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Why Green Exercise Helps Reduce Stress And Boost Mood

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When you think of green exercise, you probably picture hiking and climbing mountains—pretty intense outdoorsy activities. However, green exercise can really involve any activity in which we interact with nature while moving our bodies and breaking a sweat. Believe it or not, this can even happen while exercising indoors.

We’ll look at what green exercise is, how it helps reduce stress and boost mood, and what types of green exercise activities your children can engage in to feel happier and calmer.

 

 

What Is Green Exercise?

Green exercise is a term used to describe our interaction with nature while engaging in a physical fitness activity. It was coined in 2003 by Jules Pretty, Ph.D., and Jo Barton, Ph.D., at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Their focus in this area spurred a great deal of research into how nature and exercise together can benefit our emotional wellbeing.

Dr. Barton and Dr. Pretty have published dozens of studies on the benefits of green exercise. They have shown that exercising in green spaces—no matter if they are in a city or the wilderness—has a positive effect on mood. They also discovered that the effect of exercising near a body of water has an even greater impact on improving mood. Additional researchers from a wide background including physiology, health and well-being, environmental sustainability, community engagement, and behavior change continue to study the link between nature, exercise, and mental health. This groundbreaking work can help all of us find ways to feel happier and calmer by doing something as simple as going for a walk outside or even watching nature scenes while on the treadmill at a fitness gym.

How It Reduces Stress

Experts have found a clear link between exercise and stress reduction, and nature and stress reduction. So, when you combine the two, you get a double dose of wellness! In fact, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, some studies show that consistent exercise can be just as effective as medication for some people to reduce symptoms of anxiety. Other research shows that physically active people have lower rates of anxiety than those who do not exercise.

Here are several ways in which green exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety:

Produces Endorphins. When we exercise, our body releases feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins. These chemicals in our brain act as natural painkillers, making us feel better and less stressed. Endorphins are responsible for the natural high we get from a hard workout.

Reduces Stress Hormones. Exercise and being in and around nature reduce the level of stress hormones in our body like adrenaline and cortisol, helping us feel calmer.

Minimizes Fatigue. Exercise improves blood flow and our body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently. These changes in our brain reduce fatigue and improve alertness. This helps us when we are stressed out because we are depleted and need to return to a more balanced level of energy. When we are stressed, many nerves in our brain and throughout our body are impacted. Scientists conclude, therefore, that if our body feels better, then our mind will also feel better.

Provides A Fun Distraction. One of the best parts about exercise and spending time in nature is that these experiences give us a time to take a fun break from the stresses in our daily lives.

Encourages Mindfulness. A great bonus of exercise is that it provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy a mindful moment. While we work out, we can fully engage in the present moment instead of letting our mind run wild with worries. When we combine viewing nature (real or virtual) while we work out, we can get lost in the moment and experience a happiness boost.

 

Green Exercise Activities For Kids

Green exercise has really taken off in recent years, and there are even Green Gyms in the United Kingdom that combine physical activity with local environmental projects that have shown to improve mental health. There are more than 100 Green Gyms that offer programs consisting of a warm-up, cool-down, and a wide range of environmental activities including gardening, planting trees, digging ponds, managing trails, and more.

By creating opportunities for people to work together in meaningful outdoor projects, the program improves and maintains physical and mental health of volunteers by increasing their physical activity and reducing social isolation. A study from the University of Westminster found that after participating in a Green Gym for two months, volunteers reported higher levels of well-being and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Researchers also collected saliva samples to measure the stress hormone cortisol, and results showed that volunteers were less anxious. Green Gym also piloted a school program for elementary school students, which resulted in positive behavior and well-being for the children.

While Green Gyms is a very specific green exercise program, there are accessible activities we can choose for our children that incorporate nature. Here are a few ideas to get your kids moving and connecting with nature to feel happier and calmer.

Hiking

Any type of hiking, whether it’s around your neighborhood or while visiting a National Park, can help your family enjoy some healthy exercise while taking in the beauty of nature.

Swimming

Spending time in water has a tremendous soothing effect. Experts have noted that swimming produces the same relaxation response as yoga, increasing calming chemicals and allowing us to enter a meditative state. When we swim laps, we can focus on our strokes and breathing, making it easy to shut off all the noises and activity going on outside the pool.

Obstacle Course

Your kids will love this fun outdoor exercise activity. You can set it up yourself or have them help you. Go through your house and garage and gather a variety of fitness equipment. Create several stations for different activities, such as a jump rope, cones to weave around, a box to jump over, and a basketball net to shoot a ball into. You can also have some stations that do not require equipment; for example, they can do jumping jacks, push-ups, or hop on one foot.

Biking

Grab your bikes and bike helmets and head out for a family ride in your neighborhood or through a local park. Riding around together is one of the best ways for your entire family to get some exercise, enjoy the fresh air, take in some natural scenery, and share special moments.

Team Sports

Team sports provide so many incredible benefits beyond just improving physical and mental health. Consider signing your kids up for a team sport that plays outside in the open air, such as soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, or beach volleyball.

Indoor Options

As mentioned before, green exercise doesn’t only have to be reserved for outdoor activities. We can also enjoy nature while exercising indoors. Some ideas include setting up a treadmill or stationary bike near a window with a view of the outdoors or tuning into some nature scenes on your screen while running, doing aerobics or yoga, or whatever other indoor fitness routine you choose. As long as you are connecting with nature in some way, you can experience the benefits of green exercise.

What is your family’s favorite type of green exercise?

Why Gardening Can Be a Calming Activity for Your Kids

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I absolutely love it when we can pick fruits and vegetables grown in our own backyard and savor them at our dinner table. We are fortunate enough to have a lemon tree in our backyard, and we’ve enjoyed making our own lemon water, lemonade, and dishes like lemon chicken. We have also dabbled in growing our own tomatoes and peppers, which the children absolutely love doing. It’s a wonderful experience for them to pick the produce and play a role in creating a healthy meal for our family that incorporates the food we grew ourselves.

