TWO THUMBS (part three) KIDS. A month ago I had the chance to have a meet ‘n greet with one of the leading authors on brain train and how to unlock your mental potential, Professor Dr. Theo Compernolle.
During our chit chat moment we talked about a healthy way to deal with our connectivity (see two thumbs one) and also about kids and cars.
We both agreed that people have more freedom these days because we can join anyone anywhere in the world in a split second and we can work from where ever we want thanks to our smart devices.
But in many cases this connectivity without borders can also tie us in an unhealthy way.
Two weeks ago there were studies released from the department of health in Brussels, the heart of Europe.
1 out of 5 kids (8 to 15 years of age) said they have sleeping problems.
The second major complaint with girls was frequent headaches and for the boys it was anxiety and nervousness.
Specialists in the field relate the wrong use of social media and mobile devices as the major reason.
After speaking to the professor and looking at the “connection” behavior of my two sons we also agreed on some rules and regulations to safe keep their mental health and sleep pattern.
People are not born with a specific communication tool, this is being formed by the environment where you grow up.
This also goes for mobile “smart media” communication.
Every time you break up you concentration to reply on facebook or another social media tool, you get a shot of dopamine in your brain, because our brain stimulates connectivity as a survival tool.
So is social connectivity a good thing? Absolutely.
The problems begin if you are over connected and addicted to it.
Since we are not born with physical or mental social media restrictions we need to educate kids (and adults) to a healthy use of media devices and social connectivity.
Here are some simple rules to stay healthy using your devices :
- Disconnect minimum 1 hour from the net before going to sleep and start connecting with yourself to relax. This will start your archiving brain activity and you will not be haunted by your monkey brain when you lie in your bed.
- If your mobile device is also your alarm, make sure to put in on flight mode during the night. You think you will not hear the bleeps and sounds when you’re asleep but your reflex brain does, making it easy to wake up before you have finished your full sleep.
- Play time is important, and I mean the physical one. Playing games on Ipads and computer’s are NOT the same as the real material games. They virtual ones can be educational once in a while, but the physical and mental return a child gets from them are close to ZERO.
- Make sure you and your kids get enough light during day time, this will higher your melatonin production, which will give you a sound and better sleep. And this is really important for any up growing young adult.