JANUARY 24, 2022 • PASCACK VALLEY PRESS
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Health, Wellness &Fitness Guide ADVERTISER CONTENT
DR. KAPLAN: Give yourself the best start on a brand-new day
One of the biggest health problems right now is peopleʼs mental status. Letʼs come up with a plan to reduce stress and anxiety for you DR. ERIC KAPLAN, and your chilKAPLAN BRAIN & dren in natural BODY ways with no risks or side effects. When you wake up, do not press snooze. Make your bed immediately. This is an easy first step in the morning that will have you start your day with a victory. Donʼt check your cell phone for social media posts, text messages, or emails that will distract you from achieving your happiness and joy. Donʼt start your day watching the news because that will create more stress and anxiety. Donʼt start your day with caffeine or sugar,
which also contribute to increased anxiety. Learn to generate your own energy without relying on external sources. Ways to do this differ for everybody, but may be exercising, meditating, journaling, stretching, breathing, listening to music, motivational books, or prayer. After you make your bed, the next step is to go to the bathroom. Take coconut oil and swish it around in your mouth for 30 seconds. This is best to perform before you even talk or swallow. Coconut oil has been shown to help fight off the bad bacteria and in the morning you are most likely to have a lot of bacteria in your mouth. Swishing will help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which keeps you in a more relaxed state that will reduce anxiety and stress. Other simple exercises you can do in the bathroom: gargling
intensely for 30 seconds and eliciting the gag reflex with your toothbrush or a tongue depressor. This activates the vagus nerve, a big part of the parasympathetic nervous system that helps with sleep, energy, heart function, digestion, urination, sexual function, circulation, and respiration. Next, kiss your loved ones and give them a nice compliment. It is very unhealthy to start the day with a complaint, a negative comment, or a worrisome topic. That increases stress and anxiety for all parties. Dip your head in a bucket of water at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This lowers your pulse rate if your heart is beating fast. Ask your doctor if this is appropriate for you. When performing this exercise, make sure you take time to breathe! Perform a diaphragmatic breathing exercise, where you push your belly down and out and inhale for four seconds, hold it for seven
seconds, and then suck your stomach in as you exhale for eight seconds. You can repeat this three times and practice this three times a day. When you are in the fight or flight, or sympathetic mode, instead of the rest and digest, or parasympathetic mode, this can also lead to migraine headaches. One natural option to help reduce stress and anxiety and even reduce headaches is to rub the little medial flap of the external ear, or the tragus, for 30 seconds and repeat three times a day. Then make loud noises: cough, laugh, scream, sing, make high tones, make low tones, whistle, and swallow. Using your throat muscles in different ways will also get you in a more relaxed state. Also, it is good to watch a comedy before work or school, which will help you be more productive throughout the day because you are less stressed.
With neuroplasticity and rewiring of the brain, it is possible to directly or indirectly activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Put a sweet, sour or salty taste on the tip of your tongue, or a bitter taste on the back of your tongue. The more activation of the parasympathetics, the less likely you are to have anxiety. If you are medically diagnosed with anxiety, always talk to your medical doctor for treatment options. Doing good deeds and helping others has also been proven to boost your immune system and reduce stress and anxiety. So make sure you do at least one good deed every single day. Next, see me for terrific evaluations at huge discounts (for the first seven people who act now) to help you function better, feel better, and live better. To reserve your spot, write info@kaplanbrainandbody or call (201) 261-2150.
school students, in all their curiosity and joy. On Jan. 6, Earthʼs elementary school students attending Berkeley School in Westwood saw our planet up close and personal at a day of assemblies. Waiting for each class in turn was the Earth Balloon, an inflatable 19 feet high and 22 feet in diameter, made of 24 huge panels silkscreened with photographs — shot from artificial satellites — of the surface of the world on cloudfree days. Mobile Ed Productions, which owns this model of the globe, says the attraction has been
used extensively across the United States to educate students about geography and environmental issues. “Earth Balloon” is a star among the companyʼs assemblies, along with “Forces and Motion,” “The Magic of Science,” “SkyDome Planetarium,” “Stand Up, Step In, Stop Bullying!,” and “STEAM Museum.” Overall, the company offers 50 curriculum-based programs across the country, and has performed in New Jersey thousands of times in the past 40 years, says its president, Jeff Thompson. The Jan. 6 adventure was funded in spring 2020 by the Berkeley Parent School Organization (2019-
2020 and 2020-2021) but delayed in scheduling thanks to the coronavirus. Some students, of course, by then had moved on to middle school. Participants also learned a bit about the Earth in the context of the solar system. Were it safe to join together in such an enclosed space, 35 to 40 kids and a teacher could have slipped inside the balloon, as though in a bounce house of the mind, where familiar terrestrial features would have been set off in a new perspective. Mobile Ed Productions says on its website that Earth Balloon visitors “see and better understand
the scale of concepts such as continents, plate tectonics, time zones, latitude, longitude, and more. Even major cities in comparison to the total Earth will be recognized.” The company also offers “a 45-minute journey through the universe from the comfort and security of your own school” via its portable, inflatable SkyDome planetarium. “Students will learn how to identify every planet in our solar system in dramatic ʻflightsʼ toward each world. They will be introduced to Greek mythological characters and see how these heroes of the past can be found in the stars. Students will witness the night sky in different seasons and from different global perspectives.” Berkeley principal Michael J. Fiorello told Pascack Press that, of course, nobody was allowed inside the inflatable, and all attended the lesson masked. He said Mobile Ed Productionsʼ senior presenter put on a dynamic show. “All kids learn geography in any one of their years with us, but itʼs also a life skill, learning about the Earth. Itʼs applicable to everybody.” He said, “Again, not just learning about our world and solar system, but a monotony-breaker, something fun during the day.” Fiorello said, “We havenʼt had a lot of opportunities to bring people in for assemblies last year — at all — so weʼre cherishing, actually, the time that we can bring back some of these safely.” And he said, “Weʼve managed to have some great experiences even with Covid, but weʼre limited with assemblies and things that weʼre all used to, so itʼs nice to see the return of some enhanced educa-
tion.” (Thompson, of Mobile Ed Productions, told Pascack Press that “We have a robust Covid policy and procedures that, along with employing electrostatic sprayers, contribute to creating a safe environment for our students, staff, and performers.”) Fiorello lauded the 2020 Berkeley PSO for its intended gift to its students.. “They paid for the presentation. The Berkeley PSO works with me and we look for stuff to do but why I always thank them is most times thatʼs where the money comes from,” he said. The PSO promotes the welfare of Berkeley Elementary School and its students “through volunteer work and cultural enrichment programs financed by fundraising events and annual dues.” Its board are volunteer parents who coordinate fundraising events that benefit children, parents and school.” The board says online, “Money raised during these events fund a variety of activities and student programs. It is the dedication and hard work of volunteers that drive these programs.” We reached out to the Berkeley School PSO for this feature. For more information, youʼll find Berkeley School PSO via wwrsd.org and on Facebook.
Berkeley: Covid can’t eclipse Berkeley PSO donors FROM PAGE 1
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