Discover food and fitness

Discover fun ways to get your body moving, release 'feel good' hormones and get active.

Getting active and exercising is great for your body, as well as your mind. Exercise can improve your mood and helps lower stress and symptoms of anxiety. Food fuels both body and mind. When we choose nutritious foods, we’re providing our body (and brain) with the building blocks needed to be at our best.

Did you know?

• Being active also helps you sleep better - and better sleep helps manage mood.
• Exercise can distract you from negative thoughts and provide opportunities to try new experiences.
• It offers an opportunity to socialise and get social support if you exercise with others.
• Exercise can reduce skeletal muscle tension, which helps you feel more relaxed.
• Following a healthy pattern of eating is linked with better stress management, improved sleep quality, increased concentration, and better mental wellbeing in general.

Food and fitness

• NSW Health workouts - No matter your age or fitness level, there's a fun workout for everyone.
• Live Life Well @ School - Helping students get more active, more often and focus on healthy eating habits.
• Make your move - sit less be active for life! - Learn new ways to get active in your everyday life.
• Parkrun - Want to challenge yourself? Why not sign up for Parkrun! Along the way you'll make new friends, feel part of your local community and improve your fitness.
• One Foot Forward - Join Black Dog and put your best foot forward by walking, running, rolling ... in solidarity for the 1 in 5 Australians who experience symptoms of mental illness every year.

• Healthy eating experiences, including cooking - A fun, play based program that supports the healthy development of young children from birth to five years of age

• NSW Health recipes page, including baked goods - A collection healthy recipes for you to try out and incorporate into your weekly meal plan.

Discover new ideas

Have you wanted to learn skill, or try out a new activity? Take the leap and give it a go! You can create a new habit and set your goals, as well as find social support to ensure you are successful. You can take up running, walking or join a local cycling club. It's all up to you!

Try these ideas over the school holidays and continue them into the new term. You can do them individually, or join a group. Free tracking apps are available to help you build and achieve your goals, and share your successes with your family and community.

• Sketch your surroundings
• Create a dream jar
• Colouring in
• Calming Countdown
• Box Breathing
• 5,4,3,2,1
• Sleep (not a new skill but a good one)

Mindful moments and breathing

There are many ways to stay calm and help you relax. Drawing and colouring can be a helpful tool for anyone seeking new ways to manage anxiety symptoms, boost mindfulness, and help you find your flow . Not an artist? That’s OK — you don’t need any special skills to give it a go.

You may also like to try and exercise for your mind with one of six mindfulness audio resources, available in English, Arabic, Bangla, Chinese - Mandarin, Nepali, Spanish and Greek through the Multicultural Health Communication Service.

Calming countdown

Look around. Pay attention to where you are. Try to find and name these things:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can feel
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste.

Box breathing

Pause. Take a moment and breathe.

• Breathe in for 4
• Hold for 4
• Breathe out for 4
• Hold for 4
• Repeat 4 times

5,4,3,2,1

Start your day with 5 activities for a more mindful morning.

• Take 5 deep breaths
• List 4 things you notice
• List 3 things you are grateful for
• Say 2 positive self-talk statements
• Name 1 thing you are looking forward to

Shared from www.thepathway2success.com

Sleep

During sleep, your body supports healthy brain function and maintains your physical wellbeing. Your mental health, physical health, quality of life and safety is reliant on you getting enough of it.

• Getting enough sleep supports your wellbeing because it can help improve your energy levels, concentration, academic performance, and mood.
• Aim for 8-10 hours of sleep every night.
• Good sleep takes work – limit screen time before bedtime, and aim for a quiet and tranquil room.
• If you struggle to fall asleep, try relaxing your muscle groups one at a time and focus on taking slow deep breaths.
• Waking up at a similar time each day helps you sleep better at night.

Shared from www.thepathway2success.com

Discover strategies to help you sleep better:

• Beyond Blue - visit Beyond Blue for relaxation exercises
• Cloud meditation resource
• Multicultural mindfulness resources
• Guided meditation department resource

Resources for families

eSafetyparents

Keep your child, you and your whole family safe online with the eSafety Commissioner. Visit the website to find information, resources and ideas, including:

• advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online
• videos and advice sheets about online safety in languages from most communities
• sing-along online in Auslan activities for young children.

Raising Children

Raising Children provides free information for families. It is a non-commercial agency funded by the Australian Government, and its materials are reviewed by experts and available to all parents and carers.

Raising Children has articles, videos and interactive resources tailored to different ages and stages of childhood and teen development.

Positive Choices

Positive Choices is an online portal to help Australian schools and communities access accurate, up-to-date evidence-based alcohol and other drug education resources.

iBobbly

A social and emotional wellbeing self-help app for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged 15 years and over.