My children and I have also gotten a lot out of volunteering in a local community garden that serves a group of special needs adults in our community. During our visits, we have helped by planting seeds, weeding, and moving around vegetable plants in the garden. The best part is that the group uses what is grown in the garden to create meals that they serve in the local café that they run.

Growing fruits and vegetables together as a family can be a fun, engaging, and calming activity. In addition to the general benefits of being outside with nature, gardening offers a healthy distraction, provides a chance for some light exercise, encourages children to eat healthier, and builds community. There are also some incredible new discoveries about how soil can help improve our mood.

Let’s explore why we experience these mental health benefits of gardening a bit more deeply.

Time Outside

The natural world offers solace and comfort unlike what we can find in any human-made environment. So, spending time in nature doing activities like gardening helps reduce our response to stress and allows us to recover from tense situations more quickly. More and more studies have been coming out that highlight the health benefits of spending time in nature. Research shows that contact with nature heals because it lets us unwind and boosts our body’s natural endorphins to relieve stress. Just 20 minutes a day can help us feel more relaxed and lift our mood!

Some research has even looked specifically at the mental health benefits of gardening. A breakthrough study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that a healing garden at a children’s hospital in California had positive effects on users—about 85 percent reported feeling more relaxed, refreshed, or better able to cope after spending only 5 minutes in the garden.

Shannon Brescher Sher knows this first hand. She is the author of the book Growing Sustainable Together that dedicates an entire chapter to the benefits of gardening “My older son is a very emotionally intense kid–he feels emotions up to 11, as they say in the movie Spinal Tap. But when he’s outside, you can see the tension melt away. In the garden, in particular, he feels knowledgeable and oddly enough, in control. That reduces his stress level more than any other particular intervention.”

Healthy Distraction

Another reason that gardening can be so calming is that it offers a healthy distraction. One study showed that engaging with a garden distracts us from our worries and stops us from obsessing about our problems. Over 12 weeks, participants saw an improvement in their mood during and immediately after gardening, and three months later they still reported significant improvements. Another study showed that after 30 minutes of gardening, participants’ cortisol levels dropped and they felt happier after the activity.

Besides being a distraction from our worries, gardening is similar to art in that it provides an opportunity to get lost in the moment. Whether we call it mindfulness or flow, focusing on something we love and losing track of time can dull our worries significantly.

Exercise

Gardening also provides some light exercise (and possibly some more intense exercise if you’re doing some heavy lifting). Exercise clearly helps us feel happier and calmer, and there is tons of scientific research to back that up. When we move around and sweat a bit, our body produces feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins. These chemicals in our brain act as natural painkillers, making us feel better and less stressed, and even give us that “natural high” feeling. Exercise also reduces the level of stress hormones in our body like adrenaline and cortisol, helping us feel calmer. So, don’t be shy about giving your kids some work to do in the garden that makes them move a bit, such as digging, lifting, and bending up and down.

Healthier Food Choices

Gardening also motivates us to eat healthier foods that make us feel better. When kids are invested in growing their own fruits and vegetables, they feel more connected and want to enjoy the “fruit of the their labor.” By encouraging them to eat healthier through gardening, they will hopefully choose foods that nourish them instead of junk foods filled with sugar. It’s important for children to eat less sugar for numerous health reasons, but also for their mental health. Sugary foods can increase anxiety and even cause our kids to feel gloomy.

Social Interaction

Whether it’s just you bonding with your children in the garden, sharing your produce and gardening stories with friends and neighbors, or volunteering in a community garden, that social interaction also plays a major role in making us feel happier and calmer. Experts tell us that the most important way to feel happier is through positive relationships, so gardening can provide a vehicle for our children to connect with others over a healthy hobby.

Soil

I saved the best for last. Recent research has found that the simple act of touching soil can reduce stress and improve mood. How incredible is that?! Yes, allowing our kids to play in the dirt can actually help them feel happier and calmer. This is because a type of bacteria in soil called mycobacterium vaccae has been shown to stimulate areas of the brain that produce serotonin, a hormone that makes us feel better. It thrives in soil that is enriched with organic matter like the fruits and vegetables you are growing in your garden. Researchers have found that eating trace amounts of soil on garden vegetables actually helps us manage stress and enhance brain function. When we garden, we can inhale and ingest these healthy bacteria.

How can you add gardening to your child’s life?

  • Create a family garden in your backyard. You can engage your children in gardening by buying them their own gardening tools, asking them to pick out the types of produce they want to grow, and using the produce you grow to cook meals together. Check out these ideas to get your kids excited about gardening.
  • If you don’t have the room or desire to create a garden in your own backyard, collaborate with a neighbor or purchase a plot at a local community garden to tend.
  • If starting a garden sounds intimidating, consider starting slow by growing a few herbs on your windowsill or one vegetable at a time in a large flower pot.
  • Look for opportunities to volunteer in a local community garden. Community gardens increase the amount of green space, build positive community interaction, and many also provide fresh produce to those in need. Your children will enjoy planting seeds, weeding, and picking fruits and vegetables.
  • Check out these suggestions for how to spend more time in the garden with your family.

How does gardening make your family feel calmer?

How to Enjoy a Nature Poetry Walk

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Going on a nature poetry walk is such a beautiful, relaxing, creative, and mindful experience that I highly recommend you try with your children. I’ll never forget going on my first precious nature poetry walk last summer in Pennsylvania at a spa resort that offers incredible outdoor and mind and body classes. It’s an adventure that will always have a special place in my heart.

We left the hotel as a group not knowing what to expect. Our leader asked us to start following her along the winding trail, but she requested that we walk very slowly and stay silent. We meandered into an area where there were bushes and some sporadic trees. When we were far enough away that we could no longer see the building, we spotted a large brown deer. We all stared in amazement since we were so close to wildlife. We noticed him more than he noticed us. We then kept walking and I remember a squirrel jumping out in front of us, almost as if he was trying to say hello and usher us through our hike.

