The three needs of well-being

Your children have three physical needs that must be met for well-being and they can usually be met with lifestyle changes, not drugs:

Sleep - Dr. Timothy Roehrs, Director of the Sleep Disorders Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, did a study on young people and found when they get enough sleep, their sensitivity to pain was reduced to the same degree as a tablet of codeine and they were much happier and alert.

Diet - Harvard Medical School professor of psychiatry Dr. Andrew Stoll has found that eating fish can be just as effective as prescription drugs in elevating moods.

Exercise - “I like to say that exercise is like taking a little Prozac or a little Ritalin at just the right moment,” says John J. Ratey, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of A User’s Guide to the Brain. “Exercise is really for the brain, not the body. It affects mood, vitality, alertness, and feelings of well-being.”

Sleep, diet and exercise are the trinity of good physical and emotional health in children. Make sure these three are priorities before resorting to pharmacology.

 

Thanks Brother Hans

Improving Your Decision-Making Skills

-Basketball 101-

Can I Train My Decision-Making Skills?

Do you commit too many turnovers? Your coach yells at you, and you don’t know what he wants? The coach says you make bad decisions and all you want to do is play better? One of the most important aspects of the game is making the right decisions on the court. A player can be 5′10 or 6′10, but if he turns the ball over too often he will end up sitting on the bench. Steve Nash is not faster nor is he taller than many other players. Still, he was selected the NBA MVP. Here are a few insights about decision-making in basketball: Athletic ability will give you an opportunity to play, but smart decisions will keep you on the court. During the offense the coach expects you to pay attention, follow the other players and identify the right opportunity to take the shot. All that while you listen to his instructions. A smart player is one who can think while playing, change his strategy and adapt to the situation on the court.

What Should I Do? Here are some Practical Tips …

Dribbling is easy for you as is following directions from your coach. But following instructions from the bench while dribbling can be confusing. Try these drills to improve. Dribble up and down the court; you can mix it up with between the legs or behind the back etc. While you do that start doing the following: Spell the ABCD…Z. That’s going to be easy. Don’t stop the dribble. Spell the ABC backwards ZYXW…A. Beware: it won’t be that easy. When you have this mastered, spell your name, phone no. etc., everything backwards. This exercise will help you think while you execute other basketball tasks. It will help you to perform better on the court. Source: Basketball IntelliGym Tips