PLAY, LAUGHTER, OUTDOORS AND HEALTHY BRAINS…. SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!

What a combination this is! I love opportunities to play, to be outdoors, and what is better than laughing?  (The only thing missing from this list of favorites for me is chocolate covered strawberries!)

Play is the way the brain learns best. When a child is using several senses, exploring, paying attention, and is trying things out in different ways, brain cells are changing and the child is learning.  The child needs to participate… not watch. The brain also needs trial and error and a lot of repetition in fun and interesting ways. All of this is provided through play.

Play also provides the opportunity to learn to get along with other people. When children play with parents or other children a lot is learned about how relationships work. In addition, playing with others can lead to laughter.

Laughter is wonderful for the brain.  Play and laughter activates the care and thinking areas of the brain. Laughing lightens our mood through reducing the level of stress hormones affecting our brains.  It provides a physical and emotional release. Laughter can also lead to creating closer connections with other people. Laughter is also contagious so we can share this beneficial brain activity with others when we are laughing. Just watch the clip from a previous blog and see if it makes you laugh.

Physical play additionally provides many benefits to the brain. It first of all increases the amount of oxygen to the brain. Research also indicates that safe rough and tumble play can positively influence the activity in the thinking part of the brain. Numerous studies show that providing physical activity during the school day is correlated with improved academic performance.

If play takes place outdoors there are even more advantages. As I posted yesterday, natural environments have a very positive effect on the brain.  Ironically as I am writing this blog, I received information about an article in, The Sun Chronicle entitled, Go where education’s free.

In the article, when presenting the benefits of playing outdoors, TheChildren & Nature Network is quoted as saying, “Children learn by doing. Unstructured time in a natural setting invites a child to explore, to play and to create.”

One of my recent favorite books on play is, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown, M.D.

Your brain will love learning more about the benefits of play.

To get easy play ideas to have right in your pocket you can go to www.braininsightsonline.com

Because as I repeatedly say, brain development isn’t complicated. What young children want all adults to know is, their brain learns best through loving interaction and play!

So, have fun, get outdoors, play, and laugh together!

BRAIN FACT: Language Is Not Developed Through TV or DVDs

Brain connections for language are developed through direct interaction with caregivers not through television and videos.

GIVE AWAY WINNERS!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Your Brain Needs Nature

I just returned from a wonderful trip. This trip provided the opportunity to conduct a presentation on brain development with fabulous people working on the promoting the optimal development of children's brains.

The trip also gave me a chance to spend time in beautiful natural surroundings. My brain loved it!

Are you aware there is a national movement to, “leave no child inside”?  With increasing research the benefits of nature on the brain is being revealed. Not only does science show us the benefits but it is also creating awareness of the detrimental impacts a lack of nature plays. 

Brains are constantly in an anticipation and prediction mode due to the priority of safety. So the brain is primarily focusing attention on the environment and the people in it for safety and trust.  When we are in a busy environment filled with a lot going on and several things for the brain to monitor, notice, and keep track of at the same time it requires a lot of attention.  This takes a lot of brain energy and effort. This results in difficulty with memory and less self-control.

When we are in natural surroundings the brain can relax a bit since there is not as much coming at us at a fast pace that requires our attention.  Natural settings allow the brain to actually replenish itself.

Just think about the relaxation CD’s you might listen to. They usually include sounds of nature, such as birds, a babbling brook, or the sounds of waves. They do not include sounds of traffic, sirens, or a noisy crowed room of people arguing.

Research is demonstrating that even seeing a grassy area or trees outside a window can have a positive impact on the brain. One study found children in classrooms with natural sunlight coming in the windows or skylight scored better in reading and math than children in rooms without natural light. And, several studies have shown that children with attention-deficit-disorder are able to focus better and are less likely to have behavioral problems when spending time in natural settings.

