Healthy Habits & Healthy Communities
DID YOU KNOW
adding healthy habits to your life can affect more than just you? Healthy habits also help build healthy communities and are important in supporting our youth and their families. Healthy habits are important for individuals to add to their everyday lives, but they are also important for a community. By creating norms that reflect healthy habits and positive choices we are supporting community members who are working on those healthy habits and modeling them for our youth.
Living in Tahoe we are surrounded by nature and the outdoors. For many it is easier to get outside during our warmer months. But,
DID YOU KNOW,
that spending just 20 minutes a day outside (yes even in the winter) is good for lowering stress and anxiety, and it lowers depression symptoms. And if you are outside walking or doing anything physical it is also shown to boost heart health. Even a simple walk around your neighborhood, a 5-10 minute walk outside on a break at work, or even parking far away from the entrance of a grocery store can support your health.
DID YOU KNOW
drinking more water each day is an easy healthy habit to add? Start with a small goal of drinking 16-24 ounces of water a day. Using fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs can be a fun way to make it taste better. Keeping hydrated supports your overall heath by maintaining body temperature, keeps joints moving, it aids in digestion and protects sensitive tissues.
Larger habits that take the community’s support would be things like promoting tobacco-free living and tobacco-free zones. This supports those who are trying to quit using tobacco and it makes it harder for youth to access tobacco. It also creates clean air zones which is beneficial for all community members.
DID YOU KNOW
fostering mental health awareness is another habit that communities can support. This can create safe spaces to talk about mental health, allowing those who may need resources and support feel better about reaching out to get help.
We are lucky in South Lake Tahoe to have many nonprofits and organizations who support healthy habits, provide resources, and address many community issues. Two of TASK’s partners, CalFresh Healthy Living UC and Barton Health create space for the community to work on healthy habits. CalFresh aims to inspire and empower people to improve their health with awareness, education, and community change, resulting in healthy eating and active living. They provided evidence-based nutrition education for youth, adults, seniors, and families in English and Spanish. Visit here for tips and recipes. ww.MyPlate.gov/myplate-kitchen
Barton Health hosts wellness webinars and wellness walks monthly addressing topics that are beneficial for those living in the mountain communities. It is a great time to hear from experts and also connect with other community members. Their April Webinar is Caring for Kids: Insights from a Pediatric Expert. Visit here for more info on their free wellness offerings each month – Wellness | Lake Tahoe | Barton Health
Let’s all pick a healthy habit to add to our lives and pick an unhealthy habit to reduce or quit and let 2025 be a year to change the norms that encourage and support healthy habits to build a healthy community.
The Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids- TASK is a local non-profit that addresses a topic each month through our Did You Know Campaign. Follow us on Facebook for more tips and resources each month around the highlighted DYK Campaign or visit our website at: www.tahoesafekids.org