OUR VOICE
NORTH VALLEY FAMILY YMCA 11336 Corbin Ave, Northridge, CA 91326
April 2014 www.ymcala.org/nv
A newsletter for members and volunteers of the Y
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sleep On It
When you learn something new, the best way to remember it is to sleep on it. That’s because sleeping helps strengthen memories you’ve formed throughout the day. It also helps to link new memories to earlier ones. You might even come up with creative new ideas while you slumber.
APRIL 26: 10AM - 2PM Come join the festivities as we celebrate our Y’s national initiative to improve the health and well-being of our families. Summer is the time for kids to get up, get out and grow, and our event will be filled with fun, interactive activities that will keep their body and mind active. Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, UCLA Health, for helping to make this event possible.
FREE & OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY! interactive games arts & crafts Y Summer Camp Sign Ups Youth Performances inflatable jumper give-a-ways for kids Kona Ice Truck rock climbing wall hands-on cooking demo’s for kids health screenings snacks and more!
Presenting Sponsor:
visionary Sponsor:
What happens to memories in your brain while you sleep? And how does lack of sleep affect your ability to learn and remember? NIH-funded scientists have been gathering clues about the complex relationship between sleep and memory. Their findings might eventually lead to new approaches to help students learn or help older people hold onto memories as they age. “We’ve learned that sleep before learning helps prepare your brain for initial formation of memories,” says Dr. Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. CONTINUED On P. 2.
LEADER SponsorS:
Lion’s Club District 4-L1 Kaiser Permanente
OUR VOICE | A newsletter for members and volunteers of the Y
INSIGHT By John Sinnema ,
Chair of North Valley Family YMCA’s Board of Managers
HOW SLEEP STRENGTHENS MEMORIES CONTINUED FROM P. 1 Spring has sprung. Let the new season bring new positive changes for you and your family! Why not start by joining us on Saturday, April 26th from 10 am-2 pm, for our Healthy Kids Day and Camp Sign Up Day. Our biggest community event of the year, this national Y initiative helps improve the health and well-being of families and kids, by focusing on the fun-side of healthy living. Come on out for FREE activities: Youth Performances, interactive games, arts & crafts, give-a-ways for kids, an inflatable jumper, rock climbing wall, handson cooking demos for kids, health screenings, snacks and more. We want to support your family’s path to healthy living with community fun you won’t want to miss. I’d also like to once again thank everyone who contributed to our Annual Support Campaign. Together, we raised $348,907 for scholarships and program funding. Thank you all for your generous support. You truly make a difference! Want to see how? Check out Jasmine’s story on P.4 and see for yourself. Together, we make positive change.
“And then, sleep after learning is essential to help save and cement that new information into the architecture of the brain, meaning that you’re less likely to forget it.” While you snooze, your brain cycles through different phases of sleep, including light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when dreaming often occurs. The cycles repeat about every 90 minutes. The non-REM stages of sleep seem to prime the brain for good learning the next day. If you haven’t slept, your ability to learn new things could drop by up to 40%. “You can’t pull an all-nighter and still learn effectively,” Walker says. Lack of sleep affects a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is key for making new memories. You accumulate many memories, moment by moment, while you’re awake. Most will be forgotten during the day. “When we first form memories, they’re in a very raw and fragile form,” says sleep expert Dr. Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School. But when you doze off, “sleep seems to be a privileged time when the brain goes back through recent memories and decides both what to keep and what not to keep,” Stickgold explains. “During a night of sleep, some memories are strengthened.” Research has shown that memories of certain procedures, like playing a melody on a piano, can actually improve while you sleep. Memories seem to become more stable in the brain during the deep stages of sleep. After that, REM—the most active
stage of sleep—seems to play a role in linking together related memories, sometimes in unexpected ways. That’s why a full night of sleep may help with problem-solving. REM sleep also helps you process emotional memories, which can reduce the intensity of emotions. It’s well known that sleep patterns tend to change as we age. Unfortunately, the deep memory-strengthening stages of sleep start to decline in our late 30s. A study by Walker and colleagues found that adults older than 60 had a 70% loss of deep sleep compared to young adults ages 18 to 25. Older adults had a harder time remembering things the next day, and memory impairment was linked to reductions in deep sleep. The researchers are now exploring options for enhancing deep stages of sleep in this older age group. “While we have limited medical treatments for memory impairment in aging, sleep actually is a potentially treatable target,” Walker says. “By restoring sleep, it might be possible to improve memory in older people.” For younger people, especially students, Stickgold offers additional advice. “Realize that the sleep you get the night after you study is at least as important as the sleep you get the night before you study.” When it comes to sleep and memory, he says, “you get very little benefit from cutting corners.” Read more at: http://newsinhealth.nih.gov
OUR MISSION | The North Valley Family YMCA puts Judeo-Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
APRIL CALENDAR
SUMMER CAMP FUN
• Whole Foods: April 9th Do some healthy shopping at Whole Foods in Porter Ranch and help support our Y!
At the Y, there is a camp program for everyone! From day camp and overnight (resident) camp to family camp and toddlers, there is a suitable camp to meet the diverse needs of campers.
• Teen Day of Service: April 12th, 8:30am-11:30am Come out and do your part to help our Community with the Y. We’ll clean-up the canyon, paint over graffiti, pick up litter, and more.
