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Three Ways To Boost Your Child’ s Brain Power!
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As parents we are all acutely aware of how important it is to keep our children healthy and fit in both body and mind. Many of us are good at the body bit but what about the mind? What can we do to help our children make the best use of their brains?
If you go on to the Internet there are pages and pages of information telling us how our brains work. In this article we are going to pick from that research three ways in which you can help your child and yourself, exercise that brain.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that school aged children from 5-12 years of age need between 10-11 hours sleep per night. Research shows that any sleep loss can drastically impact on thinking. It can negatively affect attention, immediate memory, working memory, logical reasoning skills and mood.
On top of this it would appear that the need to nap in the middle of the afternoon is normal. It is something that we have all encountered, that inability to keep our eyes open. While it effects different people in different ways it is now accepted that a short nap can boost performance.
How can you help your child?
Have a regular and consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine.
Its all about the Brain
Make your child’ s bedroom conducive to sleep- dark, cool and quiet.
Keep TV and computers out of the bedroom.
During the holidays, encourage your children to take a short mid-afternoon nap.
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There’ s absolutely no doubt that children need exercise, and that most aren’ t getting enough. Less than one-third of children aged 6 to 17 get at least 20 minutes of daily exercise. In a recent study at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping, appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning.
As many of you reading this have likely experienced, if your mind is feeling cluttered or you’ re having a midafternoon slump, a brisk walk or a quick workout can give you a renewed sense of clarity and focus. This is certainly true for children as well.
How can you help your child?
A brisk walk to school at the start of the day will set them up nicely for learning.
Limit the time your child spends watch TV or playing on the computer.
Encourage your child to take part in physically engaging activities after school and on the weekend.
Engage in a variety of physical activities together as a family.
Mike Jackson