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FEBRUARY 2014

Better

together Turn dinnertime into family time

health

Technology and sleep

Jenny Downing (979) 731-4660

Kyrstie Cox (979) 731-4665

Internet Sales Director

Internet Marketing Consultant

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Shauna Lewis Editorial shauna.lewis@theeagle.com Jim Bob McKown

gadget overuse can lead to poor rest

By Melissa Erickson More Content Now

Before laying your head on the pillow, do you check email one last time? How about watching TV or looking at a tablet before bed? Do you know that these forms of technology may be affecting your quality of sleep?

According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 Sleep in America Poll, 95 percent of people surveyed admitted to using electronic devices before sleeping.

Think it’s no big deal? Think again, say researchers who found that using these devices before bed can lead to sleep disruption, low energy the next day and even drowsy driving. Text messages, calendar alarms and the bright light of technology are disrupting our sleep.

“There is an epidemic of sleep deprivation in this country,” said Dr. Nathaniel Watson, an expert in sleep medicine and neurology and a board member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “It’s the world we live in with a 24hour economy, entertainment options and social opportunities 24 hours a day.

With the rise of the smartphone, tablets and TVs in the bedroom, very often people’s sleep is compromised. This technology that’s invaded the bedroom is nibbling away at the time that we allot for sleep.”

Even the glowing blue light from the screen is bad for your sleep.

“Light exposure is the single strongest 2 | Fe b r u a r y 2 0 , 2 0 1 4

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factor that sets our circadian rhythm (our internal body clock). The blue wavelength light that is emitted from phones, tablets and other electronics has the worst effect. It’s a problem for falling asleep and staying asleep,” Watson said.

The light suppresses melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep.

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Quality of sleep The magical eight hours of sleep that’s often talked about is one thing, but what about the quality of the sleep we get?

Parent educator and author of “Sleepless in America,” Mary Sheedy Kurcinka agrees that “electronics are disrupting our sleep,” especially our children’s sleep.

“We know that teens are disrupting their sleep by leaving phones next to their beds. The beeps of incoming messages alert them enough to pull them from deep sleep, disrupting their sleep cycles. So they never get the restorative sleep they need even though they are in bed,” Kurcinka said.

Offering advice that can be adapted to adults, too, Kurcinka said, “Never leave your phone on next to the bed where it can bing or buzz and disrupt your sleep.

It is critical that parents put a ban on screens in the bedroom — screens of any kind. Phones, iPads, etc., need to stay on the kitchen counter. Teens whose parents continue to monitor bedtimes get more sleep.”

Create a routine

A lack of sleep “has serious consequences for both individual and public health,” Watson said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 41 million people in the United States — nearly a third of all working adults — get six hours or fewer of sleep a night.

The bedroom “should be an oasis for sleep,” Watson said. “It should be cool, dark, quiet and comfortable.”

In addition to keeping phones, TVs and other technology out of the bedroom, Watson advised that people create a bedtime routine that includes “stepping away from technology an hour before bed.”

One size doesn’t fit all, though. “Some people like to read on a tablet or Kindle and that’s part of their bedtime routine, but others start reading and can’t stop and the next thing they know it’s the middle of the night,” Watson said.

“Healthy sleep doesn’t happen by accident,” Watson said. “We need to reprioritize sleep. With better sleep, you have a better quality of life, you make sound decisions and you feel better physically.”

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Kolache Rolf’s

Kolache Rolf’s serves delicious breakfast and lunch, caters events The owner of Kolache Rolf’s got the inspiration to open a kolache shop from a kolache-loving pig that he had as a child. The idea has spread into a business that not only serves up hot, tasty kolaches and other breakfast items, but that also dishes out delicious lunch items and takes care of catering needs.

Kolache Rolf’s, with three College Station eateries, first opened in 2000, at 2307 South Texas Ave., Suite A. About three years later, Kolache Rolf’s also added a location at 3525 Longmire Drive, Suite F, and last February, it opened its doors at 800 Earl Rudder Freeway.

Kolache Rolf’s owner Rolf Larson said customer service is the top priority of his business. As part of keeping up with a growing customer base, Larson is looking at opening two new locations in the area this year.

“With Bryan-College Station growing like it is, we’re trying to grow with it,” Larson said. “We’ve identified a couple of locations that we’re looking at opening in 2014.”

A sweet idea When Larson, a Crockett resident at the time, was 8 years old, he bought a pig for $8 at a county fair.

Larson raised the pig in his backyard, and they became best friends. He led the pig on a leash and rode on its back. Larson’s father would bring home kolaches after returning home from his Houston job, and the pig loved them. So Larson’s father named the pig Kolache Rolf.

