and saved by trusting in His death and resurrection.
Together, these three sections make this book ideal for evangelism. It will show seekers and doubters there are answers to their questions on these subjects and their need for salvation.
For other formats of this book, see the Preview page:
#Ad #Creation #Evolution #CreationvsEvolution #DivineCreation #Genesis #Bible #Gospels #Jesus #Resurrection #Salvation $SalvationinChrist #Forgiveness
3/6/25
New on My Biblical and Constitutional Politics Website
Below are new articles on my politics website that have been posted since the last issue of this newsletter was published.
Political Commentaries for Q1 of 2025 is a new two-part article. Much has
been happening politically and especially with the Trump White House that I have
not had the time to comment about. Thus, in this two-part article I will start
on Inauguration Day then go through the end of March 2025, commenting on
important happenings.
4/2/25
God’s
Land Promise to Israel is a new article. The Promised Land was given by the
LORD to Jews as an eternal inheritance.
3/7/25
New on My Covid Fearmongering and Lies Website
Below are new articles on my Covid website that have been posted since the last issue of this newsletter was published.
Covid Quarterly
Commentaries for Q1 2025 is a new article. Discussion
about long Covid, Covid vaccines side effects and exaggerations about them,
causes of blood clots other than the vaccines, and the 5th anniversary
of Covid.
4/4/25
Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting:
A Comprehensive Guide to the World’s Strongest Sport
Also by Gary F. Zeolla:
Zeolla.org
is the personal website for Gary F. Zeolla.
Author of Christian and of fitness books, Web sites, and
newsletters,
and a top ranked and multi-record holding powerlifter.
Darkness to Light website and
Darkness to Light newsletter.
“Explaining and defending the Christian faith”
Christian Theology, Apologetics, Cults, Ethics, Bible Versions, and much more.
Biblical and Constitutional Politics
“Political articles and commentary from a conservative Christian and politically
conservative perspective”
Covid Fearmongering and
Lies
“Coronavirus
Fearmongering on the Left, Covid-19 Lies on the Right”
A Layman's View of What the Authorities Got Correct and Incorrect about
SARS-CoV-2
All material in this newsletter is copyrighted © 2025 by Gary F. Zeolla or as indicated otherwise.
The links to Amazon are advertising links, for which I receive a commission in addition to my royalty if a product is purchased after following the link.
4/12/25