Learning and wellbeing

Sleep

  • You need: 7-9 hrs.
  • What it does:
    • Creates memories
    • Boosts concentration
    • Lowers stress
    • Improves mood
    • Repairs body
    • Prevents disease
  • Tip 1: 20 or 90 min. nap
  • Tip 2: Use sleep routines & turn off screens for good sleep hygiene.

Exercise

  • You need: 30 min./day, 4-5 hrs./week aerobic
  • What it does:
    • Makes BDNF protein (“Miracle Gro for the Brain”)
    • Boosts concentration
    • Lowers stress
    • Improves mood
  • Tip 1: Exercising 4 hours after new learning improves recall.
  • Tip 2: Learning a new complex physical skill produces new connections in the brain you can use for other learning.

Food, water, and nature

  • Food: Brain starved for energy = more effort & less results. You need:
    • Regular meals.
    • Proteins, whole grains, fruits/veggies.
  • Water: Even mild levels of dehydration affect school performance. Try:
    • Drinking when thirsty.
    • Drinking water when possible.
  • Nature: Has dozens of long-term mental/physical health outcomes:
    • Just looking out at a green landscape lowers heart rate and transitions you from fight/flight to tend/befriend.
    • Boosts levels of natural killer cells (type of white blood cell) in your bloodstream.

De-Stress

  • What stress does:
    • Interferes w/ learning & memory
    • Can’t problem-solve or seek creative solutions (fight/flight)
  • De-Stress Right Now:
    • Square breathing
    • Count backwards from 10/Staircase
    • Progressive Muscle Relaxation
    • STOP (Stand, Tune-In, Observe, Possibility)
    • Olivia Remes’ TED talk: Do it badly, Forgive yourself, Wait to Worry
  • De-Stress Long-Term
    • Time management, makes possible…
    • Spaced studying (double effect –learn it better, lower stress)
    • Learn & practice mindfulness
    • Sleep, exercise, nature