If we really want to have a positive influence on brains, I feel it is critically important to include information on the impact playing outdoors and time spent in nature has on the brain. Fortunately, there is much to be shared on this topic.  For further information you can read more about the studies I mentioned in a very informative article from the Boston Globe entitled, How the city hurts your brain… And what you can do about it.

Additionally you can go to the Children and Nature website for a wealth of information. Through this site you can also get involved with creating greater awareness of this critical need.

And finally, Richard Louv is the author of, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Following is a paragraph from this extremely valuable book.

“Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.  The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities. Nature deficit can even change human behavior in cities, which could ultimately affect their design, since long-standing studies show a relationship between the absence, or inaccessibility, of parks and open space with high crime rates, depression, and other urban maladies. “

We need to ensure our children have the opportunity to spend time playing outdoors. This additional post also shares the importance of play and laughter.  There is a definite need to focus on children playing outdoors. The National Wild Life Federation is involved with an effort to promote a “green hour” for children and the NFL is promoting “Play 60”

Just like all of the other brain packets.... The Naturally Developing Brains Packet also provides learning activity ideas to have right on hand. This one provides fun ideas for brains while benefiting from nature!

For brain focused  play activity ideas to have available to use throughout your busy day visit  Brain Insights

Find time to enjoy a nature break for your brain or play with your child. You will feel refreshed!

March Newsletter: 5 Myths of Brain Development

Check out the March issue of the braininsights newsletter here.  This month is a mega issue focusing on Brain Awareness Week and 5 Myths of Brain Development.

View past newsletters or sign up to have the free newsletter delivered to your inbox here. And this week when you sign up for the newsletter you will be entered to win a brain development activity packet!

BRAIN FACT: Love and Exploration Is As Important As Food

Loving interaction with people and exploration of objects is as necessary to a child's brain development as food

The Effects of Poverty and the Brain

I will had the wonderful opportunity to create awareness at the Poverty, Stress and the Brain Conference about the possible effects of poverty on the brain. I wanted to share with you a little about what was discussed.
 

As I’ve said many times before, brain research has demonstrated the enormous importance of the early years in determining a person's future success in learning and in life.  It is now known that a child’s brain continues to develop long after birth. The term “brain development” means more than just intelligence building. It means the actual structural changes that take place in the brain.

The experiences a child has in the early years activate the actual physical connections between brain cells that make the brain grow—in other words, the brain's "wiring." We now understand that school readiness is based on this brain wiring, 90% of which takes place before age 5. This wiring develops best when a child is exposed to a variety of positive experiences, such as hearing rich language, having opportunities to develop relationships with caring people, and learning through exploration.

However, negative experiences such as inadequate nutrition, substance abuse, maternal depression, exposure to environmental toxins, high levels of stress, trauma and abuse, lack of time to play in green spaces, sleep deprivation, and poor quality daily care affect a disproportionate number of children in low-income families.  While children in any economic status are vulnerable to these risk factors, children in poverty may often experience several negative factors simultaneously. 

Continual exposure to stress, limited stimulation, poor nutrition, little predictability, and lack of nurturing relationships all lead to types of brain wiring that can contribute to emotional and learning problems. Our brains physically adapt very early to cope with the environment to which we are exposed, sometimes with harmful results. Because poverty can impede opportunity for children and is a primary contributor to many of these negative risk factors, poverty directly effects brain development.

We need to create a broader awareness of the effect that poverty can have on children and ensure that everyone understands how to make a positive impact using this knowledge. We must also make sure everyone knows how dangerous it is for us to ignore this information. All children should be given the opportunity to be successful and have a well-developed brain no matter what income level they are born into. 

Next week, I will post more information about the Harlem Children’s Zone. This is a very effective program that is fighting the effects of poverty through understanding the importance of providing quality and comprehensive programs to children starting at birth. 

If you know of a program that is fighting poverty and is making a positive impact on the brains of children, please share it with others by leaving a comment below. 

We ALL benefit from ALL children with healthy brains!