Page 30 - Blue Valley News June/July 2021

HEALTH & WELLNESS

elf-care - this is a concept from which the
whole family can benefit. It is important
Sto share it with your children to help
them navigate the challenges they will
encounter.
Too often we just exist - what I call passive
living; just going with the flow and not
actively thinking and doing. This can apply
to everything from day-to-day living, to
recycling, to conserving water or electricity
and helping others ... to the concept of self-
care. I want to share this with you.
Active living becomes a habit and, before
you know it, you can make a difference in
your environment and to yourself.
Through the Life Talk Forum, we work with
schools, students and parents. At the core
of so many issues, in our children and teens’
experiences, lies the lack of self-care. It is easy
to experiment and follow the pack, give in
to peer pressure and not to ask for help. It
is much harder to stop and say, “Is this good
for me; will this make me a better person -
will this not have a negative impact on me?”
Eating disorders, drugs, drinking, smoking
and vaping are all examples of choices that
result in addiction. This, in turn, impacts on
the bodies, minds and emotional stability of NOURISH TO
our children.
What is self-care? FLOURISH
There are several components of self-care
which sit alongside and impact each other.
They encompass our whole being and should By Nicoleen Davies, Director Life Talk Forum
all be taken care of.

Physical care
Taking care of our physical well-being by
getting enough sleep, eating balanced meals,
doing regular exercise and resting. Physical
well-being has three pillars: sleep, exercise
and nutrition. Sleep forms the foundation on
which everything else is based. You may ask
why is sleep so important? Well…
• Sleep affects your ability to learn and retain
information. It’s been proven that if you
sleep properly, your grades will be better
and you’ll be healthier.
• Sleep helps the brain to order, file and
store information from the day, to facilitate
memory recall.
• Killer cells are released when you sleep -
these help you to fight cancer and other
illnesses. Science has proven that people
who don’t sleep enough are at enormous
risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
• Sleep improves emotional well-being and
your ability to cope with day-to-day things.

Google Matthew Walker, a sleep
neuroscientist, on YouTube and watch some
of his sleep video’s – it will change your
perspective and your life.

• We all know exercise keeps us healthy, and
statistically you will need fewer visits to

28 • Issue 3 2021 • BLUE VALLEY NEWS