Episode 45: Resolutions Worth Keeping – Jill Stowell

[00:00:01.770] - Jill Stowell

Every January, adults all over the world make resolutions to eat better, get more exercise, and appreciate themselves and others more. We seem to inherently know that these things are important for our health and functioning. Well, these things are exactly what our kids need too. Today we're talking about four New Year's resolutions worth keeping.

 

[00:00:39.690] - Jill Stowell

Welcome to LD Expert Live, your place for answers and solutions for learning differences, dyslexia, and attention challenges. I'm your host, Jill Stowell, founder of Stowell Learning Centers and author of a brand new book, take the Stone Out of the Shoe: A Must Have Guide to Understanding, Supporting, and Correcting Dyslexia, Learning and Attention Challenges. This book will help you understand why some bright children and teens have more difficulty than expected in school. It provides simple, practical tools for supporting struggling students at home and in the classroom. Most importantly, it presents real solutions and the science behind them.

 

[00:02:26.350] - Jill Stowell

You may feel very alone if you are the parent of a child with learning or attention difficulties, I want to invite you to join our Mom Squad Facebook group. It's open to moms and dads and grandparents. This is a great place for you to connect with other parents, to ask questions, and to get and give support. Today I have four New Year's resolutions that you can make.

 

[00:03:16.830] - Jill Stowell

Number one food for thought. Studies have shown that what we eat affects how we feel, how we think, how much energy we have. Memory, thinking and attention are strongly influenced by food. Neurologist David Perlmutter, author of The Better Brain Book, said, if I were to design a diet for the sole purpose of creating an epidemic of poor brain function, accelerated brain aging, mood disorders and other neurological problems, it would be the one that most Americans are already following. Yikes.

 

[00:03:59.310] - Jill Stowell

Believe it or not, the most important nutrient for the brain is fat because the brain is actually made up of fat. The problem is, if we eat a lot of unhealthy fats, we end up with an unhealthy brain. Fats that support brain health are monounsaturated fats found in foods like olive oil, canola oil, nuts and avocados, and some forms of polyunsaturated fats, including the omega three essential fatty acids, which are particularly important for brain function.

 

[00:04:35.210] - Jill Stowell

Carbohydrates are important foods for providing energy for the body and for helping protein enter the brain cells. But just as with fats, there are good and bad choices. Sugar and white flour, of course, are two of the worst. They're simple carbohydrates, so they rapidly raise blood sugar levels, which is associated with memory problems.

 

[00:05:01.410] - Jill Stowell

Complex carbohydrates are going to be better choices. These digest more slowly and create a gentler rise in blood sugar. Whole grains, fruits, legumes and vegetables are complex carbohydrates.

 

[00:05:18.310] - Jill Stowell

Protein is extremely important to our brain function and learning. It helps increase serotonin in the brain, which improves feelings of well being, hopefulness, organization and concentration. Many children start school after having had a sugary carbohydrate breakfast, and many teens choose to start school with no breakfast at all. A low sugar breakfast and lunch with twelve to 20 grams of protein can make a vast difference in a learner's performance.

 

[00:05:56.530] - Jill Stowell

Resolution number two move your body. Energize your brain. Have you ever sat in a long meeting or seminar and found yourself sleepy and antsy and just dying for a break so that you could get up and move around? Research shows that physical movement can enhance clarity, attention and readiness for learning.

 

[00:06:20.890] - Jill Stowell

Physical movement increases oxygen flow to the brain, improving alertness, concentration and receptivity. Adding movement or physical action to a learning activity increases recall. I remember when my daughter was in college, she would study for tests on the treadmill and found that when she did that, she learned and retained the information more quickly and easily.

 

[00:06:46.530] - Jill Stowell

At the learning center, we find that integrative movements that cross the midline of the body are extremely helpful in bringing students to a calm, alert and mentally and emotionally ready state for learning. One of our favorites is cross crawls. 

 

[00:07:45.990] - Jill Stowell

Periodic brain breaks that involve movement throughout the school day and homework time will improve learning productivity and attitude.

 

[00:07:56.490] - Jill Stowell

Resolution number three sleep. Everybody sleeps. So we don't always stop to consider just how important it is to mental and physical health and academic and social success. Sleep is a complex function that affects almost every type of tissue and system in the body, including the brain, heart, lungs, metabolism, mood and immune system.