“Growing up with Kolache Rolf was not only fun, but it taught me responsibility and life lessons that I still cherish today,” Larson said.

Soon after he bought the pig, an artist at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo drew a caricature of Larson riding his pig. Larson said he kept coming across that drawing several times over the years.

Larson said he would think, “Something’s telling me to open a kolache shop.”

After moving to the College Station area, Larson made

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that dream reality by opening Kolache Rolf’s, named after his childhood pet pig.

The logo is the same caricature of Larson riding his pig that was created when he was a kid.

Kolache Rolf’s is now well known in the area for its delicious kolaches. The cream cheese kolaches and the Slovacek sausage and cheese kolaches are two of locals’ favorites, along with its cinnamon rolls.

breakfast are Egg It On breakfast sandwiches, muffins, oatmeal with fruit and cinnamon twists.

To top off a hot breakfast or lunch, Kolache Rolf’s also offers a variety of coffee and espresso, as well as soda and tea, throughout the day.

turkey and chicken salad slider sandwiches. It also serves a lunch combo, which includes two sliders, chips, a cookie and a regular drink.

noon to closing, when all kolaches on the shelf are half price.

Kolache Rolf’s also promotes specials on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

Chips, fruit cups and kolaches are also available. Desserts include a variety of cookies and brownies.

Catering

Lunch

Specials

For lunch, Kolache Rolf’s offers a soup of the day and ham,

Every day, Kolache Rolf’s has a kolache happy hour, from

Kolache Rolf’s provides breakfast and lunch catering, with a 24-hour advance notice.

“We love to cater

The shop has a variety of meat kolaches, with meat choices of sausage, ham, bacon and Slovacek sausage.

Choices include sausage only; any of the meats and cheese; or any of the meats, with cheese and jalapeno. Customers can also pick from an assortment of fruit kolaches, such apricot, blueberry, peach, lemon and poppy seed.

Larson said many customers love the sweet dough that Kolache Rolf’s uses for its kolaches.

“We have a sweeter bread than the original kolache,” he said.

Also available for

Owner Rolf Larson stands in his newest Kolache Rolf’s location, at University Drive and Texas 6 in College Station (also pictured to the right). Kolache Rolf’s, which has two additional locations in College Station, is well known for its kolaches, but also serves lunch and provides catering services.

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Kolache Rolf’s any and all events,” Larson said.

Larson said Kolache Rolf’s often caters for organizations on the Texas A&M University campus. Kolache Rolf’s catering is also ideal for events such as wedding or baby showers, birthday parties or business functions.

The breakfast catering menu includes fresh fruit trays, fruit kolache trays, meat kolache trays and a combination tray of meat kolaches, fruit kolaches and cinnamon rolls. Sizes available for fruit kolache and meat kolache trays are two dozen, three dozen and four dozen. They feed between 14 and 35 people.

Lunch catering

options include an 18-slider sandwich tray (feeds nine to 12 people) and box lunch combos, which consist of two sliders, chips, a drink and a cookie.

Available sides are fresh fruit cups, chips, brownies and cookies.

Drinks include coffee, apple juice, water and canned soft drinks.

Trays and boxed lunches are also available for pick up at Kolache Rolf’s locations.

Hours and more information Kolache Rolf’s hours, by location, are: • 2307 A Texas Ave. South (next to Copy Corner): 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends. Phone: 979696-0099.

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• 3525 F Longmire (in the Kroger shopping center on Rock Prairie Road): 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends. Phone: 979696-5544.

• 800 Earl Rudder Freeway (in the Gateway Center, at Texas 6 and University Drive): 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends. Phone: 979268-7653.

For more information, including a menu and prices, visit http:// kolacherolfs.com. For additional details, visit www.facebook. com/KolacheRolfs or https://twitter.com/ kolache_rolfs.

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family briefs

Train kids to be healthy

By Melissa Erickson More Content Now

Healthy parents tend to have healthy kids because they positively influence and encourage their children to make good food choices. The National Institutes of Health offers the following tips: n Expose children to a variety of healthy foods early, when they’re as young as infants and preschoolers, so they develop a liking for them.

