BRAIN FACT: Natural Settings Do Not Require As Much Brain Power As Paying Attention

When paying attention a great amount of brain power is used. Natural settings don't require as much effort and allows the brain to relax.

BRAIN FACT: Nature Helps the Brain Relax After Stressful Or Negative Experiences

Research demonstrates that nature helps the brain relax and restore itself after experiencing stress or negative emotions.

APRIL NEWSLETTER: Learning and Nature Issue

Check out the April issue of the braininsights newsletter here.  This month's issue focuses on Nature and the Brain in honor of Earth Week.

View past newsletters or sign up to have the free newsletter delivered to your inbox here.

Last Day to Enter To Win "Help Me Thrive While I'm Five"

Today is the last day to enter to win one of five "Help Me Thrive While I"m Five" Brain Development Activity Packets.  Enter to Win Here. 

Making the Connections to Healthy Brains

It is wonderful that there is an increasing amount of information  (and growing interest) about healthy diets, reducing stress, and the need for physical activity to keep our bodies healthy. However, when doing brain trainings I find this valuable information is often not correlated to the effects on the brain.

At the end of April I will have the wonderful opportunity to co-present at the Georgia Dietetics Conference in Atlanta.  Lauen Zimet from Healthy Insights and I will be conducting a workshop entitled, “What’s Better than Healthy Brains?”. This session is designed to provide  valuable information to increase awareness that if something is healthy for our bodies it is also benefiting our brains.

Following are some of the points that assist in creating a realization between what is healthy for the body is also healthy for the brain:

Hunger creates stress hormones because the brain doesn’t have what it needs

• When the brain is deprived of the glucose it needs this can lead to out of control behavior. A child doesn’t have the capability to deal with the feelings that occur such as: anxiety, agitation, aggression, feelings of panic, and confusion. These feelings may become temper tantrums.

Hunger may also simply lead to a child not having enough energy to learn or play.

• A child can play and learn very well after eating nutritious foods. When children eat a well balanced meal, especially breakfast, this boosts levels of serotonin (a “feel good” chemical) in the brain. 
• Ensuring  children have enough sleep also helps keep brain system in balance.  Sleep creates natural calming in the brain which stabilizes children’s moods
• Physical activity is also needed for optimal brain function. When children are active the brain simply gets more of the oxygen it needs

It is so easy. When the brain gets what it needs, plenty of sleep,  adequate nutrition, and the opportunity for physical activity  (ideally outdoors) it operates at it’s best. All of this results in children that are in better moods, and are eager and ready to learn.

BRAIN FACT: Playing Stimulates the Emotion Regulating Area of the Brain

Physical play stimulates the emotion regulating areas in the brain.

Brain Power Through “Smart” Investments

Envision a world filled with happy children who are eager to learn, are healthy, feel confident in their abilities, have well developed language, strong math and reading skills, are creative and curious, get along with other children, are physically fit and active, and are self disciplined. Picture all of these children developing into adults in the community, contributing their skills and abilities.

Due to a wealth of research we are extremely fortunate to have the knowledge of all that contributes to making this dream possible. Ongoing scientific evidence continues to demonstrate that through meeting a child’s needs for nutrition, sleep, safety, play and loving experiences a child’s brain will have the chance to develop optimally.

The sad news is all children don’t have the opportunities for experiences that create the likelihood of this vision. Too many of our young children are exposed to multiple risk factors that can affect the development of the brain in unhealthy ways. Risk factors may be inadequate nutrition, neglect, substance abuse, maternal depression, chaos, exposure to environmental toxins, lack of time in nature, trauma and abuse, limited predictability from caregivers, high levels of stress, and lack of quality of daily care,

All of these influences can contribute to a brain being “wired” in a way that leads to emotional and learning problems. Children’s brains learn very early how to adapt or survive in the environment to which they are exposed.

We need to ensue that everyone understands the positive impact this knowledge can have. We also need to make sure everyone knows how dangerous it is for us to ignore this information. Children will benefit most if everyone is involved in first creating an awareness and then invest in implementing change. Making this happen must take place at an individual level, in families, in childcare facilities and schools, through business and community organizations and in local and state government.

If we want success for our children it is up to us, the adults in their lives, to become aware of where change is needed and then work together to continue doing all we can to see improvements take place. For this vision to happen for all children, it is up to us to develop strategies to eliminate the detrimental effects on young children, and fund programs and services which can improve the life chances for all children.

For information on how you can easily create further awareness sign up for BRAIN. This is an initiative I started in January to make a real difference simply through sharing information with those who care!