Power Up And Turn The Tables

Every day we make choices that impact our resilience. September’s newsletter provided tips for helping you and your child power up to chill out. Continuing the theme of ‘setting up for success,’ we will explore how food and exercise impact our resilience, and consider easy ways that we can use them to ease stress for better success.

Powering Up: Food

When Stress Happens, we often feel too rushed or stressed to think about healthy eating. Moreover, stress tricks us into reaching for a “comfort food” like chocolate, or chips, making us think it will help us feel better. Unfortunately, high-sugar, high-fat or high-caffeine foods can make stress worse. High-fat foods like chips and doughnuts slow us down, stealing energy. Sugary foods like candy or cookies give a short-term boost of energy, but this will be followed by a crash of both energy and mood. Caffeine, from soda pop or energy drinks, lasts in our system much longer than we realize, so that afternoon drink may interfere with sleep later, which also affects our ability to manage stress and bounce back. Avoid these ups and downs for yourself and your child by selecting foods that are tasty and energize without adding to stress. Good choices are nuts like peanuts or almonds, fruit such as an apple or banana, veggies like carrots or celery, and to drink, a glass of milk and PLENTY of water. Get creative…foods CAN make you feel better, if you power up with the right ones!

Turning the Tables on Stress: Energize!

Stress isn’t just in our minds, it is in our bodies, too! When we, or our children, feel our heart pound, or our stomach gets in knots, or we have tension headaches, it reminds us that our minds and bodies are connected, and affect one another. It seems unfair that if our mind is stressed our body is too, but we can turn the tables on stress! How? Get moving. When we move, our heart pumps faster, which boosts circulation of oxygen to those tense muscles as well as that stressed-out brain. Moving also makes your body release chemicals called endorphins which boost mood and energy levels. Movement also refocuses our mind for a while, which provides important stress relief. We may even end up sleeping better at night, which makes for better health and well-being. So, head out with your child for a walk, or to the park, or turn on some music and dance in the kitchen. Make a point to get moving every day…your body and your mind will thank you!