We continued to walk a bit up a small hill and came to a tree that had a swarm of buzzing bees above it. Although we were a bit frightened and made sure to keep our distance and tiptoe around it, this was a huge moment during our nature walk—which was later evident by all of our poems mentioning the bees. After this tense moment, we entered a gorgeous, colorful garden filled with bright yellow sunflowers and neon orange flowers. Finally, we made our way to an area around an inviting, sturdy tree. A couple of women sat on the grass, one plopped down on a gray boulder, and I joined two others on a lovely tree swing. I will never forget how calming it was to sway back and forth in the breeze while crafting my poem after the walk.

Why A Nature Poetry Walk?

The main goal of a nature poetry walk is to soak in the beauty of our surrounding environment and then turn that experience into something creative that we can treasure. Writing poetry requires inspiration, and nature is the perfect backdrop for us to find that spark.

The best way to do this is to use our five senses. Instead of just walking like you would on a typical hike, it’s important to purposely slow down and stop once in a while to take in what is all around. During my nature poetry walk, our leader asked us to stop several times along the path and think about what we saw, heard, touched, smelled, and even tasted. She encouraged us to breathe in the air deeply, to look all around us, and to bend down and feel various items along the way. This mindful exercise forces us to really stop and absorb our environment and all that it has to offer.

Benefits

Nature poetry walks provide so many incredible benefits to our children including the following:

Keeps Us Moving. Exercise in itself has so many benefits, so going on a family walk together gets everyone moving around a bit more. Be sure that you and your children wear comfortable shoes to enjoy your time outside. Chances are that after the mindful walk and writing time, the kids will want to run around for a while to burn off their energy.

Teaches focus and mindfulness. According to the Poetry Foundation, poets look at the world the way scientists do, observing all the details to discover interesting concepts and patterns. Going on a poetry walk is a wonderful way for your family to slow down and move mindfully through whatever environment you choose, whether it be the woods, mountains, beach, or your neighborhood park. Your kids will love slowing down and noticing the simple, yet intriguing parts of nature such as a butterfly fluttering by or the scent of blossoming flowers.

Reduces Stress. Walking mindfully in nature is an incredible stress buster. It helps our bodies and minds slow down and enjoy the moment. Plus, by tapping into our five senses, we distract ourselves from our worries. Additionally, awe plays an incredible role during both the walk and while writing poetry, and awe is another tool to help us feel calmer because it helps us to view the world in a broader sense.

Helps Us Connect With Our Emotions. Experts have found that poetry is an excellent way for us to connect with and communicate our thoughts and feelings. It allows us to spend time reflecting on both our experiences and our inner thoughts. Children can use poetry to express themselves in new ways to deal with big emotions. Even young children can learn to express themselves creatively through poetry.

And children get to learn new writing skills, too!

Instructions

Here are a few pointers to get you started:

  1. Before you go on your first nature poetry walk, introduce your children to some nature poetry to get them interested and inspired. Here are some recommendations.
  2. Be sure to bring the following supplies: notebook or journal; pencils and pens; colored pencils, markers, or crayons if they want to sketch the scene they are writing about; and a phone or camera to snap some photos.
  3. Choose a destination for your walk. Try different types of places each time you go.
  4. Once you arrive at your spot, explain to your children that they should try and be quiet and walk slowly. Stop along the way to ask them what they are experiencing through each of their five senses. It’s helpful if they start to write down these observations in a chart sectioned off by each sense: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.
  5. Enjoy the walk and go with the flow as far as what you do along the way and where you end up.
  6. At the end of the walk, pick a place to sit down and let your kids spend some time either writing their poetry or talking about it if they are young and need some guidance. You can also wait until you are back in the car or home for the poetry writing time, but it’s probably more effective if they at least start it outside in nature.
  7. To add some more creative flair to your nature poetry experience, your children may enjoy drawing or painting a picture to reflect the scene depicted in their poem. Maybe they love singing and want to turn the poem into song lyrics. You can also snap pictures during your nature poetry walk (just be careful not to let technology be a distraction) and use those photos in a slideshow or as part of a collage around the poem.
  8. Finally, enjoy sharing everyone’s creations with each other and talking about the experience. I hope you build special memories that help you feel happier and calmer.

5 Natural Herbs For Treating Stress And Anxiety

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Many common herbs can provide enormous health benefits for you and your family. These herbs work with little to no side effects and can be used in delicious ways. Read on to discover some of the herbs that are known for supporting general health and addressing conditions including symptoms related to stress and anxiety.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a time-tested home remedy for complaints involving the digestive system, which are often linked to stress. Peppermint can soothe nausea, calm upset stomachs, reduce abdominal bloating, and fight pain from ailments such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It has a long history in homeopathic healing and has been the subject of a variety of medical studies. Peppermint can deliver its benefits when used in aromatherapy, when applied topically, or when ingested such as through delicious peppermint tea.

Lavender

The word lavender probably conjures up images of pastel purple and beautiful, fragrant flowers, but this herb’s uses go far beyond decoration. Lavender has a variety of health benefits related to stress. For example, it may help combat insomnia and improve sleep quality. Its aroma is known to boost mood and help people relax and destress. Plus, it shows promise as a natural pain reliever and has anti-inflammatory properties. Lavender can be used in aromatherapy, used topically as with lavender essential oil diluted in a carrier oil, or it can be made into a lovely and very healthy tea.