CAMP CALENDAR
• Member Appreciation Day: April 16th, 9-11am and 3-5pm Let use say thank you for being a member with healthy snacks made by Ann Marie Luna and time to get to know members and Y staff. • Parents Night Out: April 18th, 6-9:30pm Ages: 3-10 years (must be potty trained) KIDS enjoy a FUN night at the Y while your PARENTS enjoy a FUN evening out. • Camp Dino: April 18 - 19, Ages 7-12 Join us for a fun and educational overnight at the Natural History Museum. On this action-packed adventure, you will be a junior paleontologist, learning all about the dinosaurs in a fun and safe environment. • Summit Seekers Hikes: All the hikes are free, open to the community and geared for beginner/intermediate hikers. Saturday, April 5th, 9am Paramount Ranch (Family Hike) Saturday, April 26th, 9am Topanga State Park (5 miles) • Y Business Leaders: April 25th, 7:30-9am Join us at Porter Valley Country Club to hear Lisa Malik speak on “Making Unforgettable Impressions”! RSVP to Liz Odabashian at lizodabashian@ymcala.org.
• Licensed Summer Camp: “A Summer of Real Life Super Heroes” June 9 - August 8th at local schools and Y Preschool Locations Monday-Friday | 6:30am - 6:30pm | closed July 4th • Summer Resident Camps: Santa Barbara Zoo Overnight: Ages: 7 – 12 | June 12 -13 Camp Whittle: Ages 7 - 15 | June 21 - 28 Camp Round Meadow Grades: Ages 7 - 13 | July 6- 12 Mammoth Caravan Grades 6 – 10 | July 26 - August 1 White’s Landing, Catalin: Ages 12 - 16 | August 4 - 7 • Expo Camp: Arts, Sports, & Science Specialty Camp: June 10th – August 6th Monday-Friday | 9:00am-4:30pm with FREE extended care 6:30-9am & 4:30-6:30pm • TINY TOT PRESCHOOL CAMP: June 30th – August 1st at the North Valley Family YMCA Monday-Friday | 9:30am-1:30pm Ages: 3- 6 years (must be potty trained) • Junior Leaders Teen Summer Camp: June 9th – August 8th at the North Valley Family YMCA Monday-Friday | 9am-5pm Ages: 11-16 years
The Y encourages parents to give their kids the experience of camp to help keep them healthy and engaged during the summer. And, to ensure that all kids have this opportunity, the North Valley Family YMCA has a financial assistance program to help parents in need send their child to camp. Read more on-line, or come see us at Camp Sign-Up & Healthy Kids Day Saturday, April 26th at the Y.
• Healthy Kids Day & Camp Sign-Up Day: April 26th, 10am-2pm Read more on P.1 • Y Dance Showcase & Fashion Show April 26, 3-6pm Come see the latest styles and newest talent by Y youth. Tickets: only $5! 3
OUR VOICE | A newsletter for members and volunteers of the Y
Y SPLASH WEEK April 21 - 25: FREE & Open to the Community Jump in the pool and join us for a week of free, fun-filled events! Learn water safety skills through our familyfriendly activities. Ask for details! Treasure Hunt: April 21st Come look for buried treasure in the pool! Turn in your treasure for some fun prizes! WATER VOLLEYBALL: April 22nd Bump, set, splash! Join us for a game of water volleyball with one session for the kids and one for the seniors.
YOUTH & GOvernment: EMPOWERINg YOUTH
Seahorse Water Polo: April 24th Ride your seahorse (noodle) while playing waterpolo! Don’t know how to play? Our instructors will show you!
by Jasmin Cruz My story begins a little over 3 years ago in Camarillo. I was in my freshman year at Camarillo High School at the time and my best friend’s name was Alina. One day I asked her if she wanted to come over for dinner later that night. She said, “Actually I am going to a Youth & Government meeting at the YMCA. You should come”. I attended the meeting that night, not knowing that it would change my life. That night I became a delegate. I also became a regular volunteer for the YMCA, helping organize the annual Halloween carnival and a community yard sale. Throughout my freshman and sophomore years, I attended meetings every week and attended six conferences where each time I was amazed and inspired by teenagers from across that state that were respectful, brilliant and confident.
Dive In Movie Night: April 25th Come spend quality time in the pool with your family and friends while watching a movie!
COME PLAY. FOR THE FUN OF IT Spring Sports Leagues
During the last few months of my sophomore year, my dad lost his job at the Ventura County Star newspaper. It was then that my parents said we would be moving to Granada Hills. When we moved there, I automatically looked for our closest YMCA so that I could join their Youth & Government delegation.
Here, success is measured by how hard you try and how well you play together. Teamwork = fun. Registration now open. Games start in April. For more details, call Daniel Zadokov at ext 2307. Spring Basketball: Ages 3-17 Spring Soccer: Ages 3-15 Spring Volleyball: Ages 8-17 Adult Spring Basketball League : Men’s & Women’s Leagues
During the summer of 2012, I was one of twenty Youth & Government delegates chosen to participate in the National Judicial Competition in Chicago.
We trained in the Y of the USA office and competed in 8 rounds of competition over 2 days. To say this was surreal would be an understatement. Since then, I have run for two elected positions, competed in Chicago for a second time and received multiple scholarships that have alleviated expenses for my family. Youth & Government and all of the YMCA staff that have guided me along the way have had a profound impact on my life and my future. It has given me a purpose. I know now that the career in law that I have always dreamed of is possible. I know that I have an entire community behind me to support me. I know that when I do accomplish my goals, I will come back and give back just as much as this program has given to me. Thank you for your time and more importantly, thank you for your support.