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YOUR HEALTH, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Project Number: 2021-1-CZ01-KA220-SCH-000024190

Fun and Interactive Activities to Encourage Healthy Habits

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INTRODUCTION

Did you know your health depends, in part, on habits you might get used to?

Ever heard that 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'? Well, health literacy helps you understand how little things like eating well and moving your body are important for your well-being, both physical and physiological.

Let’s have a look to these crucial aspects of your health!

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Why embracing healthy habits is important?

Healthy habits fuel your body like a turbocharger, giving you the energy to tackle exciting challenges and explore new horizons.

A healthy lifestyle boosts brain power, helping you focus, think clearly, and remember the coolest facts like a pro.

It's a ticket to unlock adventures! From hiking trails to playing sports with friends, a healthy body lets you dive into fun-filled activities with enthusiasm.

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According to World Health Organization…

  • Worldwide, around 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men do not do enough physical activity to stay healthy. 
  • More than a quarter of the world’s adult population (1.4 billion adults) are insufficiently active
  • Globally, 81% of adolescents aged 11-17 years were insufficiently physically active in 2016. Adolescent girls were less active than adolescent boys, with 85% vs. 78% not meeting WHO recommendations of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity per day. 
  • Reducing the amount of total fat intake to less than 30% of total energy intake helps to prevent unhealthy weight gain in the adult population 
  • People who are insufficiently active have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active.

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Some modifications may include:

  • Practice physical activity in a funny way; play games involving exercise, and call your friends to join you.
  • There are probably sports that catch your attention and that you are passionate about watching. Well, it's time to stop being a spectator and get into the action. Sign up for that sport and experience it for yourself.
  • A balanced diet will help you feel good, sleep better and perform better in school. There are apps that detail the percentage amount of food consumed daily. In addition, they complete the information on what we missed in the recommended intake or how much we exceeded it 

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In the past ten years, there has been an increase in interest in using technology in educational research in the fields of health promotion and food education (Zeng, Lee, & Gao, 2023; Alghamdi & Bitar, 2023), which has led to the creation of Serious Games (SGs) and Exergames (EXGs). According to Watanasoontorn et al. (2013), serious games are video games created with educational objectives in mind. They are distinguished by a playful approach that is innovative, engaging, and motivating for learners and capable of attracting their attention, changing their attitudes, and inducing behavioural changes (Baranowski et al., 2016).

These technology-driven tools offer a fresh and engaging perspective on learning. Through interactive challenges and captivating narratives, they make education an exciting adventure. They weave together education and entertainment, encouraging students to learn about health and nutrition in a way that feels more like fun than work. But…

Exploring Healthy Habits Through Technology

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SELF-REFLECTION ACTIVITY

OBJECTIVES:

  • Discover the benefits of healthy behaviours and how they affect your life.
  • Recognise the differences between good and bad habits.
  • Develop and practise your interpersonal and communication abilities.
  • List the advantages of having healthy behaviours.
  • List some good practises.
  • List harmful behaviours.
  • Describe the significance of developing healthy behaviours.

But face-to-face activities using more traditional materials, are also important to develop an interest in healthy habits.

One important fundamental objective is to establish wholesome lifestyle patterns. You need to learn how to manage and minimise your bad habits and form good, healthy ones from a young age by consistently acting positively.

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STEPS

1. Ask yourself:

  • What do you know about taking care of yourself?
  • What exactly is a good habit?
  • What healthy practices do you have in place for taking care of yourself?

2. Taking into account the information provided in Module 1, look for reliable information and make a list of healthy and unhealthy habits.

3. Describe one of your routine behaviours (from the time you get up to the time you go to bed).

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STEPS

4. Make a table with two parts and title them "Healthy Habits" and "Unhealthy Habits." Write down, taking into consideration the information you looked for about healthy and unhealthy habits, your own healthy and unhealthy habits.

5. Now you can compare:

  • How many different habits have you found?
  • What healthy behaviours do you have?
  • What bad habits do you have?
  • How can you include more wholesome routines into your daily life?

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STEPS

6. You have noticed that some changes should be made.

Old habits die hard. Changing your habits is a process that involves several stages. Sometimes it takes a while before changes become new habits. And, you may face roadblocks along the way.