Holy Basil

Holy basil, more commonly known as tulsi, is a wonderful and adaptable herb. Benefits include protecting the heart, liver, and brain; combatting stress and its negative effects on the body; aiding in the maintenance of stable blood sugar levels; and promoting longevity and general health. Tulsi is highly regarded in both Eastern and Western medicine. It can be used to help with the symptoms of many illnesses including diabetes, the common cold, headache, fever, stress, upset stomach, earache, and more. Additionally, studies have found that the herb is what is known as an “adaptogen,” meaning that it helps boost the body’s resilience in dealing with stress. As an adaptogen, holy basil is very good for you: in addition to boosting the immune system, it helps balance hormones and even improves brain function. Tulsi can be made into tea; its leaves can be used as a flavoring when cooking, especially for Asian dishes; or tulsi essential oil can be used for aromatherapy or diluted for topical application.

Ginger

Ginger is regarded as one of the healthiest spices; it is loaded with nutrients that benefit your body and brain. In addition to being a delicious flavoring, ginger offers many health benefits. It aids in digestion, calms an upset stomach, relieves nausea, reduces gas and bloating, helps reduce inflammation and relieve pain, supports heart health, and may help lower the risk of cancer. Ginger can be used fresh, dried, powdered, as an oil or juice, or as a tea. In addition, its essential oil can be used in aromatherapy or diluted for topical use.

Rosemary

Rosemary is known for having a variety of potential health benefits. The herb can protect the brain against the processes of aging, possibly lower the risk of cancer, provide antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that reduce inflammation and pain, and help prevent cellular damage. What’s more, rosemary is known for improving both memory and digestion.

Have you tried herbs to ease stress?

 

Why Drinking Water Is Important For Stress Reduction

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As one of our most abundant and important natural resources, water provides so many benefits including improving our health and happiness. By simply drinking enough water throughout the day, children can minimize uncomfortable feelings of stress and anxiety.

How Water Helps

Water plays such an important role in how our body functions. All of our organs, including our brain, need water to work properly. If we’re dehydrated, our body is strained and we can become stressed and edgy. Dehydration can actually cause symptoms that feel like anxiety, such as dizziness, muscle fatigue, headache, feeling faint, increased heart rate, and nausea.

Dehydration has also been linked to higher cortisol levels. According to the Calm Clinic, water appears to have natural calming properties. Drinking water can be soothing, and our body can benefit from the added hydration when we are stressed.

According to Barry Joe McDonagh, creator of the anxiety treatment program Panic Away and author of the book DARE, dehydration can contribute to anxiety and nervousness. He explains, “Nearly every function of the body is monitored and pegged to the efficient flow of water through our system. Water transports hormones, chemical messengers, and nutrients to vital organs of the body. When we don’t keep our bodies well hydrated, they may react with a variety of signals… some of which are symptoms, of anxiety.”

How To Get Your Children To Drink More Water

Some children refuse to drink water because they think it’s so plain and boring, but it’s crucial that we encourage our children to drink enough water every day to help them stay calm and balanced. The amount of water a child needs depends on several factors like their age, weight, gender, overall health, and activity level. Even the local weather–temperature and humidity–can play a role. In general, children should drink at least six to eight cups of water every day.

Your children will probably need more water if they are active and playing sports. Before, during, and after any physical activity, kids should drink plenty of water, especially in hot weather. The goal is to drink a half cup to two cups of water every 15 to 20 minutes while exercising. For specific recommendations, see the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Depending on how picky your children are, you may need to get creative in order to convince them to drink more water. Here are some tips to increase their water intake on a daily basis:

  • Make it accessible by installing a water refill station in your home. This way, every time they walk by it they will remember to grab another refreshing glass of water.
  • Bring reusable water bottles wherever you go. Be sure to pack a water bottle in their lunch box so they can refill it and use it throughout their school day.
  • Add flavor and color by infusing water with fruit. You can do this easily by adding berries, watermelon, pineapple, cucumbers, lemons, or limes. Lemon water, in particular, has so many health benefits. In fact, lemons have been found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety, and help us feel calmer overall.
  • Make it a frozen treat by using frozen fruit in place of ice cubes or freezing ice cube trays with berries in them to add to their cups. Children always love a delicious popsicle or snow cone!
  • Buy special cups with your children’s favorite characters on them and try using reusable straws to give them a more enjoyable drinking experience.
  • Try some fizz by offering carbonated water with no caffeine or sugar to older children.
  • Be a good role model. Carry your own water bottle with you on the go and drink lots of water at home. The more your child sees you drinking water, the more likely they are to ask for it.

How do you get your children to drink more water to feel calmer?

 

How Nature Décor Relaxes Our Kids

Nature

Have you ever gotten lost in a gorgeous landscape painting and felt like you were transported to that time and place? There are so many visual elements of nature that help us feel calmer and happier. Amazingly, just looking at pictures of nature scenes can make us feel like we are actually spending time outdoors. A recent study by the University of South Australia found that displaying nature art in offices can reduce stress levels and mental fatigue by up to 40 percent.

Looking at the scenes for as little as one to five minutes revitalized workers and helped them refocus on tasks and feel less stressed. Interestingly, these results were similar to those found during studies where people looked at live views of nature. It’s clear that having a connection to nature, even by viewing a piece of artwork, can help us feel better.

Fortunately, we can easily bring these aspects of nature indoors to decorate our home and create a cozy, serene sanctuary for our family. For example, we can hang art on the walls that contain calming nature images, like trees or birds in the sky, to create a really tranquil atmosphere in the room. Here are some other ideas of how nature décor can help our family feel more relaxed:

Color

The most calming colors stem from nature. Creams, tans, pale blues, and pale greens help create a quiet atmosphere. According to color psychology experts, blue calms the mind and body, lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. It also minimizes feelings of anxiety and aggression and creates a sense of well-being. The color green promotes a serene and calming environment and is associated with health, healing, and well-being; soothes the body and mind; and reduces anxiety. Neutral colors—tan, beige, ecru, cream, light brown, taupe, and gray—manifest an organic, earthy feeling. They tend to soften the edges and warm up a space in a soothing way. In fact, using more natural hues when decorating your children’s bedrooms will help them more easily calm down and sleep better throughout the night. Try using cool colors like blues and greens because their calming effect can make your children’s rooms feel spacious and relaxing, like the blue sky or the ocean.

Patterns

Scientists have discovered that one reason why nature is so soothing to us is because of the many patterns that naturally occur in our environment. These fractal patterns are aesthetically pleasing and help reduce stress. Whether the patterns are observed outdoors or by viewing a piece of nature art, we feel calmer as a result of enjoying the images. A tree, for example, contains fractal patterns. First you see the large branches growing out of the trunk, and then you see smaller versions growing out of each big branch. As you keep zooming in to the tree, you notice tinier and tinier branches all the way down to the smallest twigs. Other examples of nature’s fractals include clouds, rivers, leaves, flowers, coastlines, and mountains.

Textures

Different types of textures can be comforting to our kids as they explore them with their sight and touch senses. Feeling different textures can be an effective distraction tool that shifts their focus away from their worries to something more positive. We can enjoy a variety of appealing natural textures in our home that may be smooth, rough, shiny, squishy, fuzzy, or hard. Try adding natural décor elements wherever possible, such as bamboo, smooth stones, wood or marble floors, and woven reed mats or sisal rugs made from earth-friendly materials.

Animals

Many types of animals bring joy and peace to children. Whether a child is petting a fuzzy dog, having a conversation with a parrot, or gazing at a picture of a colorful, awe-inspiring creature, animals provide many benefits. You can add this calming element to your home décor as well by decorating with pieces involving animals. Some ideas include hanging photographs and artwork of animals in their natural environment, placing animal sculptures throughout your house, choosing furniture containing animal motifs, or painting an animal mural on the wall. This way, your children will have a constant reminder of the animals they love most from the wild.

Water

Water is known to give us a sense of peace and serenity. In fact, medical studies have found less cortisol (the stress hormone) and more serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine (the feel-good hormones) in people as they spend time in, on, or around the ocean. When we’re around water, our brain becomes engaged in our environment and we enjoy pleasant sensory stimulation. We become so focused on the water that we enter a mindful state. As a result, we enjoy lower stress levels; relief from anxiety, pain, and depression; improved mental clarity and focus; and better sleep. We can enjoy these benefits of water in our home by hanging art containing water scenes, bringing in an aquarium, and installing a mini water fall.

Greenery

There’s no doubt that adding real plants, trees, flowers, and herb gardens to our homes will help make us feel better. Besides green being a soothing color as we discussed earlier, plants improve oxygen levels and freshness of a room. Research conducted in hospitals, offices, and schools has consistently found that even a simple plant in a room can have a significant impact on improving mood. But we can also add touches of greenery using other types of décor that mimic nature like artwork, wall hangings, and unique furniture pieces.

What are your favorite natural decor elements for your home?

Unique Community Service Ideas For Your Family

Book Reviews

I recently had the great pleasure of meeting a kindred spirit. Natalie Silverstein recently came out with a book all about community service for families called Simple Acts: The Busy Family’s Guide to Giving Back. I heard her speak about her own family’s journey to incorporate more acts of kindness into their lives and was impressed by all of her unique ideas.

What I love most about this book is all of the amazing ideas that Natalie outlines to make it easy for us. It can be quite challenging to come up with community service ideas for your family, so this is a must-have resource to keep handy in your home. She even includes a list of organizations by state that can connect you to family-friendly volunteer opportunities in your area.

The other aspect of the book that is so special is how she encourages us to incorporate giving throughout the year by identifying both major and minor holidays and during events in our lives like birthdays and other milestones. Here are some of my favorite ideas from her book:

Playdates with Purpose

Sometimes it can be tough to find engaging activities for our kids when their friends come over. We certainly don’t want them just sitting in front of screens watching movies and playing video games. Why not add a kindness activity to your child’s playdate? Natalie offers numerous ideas for shifting a playdate into something that spreads love and kindness from coloring cards for soldiers overseas to baking cookies for your local fire station to making sandwiches for a local food bank. Besides projects in your home, you can ask the other parents if they want to meet up and participate in a volunteer project as a group, such as a beach cleanup or tree planting.

Birthday Parties that Pay It Forward

These days, children’s birthday parties can tend to get out of control. One way to bring them back to a manageable and more meaningful event is to add some kindness. Simple Acts includes so many creative ways to do so, and I love how she organizes these ideas by birthday party theme. For example, if your child is having a sports-related party, consider collecting old sports equipment from guests to donate to a local youth-focused organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Special Olympics. You can also give out soccer balls as party favors, and buy double to donate. Or maybe you add a craft or activity, such as decorating sports water bottles, that you can later give to those in need

Milestones with Meaning

We often get caught up in the moment when it comes to major milestones like baby showers and graduations, but there are so many wonderful ways to make these events even more meaningful by adding service to them. For example, at the end of the event donate flower centerpieces to a hospital or nursing home. Mark the milestone by planting a tree–there are several organizations who will do this for you and a card will be sent to the recipient in their honor. I also love how Natalie includes ideas to highlight the everyday milestones in our children’s lives with kindness. She provides unique ideas for spreading kindness when your child takes his or her first steps, gets a first haircut, says a first word, loses a first tooth, and of course each year on the first day of school.

Kindness Month by Month

One of the most helpful parts of this book are the endless ideas for community service based on the calendar year. She offers possible projects for each month around the holidays that occur–some more obvious than others. This calendar is such a handy tool to keep referring back to as each month goes by and you look forward to planning your next meaningful community service experience as a family. By getting your kids involved in planning which activities to do, they will become more engaged and excited about spreading love and kindness throughout the year!

Although my family has done lots of volunteer projects together, I absolutely love this book and find it so helpful. It’s filled with so many unique community service ideas for all ages and interests. She makes it so incredibly easy for families to spread kindness and guides us with creative options to tweak many of the activities and events we are already doing so that we can help others. Natalie believes that “you don’t need to change the world to make a difference. There are many small, simple things parents can do to incorporate service and acts of kindness into our daily lives–into the things we are already planning and doing. These are simply drops in the bucket, which create a ripple effect.”

Check out her interview on the Today Show for more incredible tips.

About the Author

Natalie Silverstein, MPH, is the volunteer coordinator of Doing Good Together in New York City. She is a frequent presenter to parents, faculty, students, and community groups and is a contributor to the parenting blog MommyPoppins. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Yale University. She and her family regularly make time to volunteer in their community. Learn more.

Emotional Benefits Of Having Dogs For Kids

Nature

I will be the first to admit that I am not a pet person and one of my biggest pet peeves is a dog doing its business on my lawn. But I have also dedicated a huge portion of my career to educating others about the mental health benefits of nature, including pet ownership. Although I personally don’t tap into this aspect of nature, I recognize how so many people (including most of my neighbors) feel happier and calmer by welcoming a furry friend into their home.

Dogs, in particular, have gotten a great deal of attention lately for being a soothing friend to their human owners. A recent study by Preventing Chronic Disease revealed that having a dog as a child makes an individual less likely to suffer from anxiety later in life. Scientists compared two study groups of young children: 370 who were living with a dog and 273 who were not. They discovered that 12 percent of those who grew up with a pet dog suffered from anxiety compared to 21 percent who didn’t have a dog.

Here are a few of the emotional benefits of having dogs for kids:

Offers Comfort and Companionship

The companionship of a pet offers coping skills for kids by alleviating loneliness and isolation, which can be part of anxiety and depression. Kids find support and security in having a pet companion to always be there for them and provide them with the feeling of unconditional love. A study published in the The Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concluded, “There is growing evidence that children turn to their pets for comfort, reassurance, and emotional support when feeling anger, sadness, or happiness. Thus, it is plausible that companion animals may have the potential to encourage better emotional health and reduce anxiety and depression.” Learn how your child can find emotional support from a comfort animal.

Provides a Healthy Distraction

Pets give children something to focus on that is positive versus the sometime negative thoughts swirling through their head. The magic of focused attention is that we can use it to help get over negative emotions like fear. We can redirect our attention towards something that relaxes us. Just petting or playing with a dog can give a child that healthy distraction they need to feel better. Pet Life can help you find all the products you need to keep your dog happy and healthy.

Boosts Positive Hormones

The simple act of petting a dog has been shown to release endorphins into our brain, which are powerful pain relievers and mood boosters. These are the same hormones that give us pleasure and that feeling of a natural “high.” Petting a dog also reduces cortisol, the hormone that is released in response to stressful situations. Dog owners are also less likely to be depressed, and in fact, have higher levels of serotonin and dopamine than non-dog owners.

Increases Social Interaction

Being social boosts happiness at all ages. Having a dog provides new ways to interact with more neighbors and friends. For example, when you go for a walk with your dog around the neighborhood, you will probably run into people to chat with. You can venture out with your kids to the park and see friends or make new ones. Dogs tend to also be a hot topic, so having a dog helps to initiate conversations with both those you know and those you want to know better.

Encourages More Exercise

We know how important exercise is for our physical and mental health. Having a dog to walk helps us get more exercise, which ultimately reduces stress. A study out of the University of Missouri showed that the best companion for a walk is your dog. The study showed that individuals who walked alone with a dog averaged 300 minutes a week of walking versus 168 minutes a week if they walked with family or friends. The study also found that those who walked a dog reached the recommended level of physical activity for their age group 50 percent more often when compared to those walking without a dog.

But what if you can’t or aren’t interested in owning your own dog? There are so many reasons why having a dog just isn’t possible: allergies, your partner or child doesn’t want one, your apartment or neighborhood doesn’t allow it, you travel too much, illness, financial constraints, etc. There are ways that you and/or your children can still enjoy time with dogs to feel happier and calmer. Here are some ideas:

  • Volunteer to walk dogs at an animal shelter.
  • Offer to walk the dog of an ill or elderly friend or neighbor.
  • Participate in a therapy dog reading program at your local library.
  • Partner up with a friend or relative who owns a dog to volunteer with the animal to do community service like therapy visits or participating in a dog-friendly charity walk, run, or other event.
  • Offer to watch after a friend’s dog while they are out of town.
  • Foster a rescued dog temporarily or volunteer with the rescue organization.
  • See if your school will start an adopt-a-dog program or at least bring in a dog occasionally. Research shows that classroom pets provide significant benefits for children’s social, behavioral, and academic development.

The Best Essential Oils For Kids To Relieve Stress

Nature

We are so fortunate to have many natural tools available to us to help our children relieve stress. Tapping into our sense of smell is a simple, effective way for us to feel calmer, even if it’s for just a few moments. If you haven’t yet tried aromatherapy for stress relief, you may be overwhelmed by all of the different scents and ways to use essential oils. However, there are a few very effective scents known to reduce stress that are safe for our children.

How Essential Oils Relieve Stress

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils, including smelling/inhaling them, ingesting them, or rubbing them into our skin. They can be used in many forms like candles, sprays, and as part of items like meditation eye masks. Essential oils are concentrated, liquid plant extracts used for multiple purposes for the mind, body, and spirit including stress relief. They are called “essential” because they contain the essence of a plant, including its aroma and health properties. They can be taken from all types of plants, so they can come from a variety of sources including flowers, grasses, fruits, roots, trees, and leaves. They have been around for a very long time, as many ancient civilizations like Egypt, China, and India have been using them as a complementary and alternative therapy for the past 6,000 years.

Scents can be a powerful way to uplift our mood. According to Psychology Today, the olfactory nerve gives us our sense of smell and sends signals to parts of the brain, including the limbic system and amygdala. These areas are in charge of emotions, mood, and memory, and also help to regulate our nervous system and keep our stress response in check. When we sniff in a pleasant scent, it can trigger positive reactions in our body that last even when the smell is gone. In fact, essential oils have been shown to act similarly to many anti-anxiety medications.

