As parents and educationalists, one of the many many things we think about is ‘are we helping our children achieve their best?’
Another way we can phrase this is ‘Are we helping our children’s brains grow?’
This was one of many topics raised by Dan Siegel (who is, amongst many other things, a neuroscientist) at a recent training event I attended.
We talked about many things during the training, and I’ll probably end up writing a few blogs based on it, but this was one thing I thought all parents and all educators out there might find helpful to reflect on as we ease (or run full pelt towards if you’re a teacher!) into the summer holidays.
Dan Siegel gave us a checklist for supporting ‘neuroplasticity’, which in a very basic sense is about how ‘plastic’ our brain is - how well our neural pathways can change, grow and organise themselves in our brain. The ‘plasticity’ of our brains typically change with age, being at its peak in our early years and undergoing massive pruning and organising during our adolescent years.
In layman’s terms, thinking about this stuff will not only help us grow our brains, but help keep them young.
So the following checklist is not just for you to think about in relation to your child, but is also important to think about in relation to YOU! So what can you do to look after your brain…?
Relationships
Research is highlighting more and more how important relationships are with other people. It turns out being connected to other people - especially face to face - makes a big difference to our brain. Anyone who remembers the children sitting alone and neglected in the Romanian Orphanages back in the 80’s and 90’s will have seen visible signs of brain damage, much as a result of a lack meaningful human contact. Just look at the image below to see the impact neglect can have on brain growth.
image available from pinterest.com
And while this is obviously a very extreme example, there is strong evidence to tell us that having sensitive and attuned caregivers are essential for healthy brain growth.
Talking to your children, listening to your children, playing with your children - these little things are all big in your child’s life.
And, just as for your child, you also need to work to surround yourself with others who can support you. This might be just one or two close friends or family - but it’s the quality that matters. If those people help you to feel heard and supported, and you feel you are able to do the same back, then you are on to something good! Research tells us that not only do we need others, but we also need to feel needed. Getting this balance right can pay dividends.
2. Sleep
Ah, sleep. Ever get up after a terrible night’s sleep and feel like you are thinking through porridge? Studies over the years continue to tell us what depriving ourselves of a good night’s sleep can do to our brains. It can affect many things, including attention, memory and decision making. Why? Sleep is the time when our brains sort through and organise our neural pathways based on the day’s events. It also does a massive clean up of toxins that naturally build up through your waking hours.
Poor sleep = toxic brains!
AND it turns out that the brain needs energy to do this, so getting good sleep means you even burn through a few hundred calories!
The solution is simple both for us and our children - a good sleeping routine. Getting your brain in the habit of going to sleep at certain times and under certain conditions, and waking up at regular times in the morning. While everyone needs different amounts of sleep (depending on lots of things such as age, level of activity during the day etc) you need to try and make sure that more often than not, you and your children are ‘getting enough’. While you might be able to ‘catch up’ on a few hours of lost sleep, we now know that you are not able to catch up on prolonged or chronic sleep loss. This isn’t really good news for any of us with children who are poor sleepers, but all we can do is try our best. If things are really bad, consult your GP and find out about sleep hygiene (see here to get you started).
3. Nutrition
The science says that basically our brains need the right amount and kind of fuel to function. We can help our children - and ourselves - make the most of our brain power through good nutrition (just like a Formula 1 Team make sure the race car gets the best quality fuel).
4. Aerobic exercise
Exercise is not just good for our bodies, it’s good for our brains. Regular exercise for you and your children can both improve brain function, reduce the risk of brain disease, lower effects of brain aging and help with maintenance and regeneration of nerve cells - see picture below. Who doesn’t want that?
image from www.ahealthblog.com
5. Humour
One of my favourite recent jokes:
Why can’t you trust atoms? Because they make up everything.
or try this on for size…
What is a sleeping brain’s favourite music band? REM.
Sorry.
Seriously though, we know that feeling happy and safe maximises learning.
It turns out that laughter = learning too.
So don’t under-estimate the power of having fun. If your child - and you - are having fun, then your brains are also loving it.
6. Novelty
We are often drawn to novel experiences. We see someone with a different hair colour, we hear a new piece of music, we are told a new riddle we haven’t heard before. Our brains appreciate novel situations too and research seems to say that it can improve neuroplasticity, improve memory and enhance learning (see here for more info). So go on, try something new!
7. Close paying of attention
In particular, we are talking about paying close attention in a mindful way. If you haven’t heard of mindfulness yet, check out my blog from January 2011. Paying close attention to the ‘now’ in your body is good for your brain. Check out this link for some information on how mindfulness techniques can support your brain, or this one if you want to think about mindfulness and trauma.
So if you are thinking about what to do with your kids over the school holidays, look at the checklist above. Consider if there are any areas you want to improve on and make this a goal.
Your brain will thank you!