Deputy Principal - Student Development and Wellbeing
Over the course of the year, the Pastoral Guardians and I have shared the necessity to ensure wellbeing is at the fore of your child’s journey. You are well versed in the need for your child to sleep well, eat well, play well, and do well.
Over the holidays I read a pertinent article regarding how to reduce exam stress, and have invited Home Room teachers to enact some of the suggestions when meeting with their class groups.
The focus of these discussions will be centred on brain chemistry and how important it is to be able to regulate cortisol, dopamine, and melatonin in order to maximise academic results. Taking discussions to this level is a great way to go beyond the rhetoric with young people who often need scientific evidence to convince them of why it is important to enact the strategies that we provide.
You may wish to reiterate the following with your child and sound smart at the same time!!!
Cortisol is what gives us our ‘fight or flight’ response to stressful situations. Too much cortisol can be responsible for poor memory and brain fog. Both caffeine and alcohol can create too much cortisol but what has the greatest impact is lack of sleep. Studies show that people who are sleep-deprived, with only four hours of sleep per night, have elevated cortisol levels in the evening. These cortisol levels also decrease six times slower than people who aren’t sleep-deprived.
Reducing elevated cortisol levels is important to avoid triggering other health problems. There are lifestyle changes you can make that will reduce your cortisol levels such as:
- Have more, better quality sleep
- Exercise daily
- Learn ways to cope with stress, like mindfulness and breathing exercises
- Take time out regularly to relax and have down time
Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that makes you feel good, and is important both for your body and your brain. Dopamine helps nerve cells to send messages to each other. It’s produced by a group of nerve cells in the middle of the brain and sends out messages to other parts of the brain.
Dopamine is responsible for allowing you to feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. When you feel good that you have achieved something, it’s because you have a surge of dopamine in the brain.
Dopamine also has a role to play in controlling memory, mood, sleep, learning, concentration, and body movements.
You can increase your dopamine levels naturally by eating a healthy diet, including foods rich in L-Tyrosine (the protein needed to make dopamine). These include almonds, avocados, bananas, beef, chicken, and eggs. Turmeric, vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3 supplements are also claimed to increase dopamine levels.
Activities that make you feel good will also raise dopamine. These include exercising, meditating, having a massage, and having enough sleep. Thinking about your achievements and all the good things in your life can also help.
What is the Role of Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It controls the body’s night and day cycles. When it is dark, the body produces more melatonin to help a person to fall asleep. When it is light, the body produces less melatonin and prepares to awaken. Too little melatonin can lead to sleep problems, depression, and other mental illnesses.
The best way to boost your melatonin levels naturally is by having enough regular sleep, eating regular meals, and avoiding coffee and nicotine. Avoiding bright lights can also help.
Watching TV or using tablets, smartphones, laptops, or other electronic devices before bed can make it more difficult to fall asleep. The artificial blue light from these types of devices suppresses the release of melatonin.
Yes, I know these are repeated messages, but what an impact they can make if we are all singing from same song sheet simultaneously. We may notice that our young people will start to listen to what we are saying and, more importantly, ACT. This will be crucial for all our students, but especially important for our Year 12s as they enter the land of external exams. Together we can help them see why evidence around brain chemistry matters to them and how beneficial it will be when trying to achieve the best outcomes possible.
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