This was found when researchers examined neuropathology after nuns died, confirming that most of those who had a low idea density had Alzheimer's disease, and most of those with high idea density did not.
American Catholic nuns experience greater physical and emotional well-being at the end of life than other women and are 27 percent more likely to live into their seventies.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the Nun Study, though, is the discovery that the way we express ourselves in language, even at an early age, can foretell how long we'll live and how vulnerable we'll be to Alzheimer's decades down the line.”
The nuns pray the Divine Office together in choir five times a day, spend an hour and a half daily in mental prayer, do spiritual reading for at least a half hour a day, observe silence except during Recreation which is after dinner and supper; and engage in a variety of work: maintenance of the monastery, gardening, ...
Findings from the Nun Study indicate that low linguistic ability in early life has a strong relationship to poor cognitive function and dementia in late life and to the number of Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brain.
This was attributed to clean living and staying active, but another significant difference between this group and others was not addressed. Nuns take a vow of chastity and do not, therefore, have to the deal with the physiological stress of pregnancy, birth and nursing, which could affect lifespan.
Snowdon and associates found three indicators of longer life when coding the sister's autobiographies: the amount of positive sentences, positive words, and the variety of positive emotions used. The less positivity in writing correlated with greater mortality.
Each night, these nuns allow themselves no more than three hours of sleep. Their calling is an extreme one: to stay inside the walls of their convent and spend their days and nights in prayer and silent contemplation.
Nuns typically go to bed quite early in the evening, usually not later than 9–10 pm. This is due to their strict adherence to the religious order's rule of life. The monastic rule which is followed by nuns means that they are required to sleep for 8 hours and rise early in morning for prayer and meditation.
Breakfast is usually eaten before or after Lauds. 6.00 a.m. Vigils, the first of the day's offices or services, a mixture of psalms and scriptures. A meditative start to the day. 7.15 a.m. Lauds or Morning Prayer, sung in English.
A young nun at an abbey in Transylvania commits the ultimate sin: taking her own life. The church must now determine if the ground is still holy, or if evil has compromised the Abbey of St. Carta.
Holy Women Liked Being Bricked Up With Little Boys Or Girls
Such children could be orphans, but often were “gifts” from their parents to the Church. The idea was that the child would serve as a symbol of innocence and purity as well as a companion to the willingly immured.
What two things are ironic about the Nun in Canterbury Tales? The Nun's clothes and brooch are two ironic things about her. The Nun wears very fine clothing that someone with her vows could afford. Her brooch also says "Love Conquers All," a secular phrase contrasting with her religious teachings.
Retired nuns continue to serve through the ministry of prayer. A willingness to remain active reflects the years of busy lives they lived. Most will serve until they no longer can. Sisters are constantly praying for those in need, often taking turns on the hour during times of crisis.
Many orders of nuns are eager to accept novices, and while in the past aspiring Catholic nuns were required to be between the ages of 18 and 25, older aspirants are being accepted as well.
Blanche of France (nun) - Wikipedia.
Aspiring nuns and monks are required to reject private property, marriage and biological family ties. Celibacy – abstinence from sexual relations – is implicit in the rejection of marriage and procreation and has always been central to the monastic ideal.
Cloistered Contemplative Nuns — Cloistered Life.
It is also considered a virtue in some religions. In Western Christian traditions such as Catholicism and Lutheranism, the Great Silence is the period of time beginning at the canonical hour of Compline, in which votarists are silent until the first office of the next day, Lauds.
Work is a key part of the Benedictine monastic life, and Janotík found it also contributed to the nuns' happiness. Nuns were quite a lot happier with their work lives compared with the general population.
Most people use the term nuns to refer to both nuns and sisters, but there are some significant differences. Nuns' lives are spent in prayer and work within their convent or monastery. Sisters are more active in the world, engaging in many different kinds of work, most often for people who are in great need.
Some Sisters live together in small groups. They share the responsibility for daily activities such as cooking and cleaning. They make time to pray together even though there may not be a chapel in the home. There are situations where sisters live alone-at least for a time.
Three stages of aging
The three points occur at ages 34, 60 and 78, distinct phases when the amount of different blood-borne proteins are exhibiting noticeable changes in supply. The levels of proteins remain constant for a while and then tend to shift in three stages: young adulthood, late middle age and old age.
Research suggests that nuns who had lower idea density scores had an increased risk for developing dementia and had a lower life expectancy, while nuns with higher scores tended to live a long, dementia-free life.
In broader terms, aging can be broken down into three distinct and often related categories: biological aging, psychological aging, and social aging.