Getting young ones to accept fruits and vegetables can be a challenge, but some parents give up too quickly if a child rejects a new food. Research sug-

gests that the more times you offer a food, the more likely a child will be to warm up to it. “Kids typically have to taste a new food nine to 15 times to begin to like it,” said Dr. Julie Lumeng, a pediatrician at the University of Michigan. n Several studies show that parents can effectively influence healthy behaviors by talking in a positive way or avoiding certain situations altogether. “Instead of telling your children, ‘No, you can’t have any more cookies,’ just keep cookies out of the house altogether,” Lumeng said. Make healthy choices easy for

children. Put nutritious food where it’s easy to see. n Healthy eating and physical activity are essential for children of any age. “Good nutrition and physical activity are important for building strong bones and muscles and feeling good about yourself,” says Dr. Lynne Haverkos, a child development specialist at NIH. “Some research suggests that physical activity might even help improve children’s thinking and mental functions.” n Getting active and eating right may also prevent excess weight and childhood obesity. Today, nearly one in three chil-

dren in the U.S. is overweight or obese. “Being overweight puts a lot of stress on joints, muscles, bones and the heart, and it increases your risk for certain diseases,” Haverkos says. “We’re also finding that overweight toddlers are more likely to become overweight middle schoolers, high schoolers and then adults.

That’s why it’s important to take action early.” n Experts recommend that most kids get at least an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. Parents can help by limiting TV and computer time to no more than two hours a day.

“Small changes in the home environment can also have a huge effect on physical activity,” said Dr. Leonard H. Epstein, an expert on childhood obesity at the University

of Buffalo. Make sports equipment like balls and jump ropes more accessible by putting them next to the door.

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Food for

thought

Benefits of family dinner can be shared at any meal

By Melissa Erickson | More Content Now

C

ommon sense says that sharing a family meal is good for parents and children. It’s a time to bond and share conversation, learn healthy eating habits and save money. While a recent study found that Americans are doing a poor job of sharing the evening meal together, new research shows that options and alternatives to the traditional meal exist.

Real benefits Sharing a meal is a tremendous factor for family stability and positive growth. A study in the journal Pediatrics found that children who eat with their families three times a week are less likely to be overweight, eat unhealthy foods or be at risk for eating disorders. Recent studies link regular family dinners with many behaviors that parents pray for: lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression, as well as higher grade-point averages and self-esteem, according to theFamilyDinnerProject.org.

Studies also indicate that dinner conversation is a more potent vocabulary-booster than reading, and the stories told around the kitchen table help children build resilience.

But the bad news is that a 2013 Unicef study found the United States ranked 23rd out of 25 countries in the percentage of children who ate dinner together with their parents several times a week. No

surprise there. Getting dinner on the table and sharing the meal together is an impossibility for some families when parents are working long hours and kids are involved in all sorts of activities after school and late into the evening.

So what’s a busy family to do?

Togetherness is key The family meal should be more about family than it is about the meal, said Bruce Feiler, author of the best-selling “The Secrets of Happy Families.” To get the benefits of dinner together modern families need to be a bit creative, he said.

“One thing high-functioning families do is talk, a lot. Family meals can be a great time to do that, but they’re not the only time,” said Feiler.

“If you can have family dinner together, great.

If not, try family breakfast, or have a bedtime snack at 8:30 p.m. when everyone is home. Even one meal a week can have benefits,” said the Brooklyn resident and New York Times Sunday

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columnist.

There’s far too much pressure on families to have perfect family meals, Feiler said.

“Time-shifting works well in business, and it works well in families.

Research shows there’s only 10 minutes of conversation time in any family meal. The rest is taken up with ‘take your elbows off the table’ and ‘pass the ketchup.’ If you can’t eat together, aim to spend 10 minutes together every day,” he said.

Feiler offers some

simple games to play that are fun and help your kids.

Word a day: A child in grades 3 through 12 is expected to learn around 3,000 words a year. You can help by teaching your child one new word every day. Bring a newspaper or magazine to the table and ask everyone to find a word they don’t know. Googling in this instance is allowed!

Tell your family history: The most impor-

tant thing you can do may be the easiest of all.

Tell your children the story of their own family history. Researchers ShopBrazos.com

at Emory found that children who know more about their parents, grandparents and other relatives — both their ups and their downs — have higher self-esteem and greater confidence to confront their own challenges. Knowing more about family history is the single biggest predictor of a child’s emotional well-being.

But don’t just limit yourself to happy experiences. If your child knows that relatives overcame hurdles, like a house burning down or a bout with breast cancer, they’ll know that when

they hit hurdles that can get over them, too.

As the father of two young daughters, Feiler understands the challenges of raising a family.

“We try, and that’s what matters. We have our jobs, and we work on those. We have our hobbies, and we work on those. We even work on our bodies. But most of us don’t work on making our families better,” Feiler said. “Turns out, that’s the biggest secret to a happy family: Try.” Fe b r u a r y 2 0 , 2014 | 7

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