Scents Known To Relieve Stress

When choosing essential oils for our precious children, it’s critical that we use only high-quality products made from 100 percent natural ingredients. Here are a few of the best essential oil scents to help relieve stress:

Lavender

Extracted from the fresh flower of the lavender plant, the oil has been shown to have sedating effects to help our mind and body relax. The antioxidant components of lavender can impact our endocrine system to lower the levels of stress hormones. It is particularly known to calm nerves and help reduce insomnia. According to the New York Times, a 2018 study confirmed the incredible anxiety-reducing qualities of lavender. When your children are stressed and before they go to sleep at night, try diffusing some lavender in their bedroom or adding a few drops to their pillow for them to inhale this calming scent.

Bergamot

The smell of citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, and grapefruit help to calm us down when we feel anxious and give us a boost of energy. Bergamot is a fragrant citrus fruit the size of an orange with a yellow or green color similar to a lime, depending on ripeness. Bergamot essential oil is generally citrusy, yet fruity and sweet with a warm spicy floral quality.

It is known to help people feel calmer and have a boost of energy. A 2015 study found that bergamot essential oil inhaled together with water vapor can lead to positive psychological and physiological effects in a relatively short time. In addition, a 2017 study published in Phytotherapy Research found that exposure to bergamot essential oil for 15 minutes improved participants’ positive feelings in the waiting room of a mental health treatment center. It also is used as a natural relief for headaches and muscle tension, both symptoms of stress.

Ginger

Another calming fragrance, which may surprise you, is ginger. It has a warm, spicy, woody, peppery scent that we are most familiar with in Asian food recipes like sushi and stir fry. But the scent is also known to revitalize us, provide emotional balance, and reduce anxiety since it is filled with antioxidants. It is also helpful in treating headaches and digestive issues.

Your children will love smelling these different fragrances that will also make them feel so much calmer. There are also other scents from Gya Labs that help relieve stress that I encourage you to try, such as mandarin, vanilla, rose geranium, and lime. I personally love lavender and even have lavender sprays, perfumes, and an eye mask because it makes me feel so good. Experiment a bit by testing out different essential oil scents with your kids to see what they favor.

How To Safely Use Essential Oils For Kids

The best way to use essential oils safely with children over 6 months old is to have them smell the scent either directly from the bottle; use a diffuser; or add a few drops to a cloth, pillow, or even a stuffed animal. Children should not ingest essential oils, as some can cause harmful effects if swallowed in certain amounts. Also, avoid rubbing the oils on your children’s skin since young children’s skin tends to be more sensitive than adults’ skin and can potentially cause irritation. If your child already has skin or asthma issues, avoid essential oils until you consult with your pediatrician.

It’s also important to take some safety precautions. Always keep essential oils away from your children’s eyes and mouth. Be sure to safely store the essential oils out of reach of your kids as you would any medication or home cleaner. If you ever have any questions or concerns about your children using essential oils, please contact your pediatrician.

What is your experience with using essential oils for stress relief?

How To Celebrate Stress Awareness Day With Your Kids

Special Events

Stress Awareness Day takes place the first Wednesday of November each year. This is a great time to take a step back and evaluate our children’s stress level and how we can help them better manage the stress in their lives.

How Stress Is Affecting Our Children

Stress and anxiety play a big role in our children’s lives today. Children and teens are super stressed in this always-on pressure-cooker culture, and we know that all of these stressors are taking a toll on them. Some stress is normal and beneficial in short-term situations, but experiencing strong, frequent, and/or prolonged tension can result in bothersome physical symptoms and more serious mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, more and more children are struggling with these types of issues.

Child and adolescent mental health disorders are the most common illnesses that children will experience under the age of 18, says The Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit children’s mental health advocacy group. Each year, one in five American children aged 3 through 17 (approximately 15 million) are diagnosed with a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of children aged 6 to 17 who have ever been diagnosed with either anxiety or depression increased from 5.4% in 2003 to 8% in 2007 and to 8.4% in 2011–2012, according to the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Additionally, the use of anti-anxiety medications is exploding. It increased by almost 50 percent for children ages 10-19 between 2001-2010, explained Scott Shannon, author of Mental Health for the Whole Child: Moving Young Clients from Disease & Disorder to Balance & Wellness.

It is clear that this is an issue of top concern that is not going away anytime soon.

Natural Stress Reduction Tools

By turning to some fun, safe, science-backed activities, we can help our children feel calmer and happier. Try some of these tips with your kids:

  1. Spend some time outside in nature. Learn how to build a healthy habit around connecting with nature.
  2. Get creative, whether it be painting or drawing nature scenes, doing some mindful coloring, or playing an instrument.
  3. Incorporate exercise into your family’s daily routine. Some ideas include yoga, gymnastics, or going for a hike together.
  4. Teach your children mindfulness techniques like mindful eating and lovingkindness meditation.
  5. Express gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal or writing real thank you notes.
  6. Volunteer as a family in your community.
  7. Enjoy some relaxing massage or acupuncture.
  8. Incorporate calm foods into your children’s diet and keep them away from sugar and caffeine.
  9. Encourage your children to play outside more.
  10. Seek out more awe experiences, such as observing a sunset, listening to a symphony, or attending a magic show.

For more ideas, get your copy of my new book Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer.

Getting Help

Sometimes natural stress reduction tips aren’t enough. If you find that your child is still struggling, please contact a professional therapist for help.

5 Ways To Stay Connected To Nature In The New School Year

Nature

Each year, we jump from relaxing summertime to the stress of a new school year. Between homework, balancing extracurricular activities, and changes in weather, we can forget to prioritize outdoor time.

It’s important that we make time for our kids to enjoy nature in the great outdoors since it can help reduce stress and bring a sense of calm. Our children need a break after school and on the weekends from their schoolwork and extra-curricular activities. Nature is the perfect break.

Here are five simple ways to keep your children connected to nature, even in the midst of the busy school year:

Play Outside

Even if your children have recess at school, they still need additional time to unwind after school and on the weekend. And I am not talking about sports practice. Children need unstructured free play to be creative and let loose with their friends or siblings. Let them jump rope, blow bubbles, and make their own obstacle courses. Here are five entertaining ways to get your kids to play outside.

Volunteer

Both volunteer work and spending time in nature help reduce stress in our lives, so why not combine these ideas by participating in community service projects as a family that help our environment? Check out these hands-on volunteer projects that your children can do to help improve and protect the environment.

Grow a Family Garden

Gardening is a great way to encourage our children to spend more time outside in nature. It is also a way to instill an appreciation for where food comes from and the work involved in making every meal we enjoy. Learn how to get your kids excited about gardening and how to create a meditation garden for your entire family to enjoy.

Choose School Projects That Involve Nature

There are so many ways that we can incorporate nature into schoolwork. For example, if your child has an art project, take them outside to create a nature scene or go on a nature hunt and put together a collage of leaves, sticks, flowers, and other items they collect. Enhance their school lessons by working on science kits and taking them to local museums or nature centers that cover the topics their teacher is addressing. Simple experiences like going to a farmer’s market to learn firsthand about farming or gazing at the stars in the evening sky can enhance what they are learning at school. The best part is when they experience nature for themselves, they will gain a greater appreciation for what they are learning and be in awe of the world around them.

Challenge Your Family

Give your kids an outdoors challenge to see how many days in a row they can spend time outside for at least 30 minutes. Some other ideas include hiking, biking, outdoor yoga, birdwatching, and nature photography. This is a fun challenge to help your family appreciate nature more and have some good, old-fashioned family time! And if you are ever stuck inside because of bad weather or other issues preventing you from getting outside, you can still enjoy the benefits of nature. Learn how your family can do this.

How Lemon Juice Benefits Mental Health

Nutrition

We know how important staying hydrated by drinking water is for our mental health. By simply drinking enough water throughout the day, children and adults can minimize feelings of stress and anxiety. There is a way to make water even more powerful in reducing stress and anxiety: by adding lemon juice.

Why Lemon Juice Is Good For You

Lemons have been found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety, and help us feel calmer overall. There are two main reasons for these benefits:

Hydration. Drinking a glass of water, especially warm water, is a wonderful way to hydrate our body. This is especially important in the morning since we have not had any liquids for several hours while we were sleeping. Keeping our body adequately hydrated helps keep us in balance, both physically and emotionally.

Vitamin C. Lemons contain a good amount of vitamin C (almost as much as oranges), a nutrient known to lower levels of stress hormones. Vitamin C has been found to fight brain cell damage due to the stress hormone cortisol. One study found that vitamin C helped people bounce back more easily from a stressful situation. In that study, blood pressure and cortisol levels returned to normal more quickly when people took vitamin C before a stressful event. Additionally, stress makes our body release more free radicals than when we are in a good mood. Vitamin C helps to keep the free radicals in control, repairing the body. Basically, it helps protect the body from the cumulative effects of stress. Vitamin C is also essential for the recovery of our adrenal glands, which can be impacted when we are under too much stress. Without vitamin C we can experience issues like fatigue, stress-related problems, and a weakened immune system.

How To Make Lemon Water With Your Kids

There are a few key tips and tricks to making the best lemon water that you and your children will love. First, know how to pick out ripe, tasty lemons. You want to look for lemons that are firm and have shiny yellow skin. Avoid unripe lemons that are usually green in color and have dull, matte skin. Skip the overripe lemons that can be brownish yellow, have brown spots, be wrinkly, and/or are soft to the touch. And please choose local and/or organic lemons if possible. Get your kids involved in the shopping experience so that they will feel like they are playing a role, which will get them excited about trying lemon water later on. You can even make a game out of it like the “hunt for the best lemon.”

Once you pick out your lemons, store them at room temperature away from sunlight. If you want them to last longer, then store them in the refrigerator. After squeezing fresh lemon juice for a drink, you can save the extra and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. Display a few bright yellow lemons in a bowl in your kitchen to spark your kids’ curiosity. Turn this into a creative experience by asking them to paint or draw the lemons (they will sure make a great still life painting!). Your kids will also enjoy smelling the fragrant lemons; their scent is known to help relax us.

When it’s time to squeeze the lemon juice from your fresh lemons, you’ll want to choose an easy kitchen tool so you don’t end up with a bunch of seeds in your lemon water and getting your hands all wet and sticky. I love using a hand-held lemon lime squeezer to get as much juice out as possible. This manual juicer is safe and reliable, made with sturdy industrial aluminum and non-toxic certified lead-free coating. It cleans in seconds and is dishwasher safe. Finally, it’s designed to be easy on the hands.

All you need to do is cut the lemon in half and place it face down. Then just press down and squeeze away! You may want to squeeze a few lemons at once and store the juice in your refrigerator to save time later in the week.

Now it’s time to add the lemon juice to your water. Warm water is recommended to get the most benefit out of the lemon juice. Add the juice of half a lemon to an 8-12oz cup of water. Of course, you can adjust the amount depending on your own personal taste. If you want to get creative, you can also try adding mint, honey, ginger, cinnamon, basil, cucumber, strawberry, or another garnish to your lemon water. This is another way to get your kids involved and excited about drinking lemon water. Let they choose what else they would like to add. You can even do a fun taste test by offering them a few different options to see what they prefer.

After you are finished drinking the lemon water, it’s important to remember to swish your mouth with some room temperature water for 30 seconds to make sure the citric acid from the lemon juice doesn’t remain on your teeth. Too much of the acid from the lemon can damage your teeth, so keep that in mind.

Finally, another trick is to freeze some lemon water into ice cubes so you can add lemon to your water quickly when you want it. Just drop a few cubes into a glass of cold or warm water as needed.

Enjoy!

What is your family’s favorite type of lemon water?