Would you like to boost your kids’ learning and help them feel better emotionally and physically?
How ‘bout you? Would you like to have more energy and think more clearly?
Try doing 10 minutes of aerobic exercise together in the morning, before school and work.
Researchers in Canada set out to discover how little exercise we could get away with and still receive ALL the benefits for our brains to do our best thinking. Using fMRI, they discovered a quick 10 minutes of speeding up our heart rate is all we need!
That little bit of exercise not only gets your neurons firing with gusto, 10 minutes of cardio even stimulates cell division in your hippocampi. The hippocampi are in charge of long-term memory. That’s healthy growth and rejuvenation for the big shots in our brains for memory, thinking, and learning – in just 10 minutes!
You don’t have to go anywhere to workout. You don’t even have to look for short cardio video on YouTube.
You and your kids can get the blood and oxygen flowing to your brains, stimulate your happy hormones, and get your neurons firing with gusto in just five simple movements listed below.
FIVE EASY MOVES TO GET YOUR 10-MINUTE WORKOUT HABIT GOING
Just set your phone (or any timer) for 30 seconds each and do 4 sets to add up to 10 minutes.
- Run in place.
- Hop twice on each foot, from one to the other (skipping in place).
- Hop on one foot (I like to move my arms like I’m jumping rope).
- Switch and hop on the other foot.
- Jump on both feet (like your jumping rope).
[Remember, REPEAT 4X]
When I can’t get out to run in the morning, I do this instead. I used to feel sloggy most mornings and try to boost my energy with coffee.
WOW – what a difference this little 10 minutes of exercise makes in my entire morning! I hadn’t done this since our kids went off to college. Why did I stop, and what took me so long to restart this habit?!
Not that I have anything against coffee. Caffeine is still my drug of choice. Several studies have found that one or two cups of coffee are beneficial with their antioxidants and such. But a recent study I read claimed more than two cups of coffee daily has been linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Yikes! I used to drink five or six!
On days when the weather is yucky, in the afternoons when my energy and thinking power start to wane, I do this short routine to reboot my brain instead of taking an afternoon walk.
Recently, I’ve been doing my 10 minutes of cardio to music, which makes it more fun!
Or you can put on some music and dance vigorously with your kids for 10 minutes. A recent study found that adding music is a big brain-booster too.
Try it! I dare you.
Do 10 minutes of cardio in the mornings with your kids — see what happens in your day.
Talk to your kids about how they’ll think and feel better in the mornings doing 10 minutes of exercise. My kids always liked learning about their brains. Have them look up brain diagrams and find the hippocampus. Then try out the sequence of five things with a timer together, either after school or on the weekend.
(Hint: This is a great way to boost brain power for homework too.)
If you practice ahead of time, your kids will know what to expect and be prepared when you exercise together for 10 minutes in the morning.
You’ll likely discover your kids will get ready in the mornings faster and happier, and they’ll do better in school. I’ve done this with my own kids as well as my students and have enjoyed great results – for all of us.
Here’s to boosting mood, mental health, and thinking power!
Remember, if you’re having an issue with your kids, you can schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Please don’t just suffer and hope the problem will go away. Our world is more complicated than it was when our parents were raising us.
If everything is great in your house, that’s awesome. But if it isn’t, doesn’t it make sense to get support in doing something as important as growing your children into healthy adults in today’s world?
Best wishes on your parenting journey,
Trish Wilkinson
Coauthor Brain Stages: How to Raise Smart, Confident Kids and Have Fun Doing It Founder Brain Stages Parenting