 

[00:08:24.930] - Jill Stowell

Sleep is the time when a lot of learning that happens during the day gets processed and set into memory. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages six to twelve get at least 9 hours of sleep. Teens need eight to 10 hours and adults need seven to nine.

 

[00:08:48.170] - Jill Stowell

Here are some things that you can do to help your family get the sleep they need create a bedtime routine, starting with cutting off screen time an hour before bedtime. The blue light produced by devices reduces melatonin production, the natural chemical that causes us to get sleepy. In addition, screen time right before bed stimulates the brain and signals the body to stay awake when it should be winding down.

 

[00:09:20.210] - Jill Stowell

Set a schedule, go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Avoid caffeine and exercise within a few hours of bedtime because those are also stimulating and keep the temperature below 70 degrees. The body heating up can cause wakefulness.

 

[00:09:43.690] - Jill Stowell

Our fourth resolution worth keeping is use affirmations to turn around negative self talk. Many children and adults with learning or attention challenges start each day with good intentions, only to find that they let themselves, their parents and their teachers down by not being able to pay attention, or not completing their work quickly enough, or falling back into some of those old avoidance behaviors. It's hard to keep trying day after day when you don't ever seem to feel successful. Pretty soon, negative self talk takes over. I'm so dumb I'll never be able to do this. My teacher hates me.

 

[00:10:33.930] - Speaker 2

What we don't realize while we're beating ourselves up is that we're perpetuating the problem and chipping away at our self esteem. We're shutting down energy and mental resources that we need to function and feel good. One way to help students feel better about themselves and as a result, be more available for learning, is to teach them how to give themselves positive affirmations.

 

[00:11:02.630] - Jill Stowell

These are phrases or sentences that we say to ourselves that build self esteem and train our minds to feel empowered instead of defeated, which is always a better place to be.

 

[00:11:16.730] - Jill Stowell

Work with your child on turning their negative statements into affirmations. If they say something negative about themselves, help them flip it around and say the opposite. Instead of I'm so dumb, try saying I'm smart and resourceful. You may have to help your child reframe their feelings a little bit. Say to them, hey, this task is hard, so you may feel dumb, but that doesn't mean that you are dumb. Say I'm smart and resourceful, and let's find a way to solve this problem.

 

[00:11:56.710] - Jill Stowell

Instead of I'll never be able to do this say I'm strong and up to the challenge. Positive affirmations work on the subconscious mind, which seems particularly receptive in the morning and late at night, so parents can support their kids by sending them off to school and bed with something positive running through their minds.

 

[00:12:22.910] - Jill Stowell

I remember a number of students over the years who were in the habit of just saying really negative things about themselves. So we had them start a list of 100 things I like about myself. We put up a paper that went from ceiling to floor, and every time they came in for a session, they had to add one affirmation to the list. It was really hard at first, but it was fun to see that list grow and over time it became pretty automatic as they begin to think and speak differently about themselves.

 

[00:13:02.010] - Jill Stowell

When children have learning or attention challenges, obviously positive affirmations aren't going to solve the whole problem, but they go a long way towards molding their beliefs about themselves.

 

[00:13:18.190] - Speaker 2

This is Ldxpert Live, your place for.

 

[00:13:20.900] - Jill Stowell

Answers and solutions for learning disabilities, dyslexia and attention challenges. Stowell Learning Centers are open for remote sessions and screenings so you can access our services wherever you are in the world. We are also seeing students on site with all the COVID precautions.

 

[00:14:17.250] - Jill Stowell

We work with children and adults doing targeted brain training to improve thinking and learning. Our goal for students is to permanently resolve their learning or attention challenges. We do that by identifying and developing the underlying processing or learning skills that are at the root of a student's dyslexia, attention or struggles socially or in school, and remediating the reading, writing, spelling or math.

 

[00:14:49.930] - Jill Stowell

If you would like a free consultation for yourself or your child, give us a call or visit our website at stowelllcenter.com. Thank you for joining today. The next time I see you, it will be a new year and time to put those resolutions to work. Have a safe, healthy and happy New Year.