What You Need To Know About Immunity and Resilience In 2020!

Immunity. How can we boost it? That's a really good question to think about these days. It's super important to stay as far away as possible from anything resembling a virus but what can we do to keep our systems strong in case we do happen to get exposed?

I'm going to take a hint from Dr. Anthony Fauci and supplement with vitamin D and C just to be sure. That's what he does. I'm also going to focus on getting enough sleep and do my best to minimize my stress and anxiety. Hmmm..... lofty goals these days but it's serious business keeping well in 2020.

Just as having a strong immune system is an important piece of the puzzle that prevents physical illness, sensory and emotional experiences are the pieces necessary for building positive mental health. Building positive mental health isn't easy but fixing mental illness is always harder.

We all know that it's impossible to avoid all illness-causing pathogens in life. It's also impossible to avoid all the negative people and influences we encounter.

That's why we need resilience. The right sensory and emotional experiences can provide resilience by connecting the pathways in our brains that allow us to adjust and cope with bad things that happen. Pretty important stuff!

So the big question becomes, "How do we provide the best sensory and emotional experiences to promote mental health?"

I know it's hard to do but we really have to put all worries aside and focus on fun for a while. Fun is our brain's way of drawing us to activities we need for our physical and emotional development.

Here are some ideas for fun activities that grow brains.

cooking

dancing in your PJ's

music and movement!

creative arts

Peek-a-Boo

lap reading

Bathtime bonding

snacktime!

lap reading

and more lap reading! Have fun!

Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, SELF-care facilitator, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning and most of all, PLAY! She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI