Great Health Guide: September/October 2019 by Great Health Guide

September / October 2019

HELP

Kids to

Remember Part 1

Sleep is

important

for your

Brain The Brain in my

HEART

Does BRAIN

Training

Work

Migranes & Physio

ZERO WASTE LIVING • FUSSY EATERS • SELF-BLAME • GETTING PEACE & QUIET • ENERGY DRINKS

ontents GREAT HEALTH

DOES BRAIN TRAINING WORK?

Find out how to stretch your mental muscle Dr Jenny Brockis

ENERGY DRINKS: FIZZ & FACTS PART 1

Why are energy drinks consumed & what can you expect from them?

Dr Warrick Bishop

ZERO WASTE LIVING: PART 1

Create your ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ lifestyle

Dr Ash Nayate

MANAGING PREGNANCY & EARLY PARENTHOOD Great ways to keep yourself happy & healthy during & after pregnancy.

Melissa Hui

2 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

06 WHY SLEEP IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BRAIN? The brain consolidates memories & learning during sleep Dr David McIntosh

33 THE BRAIN IN MY HEART Your heart is your second brain - feel it! Dr Suzanne Henwood

FITNESS

MIGRAINES & PHYSIOTHERAPY

Certain stretches of specific neck muscles may reduce migraines Margarita Gurevich

THE 20% RULE TO FITNESS

Increase your fitness performance safely with the 20% rule Kusal Goonewardena

MINDSET

HOW TO GET PEACE & QUIET

THE SPACE BETWEEN YOUR THOUGHTS

TIPS FOR YOUR CHILD’S MEMORY: PART 1

This space is where new thoughts are created

Capture a child’s attention & use games to build working memory

Terry Sidford

RELATIONSHIPS

SELF-BLAME

Self-blame is a journey of your ego

Dr Matthew Anderson

KIDS MATTERS

CHILDREN’S SLEEP SCHEDULE

Dr Janine Cooper

SPORT SKILLS TEACH LIFE

SKILLS Sports teach children cooperation, coordination & collaboration Jane Kilkenny

MANAGING FUSSY EATERS

Five simple ways to find peace & quiet

Flexible sleep schedules or clock-based naps for children

Develop positive mealtime habits by encouragement, engagement & variety

Susie Flashman Jarvis

Kim Corley

Regina Tilyard

DISCLAIMER

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 3

Team

GHG

FOUNDER + EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kathryn Dodd

DEPUTY EDITORS Dr Helen J. Dodd Dr William A. Dodd LEAD DESIGNER Oleksandra Zuieva DESIGNERS Olha Blagodir, Belinda Nelson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dr Matthew Anderson, Dr Warrick Bishop, Dr Jenny Brockis, Dr Janine Cooper, Kim Corley, Kusal Goonewardena, Margarita Gurevich, Dr Suzanne Henwood, Melissa Hui, Susie Flashman Jarvis, Jane Kilkenny, Dr David McIntosh, Dr Ash Nayate, Terry Sidford, Regina Tilyard CONNECT WITH US:

SUBSCRIBE: W: www.GreatHealthGuide.com.au P: +61 (0)7 3394 8263 E: CustomerCare@ GreatHealthGuide.com.au

Hello Friends In this edition of Great Health GuideTM, our authors have concentrated on the brain with its relationship to sleep, its ability to be trained and expanded, and its function in memory/learning skills. We continue the brain theme by showing the link of the brain to the heart through feeling and most importantly, never forgetting how to care for your brain. Does Brain Training Work? Whatever form of brain training you choose, make it something new, something to challenge your brain and something you can continue to improve. It’s the quickest and most effective route to sustained smarter, sharper thinking. Tips for Your Child’s Memory describes several ways in which you can actively support a child’s working memory abilities and provide the foundations for learning. Have you ever slowed down your thoughts long enough to create a space with no thinking? You can create a state of peace and connect to your soul. The Space Between Your Thoughts, illustrates a clean energy state that you can tap into. This is the place for creating and manifesting new thoughts. The Brain in My Heart describes the feeling and connection of the brain with the heart. Positive emotions such as gratitude, appreciation, compassion, deep peace and unconditional love at the heart level, link back to your brain. However, it is most important to know how to care for the brain. The article, Sleep is Important for Your Brain explains that the brain needs sleep for rejuvenation, to consolidate memories and, hence learning. If you are searching for How to Get Peace & Quiet - try daydreaming on purpose, where you can discover new desires that release creativity once lost due to the pressures of life. So, here’s to a better, sharper brain that feels, values, connects, daydreams and rests.

Kathryn x

© Antalya Developments Pty Ltd 2019 Any information made available in the Great Health Guide Magazine (electronic or hard copy formats), or from Antalya Developments Pty Limited or Kathryn Dodd, including by way of third party authored articles or discussions, is made available for readers’ interest only. The purpose of making the information available is to stimulate research, public discussion and debate. Readers are encouraged to undertake their own research and consult with professional advisors to form their own independent views about the topic/s discussed. The information made available in the Great Health Guide Magazine (electronic or hard copy formats) is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Readers should seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions regarding a potential or actual medical condition or the proposed use or decision not to use any particular product. Readers should not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it at any time, including because of the content of any information made available in the Great Health Guide Magazine (electronic or hard copy formats). Each of Antalya Developments Pty Ltd and Kathryn Dodd do not warrant, guarantee or make any representation regarding the accuracy, veracity, adequacy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of any information available on, or arising in relation to, the Great Health Guide Magazine (electronic or hard copy formats). Neither Antalya Developments Pty Limited nor Kathryn Dodd endorses the views of any contributing authors to the Great Health Guide Magazine (electronic or hard copy formats).

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Sleep is

Important

for Your Brain

––– Dr

6 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

David McIntosh –––

Great Health

our brain is very amazing. It is so complex that it can perform millions of tasks throughout the day, many of these are subconscious and outside of your direct control. The brain is able to perform calculations, think through ideas, absorb stimuli such as sound and sight and smells from your environment. It moves your body and performs complex tasks such as talking. Also, it keeps your body systems functioning by monitoring your blood pressure, your breathing, and your food and drink intake. With such an amazingly complex and small piece of machinery, there is one slight problemwe do not fully understand just how the brain works. We are not clever enough to understand how we can be so clever.

The brain really needs sleep for rejuvenation.

In classical neurology, (the study of the brain and the nervous system), the way we have worked out what the brain does, is to see what goes wrong when certain parts of the brain are damaged, as from having a stroke. By observing the dysfunctions of the body and relating it to the part of the brain that is no longer able to work, we have gained some insight into brain function. When it comes to sleep though, we have been very slow to realise what DISCLAIMER

effect sleep has on brain function. We are catching up, and we are doing so in a similar way to classical neurological approaches, i.e. by seeing what goes wrong when we do not get enough good quality sleep.

SLEEP IS NOT A SIMPLE PROCESS. It is not just closing your eyes and then everything shuts off. The brain measurably goes through many different stages as we sleep. In fact, sleep is probably there for rejuvenation. When feeling sick, your brain will encourage you to rest and sleep. Feeling sore from physical activity, your brain will encourage you to rest and sleep. If you want good healthy skin and less wrinkles, get some beauty sleep. If you want your brain to have the full potential to function properly, get some sleep!

THE BRAIN CONSOLIDATES MEMORIES AND LEARNING. When we sleep, the brain itself takes the opportunity to sort out the activities and knowledge of the day just gone by. The brain is an interconnected group of millions of specialised cells called neurons. During sleep, the brain re-organises how those neurons interconnect with each other. Sleep is also important for cleaning up the by-products of thinking, the metabolic toxins that can otherwise cause damage to the neurons if they build up. The consolidation of memories, and hence learning, is also very much done when we are asleep. In fact, the brain is using the resting moment that the body benefits from, to work out what was and was not important from the day. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 7

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HOW DOES BRAIN FUNCTION LINK TO SLEEP? Well letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use memory as an example. We have different type of memories and these are consolidated in different stages of the sleep cycle. For example, one part of sleep serves the function of working on facts and figures that you want to retain, whereas another part of the sleep cycle is devoted to helping to retain how to do a certain activity, such as a yoga pose. We know from depriving people of sleep that the ability to recall things the next day, is reduced. Thus sleep is important for your brain. Sleep deprivation is actually a form of torture. People that are deprived of sleep, do not just have problems with 8 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

their memories. Behaviour, anxiety, and mental health issues also ensue. These derangements all stem from the activity of the brain. So, use this new knowledge in a healthy way. Make sleep an important part of your health program.

Dr David McIntosh is a Paediatric ENT Specialist with a particular interest in airway obstruction, facial and dental development and its relationship to ENT airway problems and middle ear disease. He also specialises in sinus disease and provides opinions on the benefit of revision of previous sinus operations. Dr McIntosh can be contacted via this website. SUBSCRIBE

Brain Does

Training Work?

Dr Jenny Brockis

Never Stop Learni ng

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ouldn’t it be great if we could stay mentally sharp, with great focus and the ability to remember all the important things like a memory pro, with just a little brain training to stretch our mental muscle?

Which probably explains the high hopes held for the online brain training programs that seduce us with the promise of a better memory, improved cognitive and numerical skills, to make life so much easier.

ONLINE BRAIN TRAINING The online brain training industry, while now worth an estimated $6 billiondollars, has proved sadly disappointing. While many of the apps help an individual to improve in the training game they play, this hasn’t translated into improved overall cognitive function in our daily activities. Not only that but two tech game giants Lumosity and LearnedEx were fined in 2016 for overstating their marketing claims. To date the only study to demonstrate any transfer of benefit was the 2016 ACTIVE study, that showed how training to improve speed of processing information was associated with a decreased risk of developing dementia 10 years later. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have devised a new brain training game called Decoder, designed to assist in focussing attention and concentration. They are confident that playing this game on an iPad for 8 onehour sessions over a month can make a positive difference. 10 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

But this requires more time spent with a screen when many of us are already spending up to 10 hours a day interacting with our digital technology. Another study from John Hopkins, has revealed a dual n-back training task improved performance on related memory test and changed brain activity as recorded on EEG. While encouraging, the question is ‘so what’, because dual n-back training is brutal and definitely not in the ‘fun’ category. Would you want to do something so hard when there are many evidence-backed methods that are far more enjoyable?

BRAIN TRAINING MADE SIMPLE The simple way to look at brain training is to see it as a way of sharpening your cognitive skills, if you’ve got a little stuck in routine. Your brain’s natural plasticity is available to you 24/7 and remains with us well into our nineties the implication being: • You’re never too old to learn new skills. • You can harness your plasticity by focusing on the area you seek to improve in. • Stimulating your brain with new or demanding tasks, provides greater potential neuroprotective effect SUBSCRIBE

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against future cognitive decline or dementia. â&#x20AC;˘ You can optimise your brain training by engaging in a wide variety of neural stimulating activities and better lifestyle choices, known to support better brain health. â&#x20AC;˘ Spending more time down at the brain gym is linked to sharper thinking, improved focus, a more positive mood, increased motivation and productivity, increased fluid intelligence, creativity and mental flexibility DISCLAIMER

HERE ARE SIX WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR MENTAL MUSCLE. 1. Be a lifelong learner. Choose to learn a variety of new skills, whether knowledge based, a new language or a musical instrument. 2. Seek mastery in your exploration. The harder the challenge and the greater your level of expertise obtained, the greater the neuroplastic effect.

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 11

Great Health 3. Get creative. Creative activities are especially neuroprotective. It’s time to reveal your inner Van Gogh, Yotam Ottolenghi or J.K. Rowling. Not only are these activities fun, they boost your mood and sense of well-being. 4. Get physical. Physical activity prepares you to pay better attention, learn more effectively and think faster, as well as boosting mood, stabilising emotions, increasing creativity, reducing stress and helping you to sleep more soundly at night. 5. Learn to meditate. Whether mindfulness, transcendental or loving compassion, meditation quietens the mind, boosting cognition, memory and mood. 6. Switch off from your technology. Take time out in nature to experience awe and wonder. This deepens our connection with the world, helps to keep things in perspective and makes us happier, more open-minded and curious to discover what’s next. This is about fully engaging with life. It is the skills we acquire through learning and experience and the use of all of our senses, that keeps our neurons in tip top shape. Whatever form of brain training you choose, make it something new, something to challenge your brain and something you can continue to get better at. It’s the quickest and most effective route to sustained smarter, sharper thinking.

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Dr Jenny Brockis is a Medical Practitioner and Board-Certified Lifestyle Physician specialising in brain health and mental performance. Jenny’s approach to overcoming life’s challenges is based on practical neuroscience which enables people to understand their thoughts and actions leading to effective behavioural change. Jenny is the author of Smarter, Sharper Thinking (Wiley) and may be contacted via her website.

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nergyDrinks: Fizz & Facts Part 1

Dr Warrick Bishop

nergy drinks are incredibly common. We see them advertised and we see them everywhere. We see not only sportspeople but young adults and teenagers consuming these beverages regularly. So, questions need to be answered:

14 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

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• • • •

What are they? What sort of things do they contain? What benefits might they offer? What risks might they carry?

THE HISTORY OF THESE DRINKS AND THEIR ARRIVAL ON THE GLOBAL MARKET. One of the most recognized brands in the energy drinks space is Red Bull. It was released in Austria as far back as 1987 but ten years later it was released in the USA. It then subsequently grew and grew with other energy drinks coming into the market, so that by 2013, there was over 5.8 billion liters of energy drink being consumed in over 160 countries around the world! In the U.S. alone, in 2012, the estimated market value of the industry was 12.5 billion dollars. The business has been growing at a staggering pace, year on year. Energy drinks are just too big for them to ever go away, then there are questions that we have to consider for ourselves as potential users, but also as responsible adults in charge of our children who may become potential users.

WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE ENERGY DRINKS? Why are they consumed and what can you expect from taking energy drinks? The main reason is a boost in energy. These drinks promote wakefulness, maintain alertness and possibly help with cognitive function and mood enhancement. There is also some research that would suggest they can improve motor function and coordination, such as catching a ball or driving, something that requires eyeDISCLAIMER

hand or eye-foot coordination with quick reflexes. There are some studies which suggest a benefit in taking these energy drinks, but there are also many studies that don’t show any benefit at all.

THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IS CAFFEINE. The most active ingredient in energy drinks is caffeine. The level of caffeine ranges between 30 mg to over 140 mg in different preparations, so read the label on the product to know what the level is for that particular preparation. It’s useful to put that into context though when we think about caffeine in a coffee shot. By checking on the Starbucks website, one can quickly find out that a standard espresso shot from Starbucks will have about 90 mg of caffeine, and a double shot can range between 60 and 180 mg.

PLUS, THE SUGAR HIT. So, for energy drinks, caffeine is the main ingredient. But there are other ingredients as well, the most significant and now the most common ingredient is sugar. These drinks contain large hits of sugar so that the person consuming these drinks is getting both a hit of coffee and a sugar rush. Other constituents of these drinks include taurine, methylxanthines, vitamin B, ginseng, Gharana, Yerba Mate, maltodextrin, inositol, carnitine, creatine, gluronolactone and ginkgo biloba. These are all in varying amounts and there is no clear data at all to reflect their impact on the individual. These agents are taken for energy, and therefore we might expect a physical benefit. There is some research to support GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 15

Great Health that individuals taking these agents do demonstrate an enhanced or improved aerobic endurance. They also give an improvement in mood and an increase in alertness as well as improve response times and reduce fatigue. If you were able to enhance your performance in those different categories, then your team performance, if everyone was consuming these energy drinks, may improve. Well, very small studies have been done to suggest this is the case, However, they are offset by an equal number of studies that did not show a significant benefit.

Editor ,s Choice KNOW YOUR REAL RISK OF HEART ATTACK Dr Warrick Bishop

What if we could PLAN NOT to have a heart attack?

BUT WHAT ABOUT ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE BODY AND BRAIN? Of particular concern is the physiological and the psychological effects related to these drinks. These include effects on the cardiovascular system with increased heart rate and blood pressure, the effects on lining of the arteries with blood clotting and blockage. As well, neurological effects of anxiety or insomnia occur, gastrointestinal upset, restlessness and some degree of agitation. In Part 2 of the next edition of Great Health GuideTM, some health problems caused by these energy drinks, will be discussed

Dr Warrick Bishop is a cardiologist with special interest in cardiovascular disease prevention incorporating imaging, lipids and lifestyle. He is author of the book ‘Have You Planned Your Heart Attack?’, written for patients and doctors about how to live intentionally to reduce cardiovascular risk and save lives! Dr Bishop can be contacted via his website. 16 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Dr Warrick Bishop is experienced cardiologist, with extensive training & expertise in CT coronary angiograms. The fundamental focus of this book is: • primary preventative cardiology by using much earlier intervention than traditionally undertaken • re-evaluation of our approach to primary prevention • managing the individual rather than the population What if we could be forewarned about, or prepared for, a potential problem with our coronary arteries?

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Zero Part 1 Dr Ash Nayate

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he zero waste movement has been picking up steam over the last decade or so, particularly in the last few years. Now, more than ever, it’s important to be mindful of what we consume and more importantly, what we discard. The idea of conserving resources isn’t a new one. The ‘reduce, reuse, recycle‘ motto has been around for decades. And now, with our planet in a climatic emergency and the reality of environmental change already being felt around the world, it’s time to step things up. Zero waste is a misnomer, because it’s impossible to produce NO waste at all. The question is: what sort of waste are we producing and how is it impacting the environment? The zero waste philosophy asks us to reflect on the waste we produce and how we can be more environmentally conscious about its management. The concept of zero waste also represents an ideal, towards which we can each strive. Living a truly ‘zero’ waste lifestyle may seem daunting; however, taking positive steps to lower our individual contribution to waste is achievable for most of us.

OCEANIC PLASTIC WASTE. According to the World Wildlife Fund, around 8 million tons of plastic enters the oceans each year. Around half of this plastic is single use, like shopping bags, straws, cutlery, food wrappers, and water bottles. The impact of this plastic is monumental. For example, sea animals often mistake plastic for food (a floating plastic bag looks a lot like a jellyfish) and can ingest fatal amounts. Microplastic 18 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

particles build up in the bodies of sea animals, particularly predatory sea animals like sharks, who consume other aquatic animals.

MONUMENTAL LANDFILL WASTE. Of course, oceanic plastic waste isn’t the only concern of zero-waste advocates. In Australia, around 20 million tonnes of garbage go into landfill each year. This includes plastic, as well as organic material like food and green waste, and goods such as clothes, furniture, and appliances. Aside from the geographical issues of waste disposal (it takes a lot of land to house this much rubbish), sustainability is the very important factor. Each bit of waste that goes to landfill represents the raw materials (like wood or rubber) and resources (like water and gas) that went into its production. Zero waste is about so much more than the item sent to landfill; it also includes all resources and raw materials that went into its creation.

Remember the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. SUBSCRIBE

Great Health Zero waste living may seem like a radical lifestyle shift, whereas it’s really about minor decisions, made repeatedly. These small, seemingly inconsequential decisions add up, and have a huge impact. Even a simple action, like choosing a reusable coffee cup, means that hundreds, or even thousands, of single use cups stay out of landfill and off our beaches. If we think creatively about the reducereuse-recycle motto, adding ‘rot’ and ‘refuse’ to that list, there are many simple changes that we can make, to seamlessly incorporate zero waste principles into everyday life.

DISCLAIMER

Part 2 of this article will be published in the next edition of Great Health GuideTM and will explore the five principles of zero waste living and provide practical tips for reducing waste.

Dr Ash Nayate is a clinical neuropsychologist specializing in brain function and resulting behaviour. Ash has almost 15 years’ experience working with children and families, supporting them to feel happier, more confident and resilient. To contact Ash please visit her website.

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Pregnancy Managing & Early

Parenthood Melissa Hui

ccording to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it is currently estimated that in Australia, one birth occurs every 1 minute and 41 seconds. During pregnancy and post-birth, parents-to-be often have many questions surrounding the health of themselves and their baby. As a pharmacist, I see pregnant women often confused, stressed or nervous about bringing a new child into the world and parents who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to expect in their first few months of parenthood. Here are my top four tips to help during pregnancy and the early stages of becoming a parent. 1. Consume the necessary supplements. It is estimated that more than 40 per cent of pregnant women worldwide are anaemic, with at least half due to iron deficiency during the first trimester. 20 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Pregnant women need to meet their own nutritional needs as well as the babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s developing foetus, therefore additional iron and folic acid supplements are commonly recommended and should be discussed with your doctor. When iron is deficient, the red blood cells struggle to carry oxygen to the bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tissues. While it is normal to experience mild anaemia during pregnancy, severe deficiencies can put the health of yourself and the unborn baby in danger, including the risk of premature delivery and low birth weight. 2. Eat healthy and track your weight gain. A common misconception about pregnancy is that weight gain does not have a negative impact during the nine months of gestation, however gaining an excessive amount of weight increases health risks for expecting women and the baby. SUBSCRIBE

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Great Health It’s important to track your weight, as gaining an excessive amount during gestation has been linked to increasing your risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy, high blood pressure and complications during birth. Try decreasing your intake of foods with high cholesterol and add dairy products, legumes and fruit to your diet as they are great staples for you and your baby’s health. If you’re concerned about your pregnancy weight or weight gain, be sure to consult your local GP or a dietician. A woman’s recommended weight gain is based on their body weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) prior to birth. Weight gain recommendations are higher for those having twins, with the target range generally being within 11.5-16 kilograms during pregnancy.

overwhelming as it is exciting, and you will often have questions or concerns about your little one that may not require a visit to the GP. To give new parents peace of mind or answer any questions big or small, some Discount Drug Stores employ baby nurses. These baby nurses are qualified midwives who can answer questions about feeding, sleeping and developmental milestones. In addition, baby nurses can record your baby’s height and weight measurements making it easier to track their health and growth.

Melissa Hui is a qualified Pharmacist with over 10 years’ experience in community pharmacy and is a Professional Services Pharmacist for the National Discount Drug Stores Franchise Support Office.

3. Have a regular exercise routine. Aside from better weight control, exercise is a great way to keep yourself happy and healthy during and after pregnancy. Maintaining regular exercise during pregnancy helps to relieve stress, release discomfort such as back or body aches, and even decrease the risk of pregnancyrelated complications, including pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia. High intensity or strenuous activity is not recommended, and you should consult with your GP or obstetrician before trying something new, however 30 minutes of exercise per day is recommended. 4. Book in for your baby nurse appointment. Being

new

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parent

can

as SUBSCRIBE

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Fitness

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Fitness

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Treating with

Physiotherapy ––– Margarita

eadaches are a common condition that most people experience. These headaches vary greatly in terms of intensity, symptoms and triggers. While some headaches can come on sporadically and are easily contained with a mild analgesic, others can be frequent and severe.

MIGRAINES ARE A SEVERE TYPE OF HEADACHE. They are categorised as a neurological disorder. The pain felt with migraines is typically moderate to severe and is felt on one side of the head but can alter between episodes. This discomfort is typically described as a throbbing sensation. Nausea and light sensitivity are common symptoms associated with migraines. They can also be accompanied by an ‘aura’ which involves visual or sensory disturbances, such as seeing spots. The causes are not fully understood, but they can be debilitating enough to cause individuals to miss days of work or school. DISCLAIMER

Gurevich –––

HOW CAN PHYSIOTHERAPY HELP IN TREATING MIGRAINES? A physiotherapy assessment may help in identifying what triggers your migraine or some potential contributing factors. Where these factors are outside the scope of a physiotherapy practice, referral back to the GP may be necessary. Some typical contributing factors may be: • Alcohol or caffeine • Stress • Poor sleep • Diet

TREATING MIGRAINES WITH PHYSIOTHERAPY MUST BE PERSONALISED. 1. EXERCISE: Keeping fit is part of a healthy lifestyle and physiotherapists can be seen as exercise experts. If your migraine is in any way neck related, there may be some GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 25

Fitness hands-on treatment, as well as exercise prescription which may assist in dealing with the issue. Even when you are not in a ‘flare up’ phase, a good exercise regime may be important to maintain general health and as a helpful stress reliever, which as we mentioned above, is one of the key contributors to migraines. We can break this down further and look at specific head and neck exercises versus general exercises and consider the importance of both. • Specific head and neck exercises: When your migraine is in a flare-up phase, ‘keeping fit’ is probably not going to be helpful in terms of alleviating your symptoms. We can agree that no number of squats or lunges will improve your symptoms. This is because, if there is a musculoskeletal neck component, we need to find the movements which will provide relief and facilitate recovery. Certain stretches of the neck or activation of specific muscles may be helpful in this instance. However, this will of course differ from one individual to the next.

therapeutic in certain situations. What helps one-person deal with a problem may exacerbate another person’s problem. This is why treating migraines with physiotherapy, always needs to be personalised to make sure the prescription fits the individual.

2. SCENAR THERAPY SCENAR therapy is a useful tool for treating headaches. The SCENAR falls under the electrotherapy umbrella and can be helpful with identifying problem areas which are compromised due to injury or disease. It works by restoring normal function through improved blood flow and stimulation of the nerves, thereby reducing pain. As the SCENAR is not specific to any one type of anatomical structure, it can be helpful in treating issues where it is difficult to identify a clear cause. Your physiotherapist can advise if this treatment is appropriate for you. So, treating migraines with physiotherapy is a very good alternative and adjunct to analgesic treatment.

• General exercises: Plenty of research reinforces the importance of maintaining good physical health as a preventative measure for most conditions. It helps strengthen our immune systems, provides psychological and emotional benefits and builds up resilience when our bodies are temporarily hit with illness. It is important to make this distinction between specific and general exercises because not all exercises are created equal. Therefore, not all exercises will be 26 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Margarita Gurevich is Senior Physiotherapist and uses Clinical Pilates, SCENAR Therapy & other evidence-based techniques, including Real Time Ultrasound and McKenzie Treatment. Margarita specialises in sports injuries, women’s health (including incontinence) and gastrointestinal issues. Margarita may be contacted via her website. SUBSCRIBE

20F %

The

Rule to ––– Kusal

DISCLAIMER

itness

Goonewardena –––

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 27

Fitness

ver-doing it is easier than many people think, yet most don’t find this out until they are suffering from injury. If you wish to increase your fitness, consider taking a cue from what elite athletes do, and follow ‘the 20 percent rule’. At Elite Akademy, we have treated many people who fall in love with an exercise and then push themselves too hard too fast and get injured. Most of us have been guilty of this at some stage. Some typical scenarios include signing up for a half-marathon or marathon, or a Tough-Mudder type event, without having the required training behind you. Or just pushing yourself too hard and seeing how far you can go. For example, running five kilometres at a time and then increasing the load to seven or eight kilometres, or even more, overnight.

DON’T OVERLOAD YOUR BODY. It takes surprisingly little to move out from your physical comfort zone. Research has found just a 4% increase in intensity, duration or frequency is enough to push us outside our comfort zone. Our mind and body respond positively to this, but we can become overloaded. With this in mind, we need to be careful about overly ambitious targets. If just 4% is enough to take your body outside its comfort zone, then what is the likely result if we suddenly increase the load by 50% or 100%? This is where people break down. 28 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

ELITE ATHLETES PROVIDE SOME CLUES. Athletes need to build their fitness but cannot afford to get injured. They often face mammoth tasks; training for a major meet such as a World Championships or the Olympics. If they focus too much on the event, they may become overwhelmed, thinking that the training ‘won’t make a difference’ or ‘this is too hard’. But they maintain effort towards overwhelming tasks by breaking them down into smaller, more achievable lots with the 20% rule.

The 20%% rule creates a steady progression. HOW TO APPLY THE 20% RULE. You increase output by no more than 20% at a time. For example, if you regularly run five kilometres, you may increase your loading by 20%, to six kilometres. The key is staying at this level for a period of time before increasing the level again. For most people three to four weeks is enough to progress to a further 20%. In the example below, you are wanting to run 10 km from your base of 5 km. This is how it looks: SUBSCRIBE

Fitness • Regularly running 5 km and want to run 10 km – engage the 20% rule. • Increase by 20%, now running 6 km. • After three to four weeks, when this is becoming comfortable, increase by 20%. • Now running 7.2 km. • After three to four weeks, when this is becoming more comfortable, increase by 20%. • Now running 8.64 km. • After three to four weeks, increase by 20%. • Now running 10 km. Rather than doubling your running distance in a short period, you gradually increase the distance over nine to twelve weeks.

KEY POINTS: • Over-doing it commonly causes injury. • Pushing yourself too hard, too fast, is easier than most people think. • Fitness can be increased sustainably, and with reduced injury risk, by following ‘the 20% rule’.

Kusal Goonewardena is an experienced physiotherapist, lecturer, consultant and mentor to thousands of physiotherapy students around the world. Kusal recently developed the App KINRGIZE, available at at Google Play and the App store. He has authored books including: Low Back Pain – 30 Days to Pain Free; 3 Minute Workouts; and co-authored Natural Healing: Quiet and Calm. Kusal consults via his clinic, Elite Akademy.

Everyone is different. Some people may need four to five weeks before they progress another 20%. If the extra 20% is still too much of a strain after three weeks, then it could be a signal your body is not ready for the next level. The main thing is creating a steady progression. The 20% rule enforces this by restricting how far you go, instead of a dramatic increase which then puts your body under stress. This can apply to any exercise, whether it’s cycling, lifting weights, or swimming. The 20% rule, like all exercise regimes, works well with a balanced exercise program which mixes low, medium and high intensity exercises. We grow physically and mentally when we do this. DISCLAIMER

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GUIDE

ARTICLE INDEX .............................

Mindset DISCLAIMER

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Mindset

The brain in my heart was designed to feel, value & connect.

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Brain Mindset

The

My Heart

––– Dr

Suzanne Henwood –––

ere you aware that you had complex adaptive neural networks in your heart that have been called ‘brains’? Even if you were not aware of the science behind this, I am sure on a practical level you would have experienced ‘checking in’ with your heart intelligence on some decisions or actions. Even just asking yourself, ‘How do I feel about this?’ is checking in with heart intelligence.

The heart (or cardiac) brain consists of approximately 30-120,000 neurons. While the heart is the smallest of the three brains (head, heart and gut), it has an incredibly important role within the human system. In fact, it is responsible for Three Prime Functions: Emotions, Values and Connecting to others. In many contexts, the world is calling out for humans to reconnect to the intelligence of their hearts to change how DISCLAIMER

we live. As we move from a world where knowledge is power, where the head dominates, to a world where relationship is power, our ability to access and interact effectively with and from our hearts is paramount to our success.

AM I GOING SOFT? Have you heard the term ‘soft skills’? Emotional Intelligence has gone some way to giving the heart a platform in the workplace and organisations GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 33

Mindset like mBraining, Hearts in Healthcare, HeartMath, Charter for Compassion are just some of the great movements leading the charge to reinstate our hearts as an important and an essential component of life and work. For a moment, just think of someone you deeply love and appreciate. As you get the feeling inside you, where do you feel the feeling in your body? I guess that most people felt something in their chest cavity around the heart area. It is unlikely that many felt anything in the limbic area of the head brain. Yet in some arenas, we continue to promote the head brain as the source of emotion, denying the heart its opportunity to do what it was

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designed to do, to feel, to value and to connect. If you have been badly hurt in the past, you may have in some part, shut down your heart brain to protect yourself from feeling those hurts. Unfortunately, you cannot switch off just the painful emotions, by turning the heart response down or off you also turn off the highs, the joy, the fun. You start to live life on an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;automated pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mode. Is it time to pay attention to and reconnect with your heart? To invite your heart to step up and take back those roles and work towards the Highest Expression of the heart which is compassion: compassion for self and compassion for others.

Mindset

HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR HEART? The heart communicates in many different ways: from chemical/hormonal, neurological, energetic, electromagnetic to mechanical/physiological. The heart gives off an electromagnetic signal which is several times more powerful than that of the head and is measurable several feet away from the body. This is why we can get ‘sucked into’ a strong emotion of someone else, why we talk of emotions being ‘contagious’. Practice feeling and holding a strong positive emotion such as gratitude, appreciation, compassion, deep peace or unconditional love at heart level, while breathing in a balanced way, where your in breath and your out breath are the same length. This will change your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and bring your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) into balance. Here is a link to some guided meditations.

The heart talks through pictures, metaphors, feelings & sensations. DISCLAIMER

‘Researchers with the HeartMath Institute and other entities have shown that the human heart, in addition to its other functions, actually possesses the equivalent of its own brain, what they call the heart brain, which interacts and communicates with the head brain.’ The heart talks to you in simple words, but if you hear long fluent sentences, you are communicating with the head brain. Breathe again and take your focus back into your chest area. To hear, or become aware of your heart talking to you, it is better to sit quietly, without distraction, close your eyes and focus your attention inside of you. Feel for the sensation of your heartbeat and use that to focus your attention on your heart. Over time it becomes easier and I highly recommend checking in with the heart on all issues involving any of the three prime functions. This takes intention, commitment, and courage. To feel and show your feelings can make you feel vulnerable. The positive benefits to yourself and those you connect with are well worth the effort. Far from being soft, leading yourself from the heart, is a sign of strength, character and integrity.

Dr Suzanne Henwood is the Director and Lead Coach and Trainer of mBraining4Success. She is also the CEO of The Healthy Workplace and a Master Trainer and Master Coach of mBIT (Multiple Brain Integration Techniques) and can be contacted via her website. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 35

Peace& Quiet How to Get

Susie Flashman Jarvis

ow do you manage in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world? The world is shrinking as the internet spreads its web exponentially into every corner. Our phones keep us constantly available to everyone. Long gone are the days when parents can put their children to bed and have the evenings to themselves. Phones invade relationships. We have all become addicted to contact, constant contact. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true that we have a primary need to belong, but this is further and beyond all we can manage. In order to cope these days a detox is often required. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like having to go to a slimming group in order to lose weight. Excessive contact is all around us and just ends up giving us something else to manage. 36 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

We used to tell our children to pay attention and stop daydreaming. Now we maybe need to tell them to start! Thirty years ago, we were worried about using the television as a babysitter. Now we use digital screens instead. Living in a world that is volatile and unpredictable means that we must find a steady place to keep us secure and to take care of us. Living in a world that is ambiguous requires that we find a simple straightforward way to proceed.

HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS THAT MAY HELP. 1. Plan the pause. I have often found myself coaching busy men and women, who find pausing difficult. But without a pause, how do we take stock? Without a pause, how do we SUBSCRIBE

Mindset

What is the answer to getting peace and quiet?

DISCLAIMER

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 37

Mindset shift the fog in order to see? And breathe? 2. Start a new hobby. Hobbies don’t need to be expensive or complex. It is good for your brain to do something different. Journaling, for example, has been proved to settle and calm a person. Writing down free-flowing thoughts can bring clarity and calmness. 3. Find fresh air. It is good for a person’s mental health to get outside perhaps even to go for a short walk and raise your heartbeat. Even if you are unable to walk, the outside has a huge benefit to your well-being. Even sitting out in the shade and taking in some breaths can settle nerves. 4. Seek mindfulness. Being mindful means focusing fully on the moment, on right now. This enables us to gain perspective. It doesn’t matter what the activity is, just being fully present helps to ground us. An example can be even doing a simple job like washing up. Be aware of the brush in your hand, the soap on the dish, the warmth of the water, even your breathing. Other examples could be having a shower and be fully engaged with feeling the water run down your body. Or even sitting with a friend and be fully present with them. All these activities, when experienced to the full, prevent us from wishing for the next thing.

Always remember, in this world sometimes it can feel as if all hell is being let loose. But take a moment to be mindful. Sit with your feet on the ground, hands on your lap and take some deep breaths. Breathe in and out slowly and as you do, imagine the worries leaving your body. So, let’s model a better way to live. Support yourself and those you love by showing them how to live balanced lives. Remember, we must put on our own oxygen masks before we can help anyone else.

Susie Flashman Jarvis is an Executive Coach and facilitator on the recovery course. She is in demand as a speaker and workshop facilitator and is available for coaching via skype. Susie can be contacted via www.thebespokecoach. com & www.recoverytwo.org

5. Try day-dreaming. When we day-dream on purpose, i.e. sitting with our thoughts and using it as a mindful exercise, we can discover new desires which can release creativity that has been lost, due to the pressures of life.

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Space Between The

Your

Thoughts –––

Terry Sidford –––

ave you ever slowed down your thoughts long enough to create a space with no thinking? This requires being in the present time, where you can create a state of peace and connect to your soul. The space between your thoughts, is a clean energy state that you can tap into. This is the place of creating and manifesting new thoughts. It is believed that humans have 48.6 thoughts per minute and anywhere from 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. But according to some research, as many as 98% of them are exactly the same as they were the day before.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? If you are not allowing space to create new thoughts, you are on a hamster wheel

of thinking, feeling and creating the same reality over and over again. Thoughts are energy and they create our reality. We are creatures of habit and to change a habit you must replace old thoughts or habits with new ones repeatedly, until they become automatically ingrained in us.

WHAT HABITS CREATE YOUR REALITY? Have you ever wondered why you have random old beliefs or thoughts that pop up for no apparent reason? There are so many outside influences that can elicit old sensations, thoughts and beliefs. Your senses can evoke vivid memories so real that it feels as though you are transported back in time. Hearing, vision, touch and most of all smell, can bring back old memories attached to a thought or belief. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 39

Mindset

This works not only for positive memories and beliefs but also negative memories and beliefs. And those beliefs may not be a reality for you today. The good news is, you have the power to change them. The only way to re-wire your old thoughts and beliefs, is to replace them with new ones. Finding the space between your thoughts is one way to do this.

HERE ARE SOME TOOLS THAT WILL HELP YOU TO LOCATE THIS SPACE: • Journal your thoughts out on paper. This slows down your thinking and allows you to contemplate your ideas and feelings. • Meditation will help you slow everything down in your brain and body. It can take many different forms. One of the easiest ways to meditate is to close your eyes in a quiet place and concentrate on breathing a little

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deeper and more slowly than normal. Count slowly to five as you inhale and count slowly to five, as you exhale. • Set an intention for the day to be curious about all your thoughts and feelings. Ask yourself, ‘Are they true?’ Take time to hear the answer. This will help you realize you have many thoughts habitually running through your head that are not true.

Mindset • During the day take time to look at things in detail. Walk up to a tree or flowers and look at the details. Look at a bird’s wings or a person’s intricate eye color. Look at the thread in your clothing. There are many opportunities to look in more detail. The space between your thoughts, is the place for creating and manifesting new thoughts.

“Discover inner space by creating gaps in the stream of thinking, without those gaps, your thinking becomes repetitive, uninspired, devoid of any creative spark, which is how it still is for most people on the planet.” ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle

Terry Sidford has been a certified life coach in the United States for the past 15 years and has assisted scores of people in achieving their dreams. More information is available from Terry’s website. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 41

The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job.

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Zig Ziglar

Rela ionships DISCLAIMER

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Relationships

Self-Blame Dr Matthew Anderson

44 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Relationships

here is a statement that is attributed to Mother Theresa: ‘God never gives me anything I cannot handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.’ For a while I had this quotation on a plaque in my office, but I found that every time I looked at it, I got angry. At first I was angry at Mother Theresa. The statement sounded glib to me because as a counselor I am painfully aware of how many people truly cannot survive on what ‘God gives them’. Some people are destroyed by the catastrophes that crash uninvited into their lives. The truth is there have been numerous occasions in which I was fairly certain I would be one of them. More than once, I vacillated between outrage and relief, when I was in one more crisis that I had survived. I stayed in the ping pong syndrome of outrage and relief for longer than I am admitting. And then, I passed into probably the worst pit of all….self-blame.

Self-blame blocks healing, insight, growth & ultimately redemption. When I finally finished my rage at Life, I fell into an abyss of self-blame. I looked, without mercy, at every detail DISCLAIMER

of every mistake I ever made. I found no excuses, no redemption and no grace. The problem with self-blame, is that it was the most dangerous reaction to my mistakes and catastrophes, because it blocked all possibility of healing, insight, growth and ultimately redemption. It is a journey that always ends in hopelessness.

SELF-BLAME IS ALSO, A JOURNEY OF THE EGO. I was completely obsessed with what I had done, how I had screwed up. How much I had harmed myself and those I loved. Then without warning and in truth without invitation, a light appeared in my carefully constructed darkness. Sometimes revelation appears as illumination, a light, but in my case, it came as a Voice. It spoke firmly and tenderly and simply said, ‘The issue is your ego’.

MY EGO-THIS VOICE. This statement hit me so powerfully I am surprised that my spiritual ear drums were not shattered. I suddenly realized that in the excruciatingly painful prison of my self-blame, my jailor was pride. My ego was outraged that I, the one with so many advantages, talents, so much creativity and intelligence, skill, awareness, training and even support could make such incredible messes. I was a fool and in the ‘perfect wisdom’ of my ego said, ‘there is no redemption for fools’. Thankfully, I was taught as a child that the road of personal catastrophe, once it becomes spiritual, ends at the house of the Forgiving and Life-Giving Father. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 45

Relationships My work is to learn to surrender to my humanity, my limitations, my vulnerabilities, my ability to be touched, to be loved and to be hurt and Yes, to make mistakes. Each of these is a doorway to Grace. To avoid them is to return to the darkness and the abyss. I daily face the reality that intelligence, creativity, insight and even deep and productive inner work cannot always protect me from mistakes and catastrophes. I cannot build a rock that will withstand the forces of Life itself. Sometimes I grieve for myself, for how self-destructive and unforgivingly selfrighteous I had been. But then I see the light and I hear the quiet Voice and I smile.

Dr Matthew Anderson has a Doctor of Ministry specialising in counselling. He has extensive training and experience in Gestalt and Jungian Psychology and has helped many people successfully navigate relationship issues. Dr Anderson has a best-selling book, ‘The Resurrection of Romance’ and he may be contacted via his website.

The Voice spoke and reminded me of a brief poem that I have always loved.

“There is no getting ready other than grace, Weep and then smile. Don’t pretend to know something you haven’t experienced. There is a necessary dying and then Jesus is breathing again. Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, So, wildflowers will come up where you are. You’ve been stony for too many years. Try something different. Surrender.” Rumi 46 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Kids Ma ers DISCLAIMER

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Sleep

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Schedule

Kim Corley

48 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

Kids Matters

hen you’re a parent navigating your child’s first couple of years of life, there’s a lot to take into consideration. And when it comes to sleep and napping, almost everyone has an opinion, yet much of the information can be conflicting. Should you be structuring your day around the clock or let your child tell you when they’re tired? Set a flexible schedule or start with clock-based naps? What’s the difference anyway? To make it a little easier let’s compare a flexible schedule with a clock-based one.

