Ask Doc I wish I had a third of this man's energy...
In 2016, he entered his first endurance race, the grueling 24-hour World's Toughest Mudder, and did not win... but instead set the all-time record in the 50+ age group by completing 75 miles and nearly 300 obstacles. And then he won the age group again a few years later.
He has climbed some of the world's highest peaks: the Matterhorn, Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, Mont Blanc, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Kenya.
He's a brilliant financial mind as well...
He founded one of the best-known investing conferences, the Value Investing Congress. It's here that some of the world's greatest investors were his guests, including Julian Robertson, Leon Cooperman, Seth Klarman, Daniel Loeb, Joel Greenblatt, Jim Chanos, Carl Icahn, Larry Robbins, Mohnish Pabrai, Jeffrey Ubben, Bruce Berkowitz, David Einhorn, and Bill Ackman (whom he has been close friends with since college at Harvard).
Five different billionaires have followed his work. A Harvard Business School professor has said he has "a Rolodex second to none."
There's a reason he's known as one of the most connected men on Wall Street...
I first met Whitney Tilson more than 10 years ago at his Value Investing Congress. Ever since, I've enjoyed following his career. Recently, he joined my publisher, Stansberry Research. And he's already sharing big news with our readers...
Yesterday, Whitney went on camera to share a breakthrough that he considers a must-have for investing. It's nearly 10 years in the making... and dates back to a discovery made by Porter Stansberry, our founder, in 2015.
According to Whitney, "There's a way to make many times your money in this market... without taking on excessive risk, which – as you'll see – forms the basis of our breakthrough today."
Now, let's dig into the Q&A... As always, keep sending your comments, questions, and topic suggestions to [email protected]. My team and I really do read every e-mail.
Q: Doc, I read your article about the use of melatonin-labeled products to combat sleep disorders. I've never used them, but as I've gotten older it is increasingly difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. I've tried curbing my use of electronics before bedtime to avoid the blue light phenomena but with mixed results. I recently tried aroma therapy and it is working very well. I'm now consistently get seven to eight hours per night of sleep. I'm still getting up due to urinary urges but I'm told this normal for my age. However instead of getting up two to three times, I'm usually only up once. For the aroma therapy, I'm using a vaporizer that I fill with water and some drops of a mixture of eucalyptus and lavender. Is there any science around this to explain it? – T.O.
A: We're thrilled to read that you've managed to tackle your nighttime woes with a simple lifestyle tweak instead of taking medications.
The fancy term for having to wake up several times in one night to pee is called nocturia. You're not alone in this either... half of adults between the ages of 50 and 79 have this symptom of overactive bladder ("OAB"). It's also estimated that around 33 million Americans have OAB.
And, yes, the older we get, the higher the likelihood of developing OAB. For one, our aging bodies produce less hormones that help the body keep in more water. (And that means more urine.)
Blood flow to all parts of the body – bladder included – decreases with age, too. In fact, more and more research has shown that poor blood flow to your bladder and inflammation could have a big part in OAB.
Less blood flow can also lead to tissue damage. Your immune system then responds with inflammation to fix the problem. But too much of this good thing can snowball into harmful oxidative stress which messes with your bladder muscles by making them more sensitive to chemical signals telling them to contract.
Turns out, getting whiffs of lavender has all sorts of benefits... like improving blood flow and decreasing blood pressure. Lavender can prevent your body from releasing the chemical involved in involuntary muscle contraction to help you feel relaxed. The active ingredients have also been shown to stimulate your body's "rest and digest" response (the opposite being the sympathetic nervous system responsible for kicking your body into "fight or flight" mode).
Not to mention, lavender has been shown to have anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects. That means less stress – a big OAB risk factor. No wonder the early Persians called the purple plant "the broom of the brain" that "sweeps away" impurities of the mind.
Research has shown that smelling lavender essential oil improves sleep quality... One study showed lavender increases deep sleep and reduces how often you wake up at night.
Another study of 100 adults aged 60 and up found a significant difference in sleep quality between the group who slept on pillows containing a piece of cotton with a couple of drops of lavender oil and the group who used cotton with distilled water. The self-reported sleep-quality scores came from surveys that included questions like how often participants woke up in the middle of the night and how often they had to get up to use the bathroom.
And a 2012 study showed that women with sleep disorders who smelled lavender had increased slow brainwave activity that promotes drowsiness and relaxation. And one from 2021 found that lavender aroma increased slow-wave sleep, too.
As for lavender's partner in crime you've chosen, inhaling eucalyptus oil aromas can help you sleep better by keeping your airways clear. The vapors can reduce mucus formation, letting you breathe more easily and avoid sleep apnea that leads to multiple wakeups. So you're on the right track by pairing those two oils.
By the way, I shared some of my tips for better bladder health in a Retirement Millionaire issue not long ago. (If you're not a subscriber, you can get more details right here.)
What We're Reading...
- Did you miss it? Thanks to the Fed, more gains are possible.
- Something different: It's the end of funny highway signs.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
January 26, 2024