It is unfortunate that we had to postpone this afternoon's cross-country carnival. The course passes through bushland where trees overhang the track and, given the forecast for winds gusting up to 100 KPH, we felt that we needed to err on the side of caution. The event has been rescheduled for Thursday 24 June.
Yesterday the Year 10s participated in the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program, an annual event. I was able to join them for much of the day and I sought feedback on the value of the day from random groups. All confirmed that it was a worthwhile program and thought that they learned something important. I hadn't realised until yesterday that completing the program contributes the equivalent of 5 hours toward the learner driver quota that is required to be completed.
I was doing so well in the Push-Up Challenge .... until Monday when I was unwell. I will catch up! (Full disclosure requires me to share that my "push-ups" are from a wall and not the floor - allowable under the Challenge, and the only way I was going to achieve it.) As a participant, I receive daily mental health facts. Three of these resonated with me in relation to young people, and I reproduce parts of them, here:
1. Loneliness affects health: Around 1.80 million Australians over the age of 15 feel they have insufficient social support, and one in four are feeling lonely three or more times per week. Loneliness doesn’t necessarily go away if we are surrounded by people. In fact, young Australians report the highest rates of loneliness, despite often being in contact with large numbers of people every day at school, university, or work. For improving feelings of loneliness, quality is more important than quantity.
2. There is a close relationship between how well we sleep and our mental health. This relationship goes both ways— poor sleep is associated with a higher risk of developing mental ill-health, and many mental health conditions can lead to poorer sleep. We can all learn to practice better sleep behaviours to improve our sleep quality and duration (and the link between avoiding screentime for more than an hour before bedtime and better sleep is well documented).
3. Exercise can be an anti-depressant: There is growing scientific evidence suggesting that aerobic exercise can be utilised to prevent and treat depression. One recent analysis of this evidence suggested that three 45-minute exercise sessions per week (135 minutes total) was enough to provide anti-depressant benefits to mental health. The biggest differences were associated with team sports and forms of aerobic exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to help: moderate activity like fast walking, cycling, steady lap swimming, or anything that causes a rise in heart rate and a bit of a sweat, is the best way to give your brain a boost.
Stay safe and happy and I will keep you in my prayers,
Frank Pisano