Note that the more times a baby is waking at night, the less tolerance they have to stay up for long periods of time. Chances are that your days are not going to go like clockwork every single time. Life happens and you’re dealing with little humans who have their own temperament, personality and bad days. So, there will be days you put your child down a little earlier, after a bad nap for example or a little later. It is based on their personal tolerance and tired signs. Hence the flexibility. But it still happens after play on the ‘eat, play, sleep’ schedule.

WHAT IS A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE AND WHEN SHOULD YOU APPLY IT? A flexible schedule is just that, flexible. It’s adaptable or malleable. It isn’t a rigid schedule that happens at the same time each day, so it isn’t bound by the clock. But it is still a schedule that lets your little one’s body know what is happening and gives your day some structure. One of the most popular flexible schedules is an ‘eat, play, sleep’. Your child will feed on waking, have some play time and then be put down to sleep. How long your child stays awake between sleeps will depend on their age and stage, or even the day.

I recommend a flexible schedule for new-born’s and infants until around 6-7 months of age. This is because you want to adjust your baby’s schedule to limit overtiredness according to the day. Overtiredness is the enemy of sleep, making it much harder to get to sleep and stay asleep. So, avoid it where you can!

As a general guide the average wake times per age are noted in the table below: Age

Wake time between naps*

Number of naps*

0 -11 weeks

45 – 60 minutes

4-8

3 – 3.5 months

1.5 hours

3-4

3.5 – 5 months

2 hours

5 – 7 months

2.5 – 3 hours

3-2

8 – 13 months

3 – 4 hours

2-1

*Every child is different so individual variations may occur. DISCLAIMER

However, if you child has a good tolerance for staying awake or is older, you may want to consider clock-based naps.

WHAT ARE CLOCKBASED NAPS? Clock-based naps are simply that, naps set by the clock. If you are always putting your child down at the same nap time

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 49

Kids Matters each day, their body gets use to going to sleep at that set time. With clock-based naps, it doesn’t matter how long your child is up beforehand, they will find it easy to sleep at a set time, because that’s when the nap always happens. However, it can take a few weeks or more for their body to realise this, so consistency with the timing, or very close to the set time, is key to setting this up. I normally recommend clock-based naps for children aged over 6 months who have a good tolerance for staying awake without getting overtired. A good time to start this can be when your child requires only two naps a day and can tolerate a good 2.5 - 3 hours being awake.

A popular flexible schedule is ‘eat, play, sleep. Some younger babies may naturally fall into a pattern of napping at the same time by the clock, then you have the best of both worlds. But if your child doesn’t naturally gravitate to set times, you can set their schedule and napping pattern for them based on what works best for their tolerance level and your family. For children who wake at a different time each day, or those sensitive to overtiredness, a flexible schedule will often work best until they’re old enough 50 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

to stay awake for longer periods of time. Whichever nap schedule you go for, make sure you give it a consistent approach for long enough to ensure it is regular and predictable for your child’s body. It then becomes easier for them. And remember, age-appropriate naps are just as important as night sleep for healthy sleep habits.

Kim Corley is a certified baby and child sleep consultant with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and pharmacology. She is also a Mum who believes in the healing power of sleep and has helped numerous families solve their sleep issues over the years. You can contact Kim via her website. SUBSCRIBE

, Child s Memory

Tips for Your

Part 1

Dr Janine Cooper

sk a child, ‘what did you do today?’ and you may receive a shrug of the shoulders or the familiar answer of ‘nothing’. Many caregivers believe this is due to children having limited memory abilities. However, brain imaging research suggests that the regions responsible for acquiring and storing information that form memories and enable learning, develop early in a child’s life. Rather the response of ‘I can’t remember’, is most likely due to a child’s limited attentional abilities associated with regions of the brain that mature at a slower rate through childhood and adolescence, combined with factors such as a lack of interest and how an adult asks a question, rather than a poor memory per se.

DISCLAIMER

SO HOW DO WE HELP CHILDREN BUILD THEIR MEMORY SKILLS? 1. Make it interesting One of the best ways to promote memory regardless of age is to capture a child’s attention. By focusing on their current interests, you can frame information that is less attractive in a way that commands their interest immediately. However, having their attention is just the first step. Before we can find effective ways to support a child’s memory, we have to know what type it is and what it is used for. 2. Know the type of memory Once information enters our brain via our senses it can be held temporarily ‘online’ in working memory (WM), where it can be GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 51

kids matters

manipulated and used. If rehearsed, this information can be transferred to our long-term memory (LTM) system. WM is limited and can only hold relevant information for a short time in our active thought. It is essential for calculating maths problems and following tasks and instructions. In contrast, LTM has greater storage capacity and is considered to hold two types of information: semantic memory or factual knowledge and episodic memory that contains the details of life events. 52 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

kids matters 3. Boost working memory So, now we are aware of the types of memory, how can we boost them to promote learning? Let’s start with WM in the form of mathematical calculations. First, you can frame the questions around a child’s current interests. With young children you might pose an addition or subtraction question by including their favourite toy e.g. ‘Two Pokémon join three of their friends. How many are in the group?’ For slightly older children, you can also further promote their visual working memory by asking them to imagine the information in their head, by writing it down or drawing it. Also, by asking them to say it out loud, will encourage their auditory working memory. Games are another great way to support WM.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF GAMES TO SUPPORT WORKING MEMORY: • ‘I went shopping’ – read aloud a short list of items. Each person recalls the previous items from memory and then adds one of their own. • ‘What’s Missing?’ – place a number of toys or household items onto a tray. Once they have been viewed, cover them and ask children to recall as many items as they can. The more items, the more challenging the game becomes. • Go Fish or Uno card games are ideal, as they require children to hold a set of rules actively in their mind, as well as having to remember their own and other players cards. DISCLAIMER

For older children with greater self recall abilities, you can teach them to use strategies that maximise their working memory capacity, such as the process of ‘chunking’ that allows individual items of information to be grouped into larger units. 4. Let them teach you Children love to show you what they have learned. Once you have shown them a maths puzzle or given them a set of instructions, ask them to show you how to do it. In the role of teacher, children have to make sense of the information, mentally store it and manipulate it. It is an excellent way to boost working memory and with positive feedback, you are also promoting their social skills, trust and self-esteem. So, here we have a few ways in which you can actively support a child’s working memory abilities and provide the foundations for learning. In the next edition of Great Health GuideTM, we will focus on supporting long-term memory that provides the basis for our future decisions and our sense of self.

