Northville Public Schools
Wellness Newsletter October 2020
The Northville Public Schools Health Advisory Board (HAB) is comprised of many members, from across the district and the community. The Health Advisory Board includes two co-chairpersons (a district parent and the district's Director of Instructional Programs and Service), along with teachers and administrators from each educational level, community members, parents, health professionals, and secondary students.
Tips For Keeping Your Immune System Strong This Winter
Kids age 6-13 need 9-11 hours of sleep.14-17 need 8-10 hours of sleep.
2. Stress Management: When under chronic stress, physically and/ or emotionally our health and well-being suffers. Try and do something you love everyday. Practicing mindfulness, yoga, take a bath, meditate, breathing techniques, journaling or even taking a walk can help the nervous system relax.
3. Ditch the sugar: Sugar has been shown in numerous studies to suppress the immune system. Sugar offers no nutritional value, creates inflammation and decreases white blood cells. Putting your body at greater risk of developing an infection. It is important to read labels on pre packaged foods and drinks. Sugar is hidden everywhere. Here is a list beverages with the most sugar. It is important to note that 4 grams = 1 tsp. Recommended amounts of sugar for kids by American Heart Association.
4. Eating whole real foods: Eating a rainbow of foods each day helps to optimize the nutrients you are getting. For immune health, some important nutrients are Vitamin C and D, Zinc and B Vitamins.
5. Exercise: Get your body moving! Exercise is so important for both our physical and mental health. If you can do it outdoors that is even better. Being out in nature can actually strengthen your immune system. Maybe even hug a tree! :)
6. Sunshine: Vitamin D has been shown in numerous studies to boost and protect the immune system.
7. Water: Drink half of your body weight in ounces water everyday to flush the toxins out of your body.
Recipes for Immune Boosting Foods:
Jedi Mind(fulness) Tips To Help Everyone Calm Down
“Feel the Force.” – Yoda
Let’s face it, parenting stretches us and it’s not always pretty. We can end up feeling disconnected from our kids, especially when it comes to their galaxy-sized feelings.
As Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn said in their book, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting - “Parenting is a mirror in which we get to see the best of ourselves and the worst; the richest moments and the most frightening.”
We have the best of intentions to respond with love to the people that matter the most, right? So how do they end up getting “the worst” or “most frightening,” Darth Vader-like parts of us? The answer lies in our body’s threat detection system, aka our stress response, located in our autonomic nervous system.
It’s no surprise that in today’s world all of our nervous systems are working overtime to protect us. Even though you are bigger than them (at least for the time being), it is possible for your child’s actions to trigger a cascade of biological responses that cause you to react from a place of fear, not respond from a place of love. As a reminder, your child is most likely also experiencing a cascade of biological responses too.
The tricky part is that this biological process is automatic, making it tough to provide comfort and empathy to our children during times of strong emotion on both ends. That’s where the Jedi training begins. Recognizing when you have become dysregulated is the first step to interrupting the stress response to help yourself and your child respond differently.
It begins with mindful awareness of your own physiology. When you sense into a feeling of stress in your body, you have shifted into a fight or flight or shutdown state and your thinking brain has gone offline. While it may feel like you’ve turned to the Dark Side, your threat-detection system has just shifted from a connection-state to a self-protection-state.
You can use these Yoda-approved and science-backed self-regulation strategies to help you and your child create space between yourselves and the overwhelming feelings you encounter.
Breathing
- Counting – Place your hand on your belly notice your breath. Begin counting one on your inhale, two on your exhale, three on your inhale, four on your exhale. Continue until you get to ten and then start back at one.
- Extend your exhale – if you breathe in for a count of 6, exhale for a count of 8.
- Box breathing – Inhale for a count of four. Keep your lungs full for a count of four. Exhale to the count of four. Keep your lungs empty for a count of four. Repeat.
Task-oriented Movement
- Stand on one foot – Shift your weight to one foot and notice your breath. Repeat on the other side.
- Catch a ball with one hand – without looking, then catch it with your eyes closed.
- Balance a ball on a book – or an item on your finger.
Simulate Safety
- Weight on belly – A bag of rice or other weighted object on your abdomen can sooth your nervous system.
- Legs up the wall – Elevating your legs by extending them up a wall can lower blood pressure and heart rate.
It’s best to experiment with these techniques when you and your child are feeling regulated and calm so that they can become go-to practices if a difficult situation arises. With regular practice, calming your nervous system can help you and your child tap into your own inner Force and become Jedi Masters.
Looking for some video guidance? Check these kid-focused videos out.
Get Your Kids Moving with these Fun Brain Breaks
Children, as well as adults, need to move their bodies to boost their endorphins for their physical and emotional wellbeing. Research has shown that physical activity is associated with better mental health and self-regulation. While traditional sports may look different for the time being there are still many opportunities to help your child get daily movement.
“You can see a shift in your child’s mood once they have expended some of their built-up energy. They are happier, more cooperative, less lethargic, and generally have an improved attitude,” says local certified personal trainer and owner of JAM Method Fitness, Jamie McMann. “They need movement breaks after sitting in front of a laptop, electronics, or at a desk all day.”
McMann, who offers engaging and effective workouts for all ages, suggests short energetic breaks to help boost blood flow and send oxygen to the brain, allowing for increased focus for learning.
Turn on an upbeat playlist and get your kids moving with these easy ideas that offer all the benefits of movement with an added dose of fun:
- Slow-Motion Stretches – Invite your child to stretch and follow their natural body movement wherever it takes them for 5 minutes.
- Shake it Out – Starting with their hands have your child shake out their body counting down from 5 before adding another body part. Continue until they have reached a full-body shake.
- Dance Party – Flip on a kid-friendly song and invite your child to show you their moves.
- Obstacle Course – Challenge your child to use their problem-solving skills to build a cool obstacle course out of household items.
- Driveway Sprints – Skip from one end to the other, then karaoke from one end to the other, run forward to one end and backward to the other, do wheelbarrows, etc.
- Play HORSE or PIG – Grab a basketball and try to use all trick shots such as backward shot, sit on the ground and shoot, spin on one foot and shoot with one hand.
- Driveway Tennis – Hit the ball back and forth as many times as you can. The goal is to keep the ball “alive” or moving at all times. It can bounce more than once. Try to save shots that go out of bounds (aka off the driveway).
- Outdoor Scavenger Hunt – Make a list of 10 nature items for your child to find. Set a timer and cheer them on.
- Balloon Volleyball – Blow up a balloon and take turns passing it back and forth without letting it touch the ground.
- Power Walking – Have your child lace up and get ready to pump those arms during a brisk power walk inside or outside.
- Cardio – Set a timer and invite your child to alternate between exercises like jumping jacks, burpees, hopping on one foot, and jogging in place.
- Wall Push-Ups – Have your child place their hands on the wall, shoulder-distance apart, and bend their elbows to bring their chest toward the wall. Straighten and repeat for a count of 10.
- Wall-Sits – Challenge your child to place their back against the wall and lower themselves down until their thighs are parallel with the ground. How many seconds can they “sit”?
Which activities will your child(ren) like the best?
Looking for some video guidance? Check these kid-focused videos out.
Northville Public Schools - Health Advisory Board
Newsletter Team, Northville Public School Parents:
Kristy Howard - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Carrie Zarotney - Certified Human Potential Coach and Meditation Teacher
Email: nps@northvilleschools.org
Website: https://www.northvilleschools.org
Location: 405 West Main Street, Northville, MI, USA
Phone: 248-344-3500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northvilleschools/
Twitter: @northvilleEDU