08/23/2024
There are many ways to help your kids manage and deal with stress in a healthy manner.
Here are just a few ways that we recommend and our practice members see the best results with their families.
Consistent quality sleep- Sleep is when our bodies are able to rest and truly heal. Getting regular and quality sleep is the key for kids to benefit most from deep sleep.
Movement- Movement/exercise helps the body and brain to decrease stress and create a healthier state. It is ingrained in kids' nervous systems to keep them moving. It's how their brain and body learns and develops. In situations that keep kids sedentary and limits movement such as school, it's common to see their nervous system become overactive and force them to move.
Hydration- Make sure your kids are drinking plenty of water. This helps all systems function at their best, especially the nervous system. Filtered water is the best! Avoid sugary drinks, added sugars, sugar substitutes, artificial ingredients, added colors and dyes. These can be hard for the body to process and some have negative effects on the bodies response and adaptation to stress.
Sugar- Avoiding sugar and added sugars in food and drinks. I think we have all experienced how kids react to sugar, when we are trying to help their body adapt and find a balanced and regulated state sugar is a huge roadblock.
Sun- Allowing our body to soak up the sun can have huge improvements on our mood, fight depression and overall healthier functioning systems within the body. This is helpful for adults and kids. With the busy school schedule and less daylight it can be challenging but focus on sun exposure in the early morning hours and pair it with outside movement after school.
Whole food- Cut out processed foods and snacks. Simple is better, if the ingredient list is long or has ingredients that you can't buy at the store, avoid it. Whole foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and eggs provide the needed nourishment to our body and keep us feeling good. Good nutrition is especially important for the developing minds and bodies of school age kids.
Continued in the comments!