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ease, even if an individual is exercising. So beware of the screen! Keep your mind active. Read. Learn- ing something new can be fun. Summer is a great time to fi nd creative ways to learn. Find fresh fruits and vegetables to try, and discover why they are healthy. Explore different ways to prepare food. Find out how to grow a garden. Play a new game or, better yet, create one. Go outside on a hot day, and sit on a blanket under a tree to read or draw. Be curious. Learn something to share with the family at a mealtime conversation. Challenge everyone to come to dinner with a new thought or idea to discuss.
Sleep: 9-12 hours keep everyone happier Maintain regular bed, waking and relax- ation times. Sleep gives your brain a daily vacation, one that’s crucial for overall mental and physical development. According to the National Sleep Foundation, toddlers require about 12 to 14 hours of sleep each day, preschoolers require about 11 to 13 hours and school- age children require 10 to 11 hours. Even teens need about 9 hours of sleep per night. Those who sleep well consistently tend to be healthier and at less risk for heart disease and overweight when they are older.
Avoid TV and computers in the bed- room, as they are disruptive to sleep and raise the risk for overweight or obesity in kids of all ages. The chance of an un- healthy body weight increases twofold in
Ready, Set, Grow
Sleep gives your brain a daily vacation, crucial for mental and physical
development
E at healthy A ctivity daily S leep regularly E njoy!
children with a TV in their room. Maintain a relaxing, calming bedtime routine and a sleep environment that is consistently quiet, cool and dark. This goes for the whole family. Maintain healthy sleep habits all summer, and you will ease through the back-to-school transition.
Once healthy Eating, Activity
and Sleep habits are established, they become comfortable fam- ily routines, and it’s easier to maintain wellness throughout the
year, and Enjoy life. Each day remember the saying 5-2-1-0: 5 fruits and veg- etables; 2 hours or less of screen time; 1 hour of activity: 0 sugar-sweetened beverages.
Enjoy each day of the summer.
Cynthia A. Danford, PhD, CRNP, PPCNP-BC, CPNP-PC, is a primary care PNP and an Assistant Professor at the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA.
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