Dr Janine Cooper is a Melbourne based Research Neuropsychologist with a speciality in memory and development. Janine is the founder of Everyday Neuro that uses podcasts, courses and workshops to enhance understanding about the human brain, its function and ultimately how this shapes human behaviour. Janine has numerous scientific publications and can be contacted via her website. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 53

kids matters

Teach

Life Skills Jane Kilkenny

54 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

kids matters

he main benefit of sport is the lessons we can learn that will have a positive impact on our outlook, behavior and attitudes. This is particularly important for children. In this context we are referring to grassroots sports where children can learn skills, improve with practice and be guided by great (and not necessarily great) coaches. The professionalization of sport around the world has changed the environment. It has opened up a greater capacity for athletes to earn a living from their sport which provides sufficient financial reward for the time, effort and commitment it takes to be a professional athlete. However, it has created a culture in junior sport where there is increasing pressure to be elite, which has negatively impacted most sports and the sheer enjoyment of playing the game for many kids. Unfortunately, this pressure is too often created by parents. It’s time to get back to the fundamentals of why sport is great for children and the positive lifelong lessons they learn. These include: • The joy of movement and activity. • Cooperation, coordination and collaboration. • Improving skills with practice. • Winning and losing with humility.

THE JOY OF MOVEMENT AND ACTIVITY. Kids love to play! It’s one of the best things about being a kid. Running, jumping, skipping, swinging, throwing, catching. DISCLAIMER

These are the skills that kids need to learn from a young age. As their bodies grow and develop maintaining these skills can be difficult, but participation in sport is a great way to maintain progress.

COOPERATION, COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION. Sports are a great way to teach children cooperation, learning to listen to instructions, take turns and sharing of equipment and attention. These are all significant lessons for kids to learn and need to be reinforced at home, school and sports. Coordination is a major factor for both children and adults. Often it can be one of the greatest reasons we quit, if we feel that we are not suitably skilled, or our movement patterns are poor. Both these issues can be corrected and when it is done at an early age, it greatly enhances the potential for enjoyment in sport and increases lifelong commitment to activity. Collaboration in sports is a key to success. Even in individual sports it is vital that the athlete learns to take guidance and advice from others.

IMPROVING SKILLS WITH PRACTICE. Improving skills with practice is an essential life lesson for everyone. Taking time to practice and learning that hard work pays off teaches you to be a better person. Very few of us are instantly brilliant in any field and the commitment to practice is a fundamental factor in our education. GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 55

kids matters

WINNING AND LOSING WITH HUMILITY. Winning and losing is a fact of life, not just on the sporting arena. Learning to win graciously and lose with dignity are essential skills to learn. When we win, we can be proud of our efforts and skills but also show respect for the losing team. When we lose, we should use this as an opportunity to learn and commit to becoming a better player, but also respect the skill of the winners. Understanding these concepts is one of the greatest life lessons from sport. Parents, teachers and coaches all play a role in the education of our children. Fundamental values of respect, cooperation and striving to be better person (athlete) are the foundations for success, both in life and sport. How we instill these concepts from an early age should be the focus of our education and development. 56 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

The most important thing to remember is that kids are still growing and developing and will reach their peak potential in their own time. Kids grow differently. Just because they are the same age does not mean they are at the same level of development physically, mentally or emotionally. Sport provides a great opportunity for this development to take place, but it cannot be rushed, pressured or driven by a ‘win at all costs attitude’. That’s the realm of professional sports played by adults. Let kids have fun!

Jane Kilkenny has over 25 years’ experience in health and fitness. She specialises in exercise for kids and teenagers having trained at the Children’s Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine (CHISM) Westmead in 2004. She is also a High-Performance specialist and a Level 4 IAAF athletics coach. Jane can be contacted via her website. SUBSCRIBE

Managing

Fussy Eaters Regina Tilyard

DISCLAIMER

GREAT HEALTH GUIDE | 57

kids matters

lthough nutrition is the cornerstone of a child’s growth and development, we all know that keeping our kids eating healthy foods is easier said than done. Especially if we have a fussy eater on our hands, putting certain foods, tastes and textures literally ‘off the table’ (and thrown all over the walls!). Managing a fussy eater is undoubtedly a gradual process, but new research has uncovered that it is time to approach fussy eating in a more relaxed, positive manner. The following five fussy eating tips have been trialled and tested in studies across the globe and might be worth a try in your household. 1. Keep calm and encourage your children. Research shows that anxiety reduces appetite. So, it’s no surprise that our children refuse foods when they’re being pressured, watched and forced to finish their plate. Our children will also remember any mealtime stress or frustration, which can then worsen future mealtimes. Studies show that kids are fantastic at self-regulating their appetite, meaning that if a child doesn’t eat, then they’re probably not hungry. This is especially true after the age of two, when a child’s growth rate naturally slows down. Whilst it is a parent’s job to choose what to eat and when to feed, our kids should be deciding whether to eat and how much to eat. Instead of setting a timer for your child to finish their meal, try: • Making use of positive language and praise. 58 | GREAT HEALTH GUIDE

• Using non-food-based rewards such as sticker charts or playtime. • Gently reminding your child that there won’t be any snacks after the meal is finished and remember that if their growth rate is appropriate then missing a meal won’t hurt.

Develop positive mealtime habits by encouragement, engagement & variety.

2. Variety is the key.

One of the most common reasons for food refusal in children is simply boredom. Keep their foods interesting, by experimenting with tastes and textures. This will increase their likelihood of not only accepting, but finishing foods. Try: • Adding lemon juice to vegetables, blending fruit in a smoothie and roasting vegetable chips in the oven. • Introducing new foods with familiar foods to maintain a sense of familiarity. 3. Get the kids in the kitchen. Involving your children in the mealtime process will help them develop a sense of autonomy and responsibility, no matter what their age is. Try: SUBSCRIBE

kids matters • Involving your kids by setting age appropriate tasks e.g. mixing the bowl, tearing the stalks from vegetables, washing & drying dishes. • Chatting positively to your children about their favourite foods. • Planning meals and snacks at consistent and predictable intervals to limit grazing between meals. • Letting your child choose from two options that you decide e.g. yoghurt or cheese for a snack. 4. Role model positive behaviours. Remember that our children are watching and learning from parents and siblings. Encourage your family to set an example by talking positively about food and enjoying healthy foods on a regular basis. Try: • Enjoying healthy foods from all food groups as a family. • Letting your child try a food from your own plate. • Limiting distractions at mealtimes such as screens and televisions. 5. Ensure nutritional value.

• Monitoring your child’s mealtime habits to adjust your feeding routine. For example, you might find that your child is filling up on drinks, or that you should introduce new foods at lunchtime when they eat the most. • Visiting an Accredited Practising Dietitian, who can assist with personalised fussy eating strategies and assess the need for nutrient supplementation. Overall, it’s important to remember that refusing foods or going through stages of food acceptance is a normal part of childhood. To help manage fussy eating, work on developing positive mealtime habits through encouragement, engagement and variety. Since there is no one-size-fits-all approach to children’s nutrition, a paediatric dietitian can assist you to develop a tailored nutritional plan.

Regina Tilyard is a paediatric dietitian specialising in fussy eating and children’s feeding behaviours. She is passionate about helping families develop healthy mealtime habits. Regina is contactable via her clinic website.

On rare occasions, fussy eaters may be missing out on certain nutrients or falling short of calorie requirements for growth. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful of your child’s food preferences and meal habit. Try: • Keeping a food diary of foods that your child accepts to estimate their nutritional intake from each core food group (fruit, vegetables, dairy and alternatives, meat and alternatives, breads and cereals). DISCLAIMER

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