In the link below you have some tips that may help to change some habits that are not good

for you:

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diet-nutrition/changing-habits-better-health

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  • Making use of an activity cube is a simple approach to get you and your friends moving. Simply purchase a foam dice or construct one out of paper, then jot down various motions, such as dance steps. Get you moving by rolling the die several time

  • Along with a song, you will stomp, clap, or snap.

The practise of reading musical notation is also aided:

https://youtu.be/EBBteybZdHY

Useful Activities

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Sleep apps can be valuable tools for you if you are looking to improve your sleep quality and adopt healthier sleep habits.

  • Choose a free sleep app you want to use. In this link you can find several:

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/g26963663/best-sleep-apps/

  • Check in quickly every week to see whether your sleep is getting better as you become more aware of the value of rest and tactics for maximising it.

Useful Activities

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Yoga is a fantastic practice that offers numerous physical and mental benefits. It can be a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. Whether you're new to yoga or have some experience, you'll find that it offers a range of benefits that can enhance your overall well-being.

Useful Activities

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Useful Activities

With these yoga poses, you only need three to five minutes. By allowing you to practise breathing and meditation in various positions, you can improve your physical and mental health.

Here’s the link to one of many Youtube channels of yoga sessions:

https://www.youtube.com/@yogawithadriene/featured

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Weekly meal planning isn't just about food; it's about taking control of your well-being. It's a proactive step toward creating a nourishing lifestyle that supports your health, energy, and happiness.

So, grab a pen and paper, a meal planning app, or find various types of samples in this link:

Useful Activities

You can discuss with your classmates, friends or family how to improve your diet to be more balanced.

Discussion

https://www.freepik.com/search?format=search&query=meal+plan&type=vector

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Group activity

  • Gymkhana: It consists of a clue activity in which through a series of tests you will discover the different food groups/nutrients (fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and water) in order to complete your own healthy dish.

  • Remember to prepare the Gymkhana using the information from Module 1.

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Online Games and Apps

There are a lot of online games and APPs that can be useful for encouraging healthy habits. These activities can be combined with traditional ones (as we have seen till now). Nowadays, it’s impossible to imagine our lives without technology: these tools combine entertainment with education, making the process of adopting healthy behaviours more fun and interactive.

Some examples of online games that you could use:

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Some examples of APPs:

  • Fooducate: You can actually understand what you're consuming using Fooducate. One of the unique features of the app allows you to scan a product's bar code and view essential information about that product in addition to tracking calories and exercise. Fooducate teaches you how to eat for health in general. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fooducate.nutritionapp)

  • Map my Run: Use the built-in GPS of your mobile device to track all of your fitness activities with MapMyRun, a fitness-tracking app. On an interactive map, keep track of your workout's time, distance, pace, speed, elevation, calories burned, and route (https://www.mapmyrun.com/)

  • Headspace: You may learn to meditate with the help of this mobile app. "A gym membership for the mind" is how it describes itself, and actress Emma Watson thinks it "genius." The guided and unguided sessions, which range in length from 2 to 60 minutes, focus on stress reduction, happiness, mental health, and appreciation. The cost-free Take10 mindfulness course is for beginners

(https://apps.apple.com/app/headspace-on-the- go/id493145008?utm_campaign=app_page&utm_medium=weblink&utm_source=headspace)

Online Games and Apps

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Some examples of APPs:

  • Waterlogged: There is an app to assist remind you to drink more water, track your daily water intake, and get "hydration reminders," albeit it is debatable to what extent we need to worry about dehydration. accessible via iTunes (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waterlogged-drink-more-water/id352199775)

  • Guardians: Paradise Island: it is a mental health and wellbeing app for iOS and Android. The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy methods, particularly Behavioural Activation, are the foundation of the app, which was created at MIT. It makes use of gamification to motivate players to venture out into the world and engage in activities that will alter their viewpoints and form virtuous habits. Like in Pokémon, players collect and train pets by dispatching them on missions. Players also receive adventures they must complete in addition to the pet training. These journeys feature practical tasks that encourage players to cultivate awareness, connection, and wonder. Pet quests and adventures reward players. Basic self-reflection is involved in every real-world activity. Students who want to store their progress and play the game across multiple weeks can provide an email (https://www.commonsense.org/education/reviews/guardians-paradise-island)

Online Games and Apps

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EMPOWER YOURSELF to take charge of your well-being by embracing these interactive activities and practical strategies, as you embark on a journey towards a healthier and happier lifestyle!

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Project Number: 2021-1-CZ01-KA220-SCH-000024190

QUESTIONS