Sleep is something we do every night! While to us, sleep may seem like a quiet and restful time, the body and brain are still quite active. This allows for many necessary and helpful processes to occur while we are resting. Sleep is a crucial function for not only humans, but many animal species too! Sleep plays an important role in maintaining good health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally!

As we go back into the school year, it is understandable that the main focuses of parents and their students shift to center around academics and competitive sports. While challenging oneself in these realms can be incredibly engaging, as well as rewarding, no matter how old you are, make sure you are taking some time for pure, imaginative play.

It is no secret that humans are social creatures. During the COVID-19 quarantine, even the most introverted people I know craved any form of social interaction. However, in a culture of individualism and always wanting to better oneself, we often forget just how important community is building us up.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and instantly began to see only negative things about yourself? By the age of thirteen 53% of girls are unhappy with their body and jumps to 78% of girls feeling this way by the time they are 17 (Empower Your Mind, 2021). Society puts this picture in our heads of what a perfect body looks like. But what is the perfect body? Truth is that a perfect body is whatever is perfect to you and however you feel comfortable.

As we all know, family dynamics may be complex and difficult to navigate, and this complexity increases with the presence of marital/financial issues, conflicts, and impacts of drug abuse or mental illness. Family Therapy serves as a type of psychological counseling which brings family members together, especially during a stressful situation that produces anger, grief, or conflict in order to better understand each other and feel a sense of togetherness.

Many people know the happy feeling of curling up on the sofa with an interesting book, but for those who are hesitant or indifferent towards reading, becoming a reader might seem daunting and impossible. If you want to become a reader, here are some tips that might help. First, think about what your interests are. Do you like mystery, fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, non-fiction, or history?

Social skills are an important part of development. These skills are learned at a young age and expand as we begin to get older. At times, it may be difficult for some people to socialize with others. So why are social skills important? It is important for students and adults as they are needed to function in everyday society. For example, social skills are used in classrooms, at work, with friends, etc. It is a part of building and maintaining relationships and connections with friends, family, colleagues, professors, and others.

When it comes to stress and anxiety, it often manifests itself very different in children compared to adults and adolescents. It is important to be able to identify normal, age-appropriate worries and fears in your child, and whether those worries and fears may begin to escalate pathologically.

Being totally present in a world full of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and texting can be hard. However, shutting it out completely doesn't seem like a particularly realistic option for most of us. It's why finding ways to balance your social media and offline life are actually super important for a meaningful existence.

Establishing routines, either a morning routine, a night routine, or both, can be really beneficial physically and mentally. Morning routines can help boost productivity, battle procrastination, lower stress, develop healthy habits, and help you take control over your life.

The first step to begin creating a balanced life is making your mental health a priority! Ways to improve your mental health is by training yourself to have a positive mindset. The way to do this is journaling, self-affirmations, and taking little social media breaks. It is so easy to get caught up in the world of social media and doom scrolling through the day but try to take a step back and live in the moment!

What does the little voice in your head sound like? Are they encouraging and positive? Or do they call you names and bring you down? Negative thoughts and self-talk can increase and even bring on anxiety and depression. Staying stuck in those thoughts can cause an awful cycle of self-deprecation and pessimistic spirals.

When's the last time you left your city and went into nature? If you've never been outside the city, when's the last time you went to a park? Do you remember feeling happier afterwards, or more clear-headed? Often our weekends get filled with errands or work, and sometimes we're just too tired from the week to go anywhere. But it turns out that feeling of relaxation you might have felt at the park was not a one-time thing. Getting outdoors may take more motivation than relaxing at home, but it's actually an important way to take care of ourselves and those around us.

When things in our lives get extremely busy, it can be easy to put our health to the side. Some of us stop eating or tend to eat more because of stress. We often resort to things we deem fast to eat, often junk food rather than eating vegetables or fruits.

Procrastination. A word I am sure we’ve all come across once or dozens of times in our lives. A word that strikes terror in the hearts of students all over the world. But what does it mean? The scientific definition says that procrastination is a “self-regulatory failure where people voluntarily but irrationally delay important tasks.”

Every year, I've made it my priority to establish some goals to complete by the end of the year. I've realized that while New Year's Resolutions, in theory, seem like good idea, they usually end up forgotten less than halfway through the year. Therefore, I prefer to make realistic and attainable goals that I can strive to accomplish before the end of the year. These goals are also called SMART goals.

As we start the new year, you might be thinking about how you can establish healthier habits in 2022. Maintaining good health is important, both physically and emotionally. Sleep is a critical aspect of maintaining good health. If you don’t have good sleep habits, you could be at risk of having poor health.

Mindfulness. The word is used in so many different ways today that it's sometimes hard to determine what it means exactly. Some people use mindfulness to refer to a greater awareness of the world around them, others say they practice mindfulness when they are more aware of their mindset throughout the day.

With a break from work and school, our first tendency can be to spend our extra time on social media. It seems as if we open social media after lunch, like a few photos, look up, and it’s dark outside! The day has gone by, and we missed it. For many people, social media is a necessary escape from the less cheerful parts of the holiday season.

Stress has become a huge part of our lives from dealing with schoolwork, family, and other responsibilities. It can have a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being. We all deal with stress differently, and our ability to cope with stress can depend on our circumstances and personality. Therefore, it is so important to find ways to identify our stress and then manage it.

The school year starts and work just keeps piling up. You feel like you don’t have anything left in you and can’t find motivation to do anything anymore. Chances are, you’re experiencing burnout. Burnout is usually caused by taking on too much, a lack of social support and/or poor self-care.

We understand that there are many struggles and stresses that you need to deal with in your life as a youth. The stress might come from family, school or social life. You are not alone. Out of many resources for looking after one’s mental wellness, support groups. Here are some reasons behind how support groups are able to help you with your stress and anxiety!