Preparing for a Healthy School Year, I've been working on some healthy household protocols designed to optimize sleep for kiddos.
SLEEP is crucial for kids' learning and development, creativity and immune system, giving them the best chance to grow in mind, body, and soul at their very best!
One of the key components of sleep health I try to focus on with families is to first focus on the first 15-45 minutes of the day and the last 15-45 minutes of the day.
SLEEP support actually STARTS at the beginning of the day with early morning rising, sunshine exposure, some form of movement and a healthy breakfast before school.
Sleep support is reinforced by mitigating blue lights, high flash devices, reducing screen time and highlighting the potential for red light use in the evening as it gets closer to bedtime to support rest, relaxation, and preventing provocative bright WHITE LIGHT that we often have in our bathrooms and kitchens that can keep us up at night.
With all these things (and more) in mind, I choose to recommend:
RED LIGHT NIGHT LIGHT in the bedroom or bathroom or hallway leading to the bathroom from bedroom
Red Light Lamp Light in bedrooms or reading rooms
The reason for RED is that red prevents blue light exposure in the evening, helping the body and brain to remember we're getting closer to bed time and time for us to wind down to SLEEP!
One of the partners I recommend for families is a brand called Bon Charge (links below). If you have any other great red light devices or sleep tips to share, feel free!
I'll link my affiliate discount below if you're interested in taking a look at a red light for your home to help with sleep. You can also use discount code "zigzag" at checkout for 15% off! Red Light Light Bulb https://bit.ly/3aUB0ZI
And with children’s education going more and more ONLINE and VIRTUAL (even when they are in fact inside a school building) I know many people are mindful of their children’s eyes, spending countless hours on screens, sometimes 5-10hours+ per day depending on their schoolwork, homework, and recreational time.
With this in mind, I do know that Blue Light blocking glasses have definitely grown in popular appeal in the last few years. Personally, I use them along with a handful of other mitigating strategies for screen use after 6pm. I use blue blight blocking glasses as well as red lights and a program called Iris that blocks blue light on your computer screen. If you know me IRL, you also know that my cell phone looks crazy red 99% of the time. That’s right, I block blue light right there on my screen too.
Anyway, there are always more things I could share with you. If you’re interested in grabbing a pair of healthful blue light blocking glasses for ongoing optical health, brain health, better regulation in nervous system and natural sleep cycles… I encourage you to at least consider adding some kids’ glasses to your school supplies list if your children spend much of their time on screens.
Check out more information for kids’ glasses here.
Remember, these tools are just a piece of the greater puzzle of our health when we think about optimizing life, holistically helping ourselves live our lives to the very best of our abilities and supporting the lives of all of those around us.
It is my sincerest hope that you prioritize yourself and your health in ALL of your life, utilizing tools and tips, insights and advice provided here (and elsewhere)!
In nutrition, supplements can play a great role in comprehensive support.
In sleep, sometimes tools and gadgets alongside informed decision-making around how the body and brain work with light, sound, color, temperature can go a long way to holistically health (verb) our families towards a happier, healthier, more optimized household.
If you take nothing else from this article, remember this when it pertains to sleep:
Lights
Color
Sound
Temperature
Nutrition
Movement
Breathing
All of these play a crucial role impacting our health. Today I focused on light and color. There’s a lot more we could get into for more in-depth personalized approaches.
If you have questions, let me know.
If you have comments or suggestions, send them my way!
Forever and always, I’m only here to help you heal yourself, health your family, and support your community.
Peace and blessings to you and yours, Jonathan
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