September: Mental Health x Environment

Read more about how to maintain mental health while being environmentally conscious!

Hello everyone; welcome to our first blog post for the 2020-2021 school year! Your two writers, Tasha and Jessica, are current Activities Chairs of Green Team. We hope you enjoy our monthly blog posts. :)

In this blog post, we’ll be discussing some tips and tricks on how to become more eco-friendly. In alignment with our September Mental Health x Environment instagram post, we’ll dive deeper into some of the topics already brought up briefly in those posts.

To begin, the reason we decided to discuss mental health and the environment is because September is National Suicide Prevention Month. So, if you are ever feeling down, know that there are people who will support you because you are loved and amazing! If you are experiencing a suicidal crisis or emotional distress, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 800-784-2433. For Los Altos High School students: more information can be found on the LAHS mental health page.

Additionally, students can get stressful during this time due to testing as well as trying to adjust to school life (we know… as we are students ourselves). So, we’d like to introduce the idea of growing your own emotional support plant to you! The first step is to grow or buy a plant. These plants can be anything ranging from succulents, native plants, flowers, herbs, etc. Now after you have your plant, you need to pick a name for it. Some examples include Adam Le-vine, Morgan Treeman, or even Elvis Parsley (Heh, get those puns? :P). And last, remember to take regular care of your plant and feed it lots of love!

Now, spending time in the sun is very important as sunlight helps your body produce vitamin D! Vitamin D is used in almost every tissue in the body and helps with bone health and immune function. It can be synthesized in the skin when exposed to UVB radiation. While excessive sun exposure can lead to skin cancer and premature aging, this only accounts for 0.1% of the total global burden of disease according to the World Health Organization^[1]. In contrast, the WHO estimated that there are 3.3 billion people that don’t get enough sunlight. Low vitamin D levels can lead to higher risks of multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Not only does vitamin D keep you healthier, taking a walk or meditating on a sunny day is a lot of fun! Just remember to wear sunscreen and sun protection!

Lastly, your brain can’t function properly without a healthy supply of nutrients. Foods that contain fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals will nourish the brain and get rid of waste produced in the body. According to a study done by Harvard Medical School, people who eat traditional diets such as Mediterranean and Japanese diets have a 25% to 35% less likely risk of depression than people who eat a typical Western diet^[2]. These diets are high in fruits, vegetables, unprocessed grains, and seafood, and are low in lean meat and dairy. One easy way to start eating healthier is by planting your own fruit and vegetable garden! Be sure to use organic herbicides and enjoy your home grown meal!

Signing off,

Tasha + Jessica

P.S. Another tip to stay active in supporting the environment is to sign some petitions! After every blog post, we will link a few petitions for the environment. You may click on the link to learn more about them and also sign them as well.

Permanently Protect San Onofre CA State Beach | Contact Officials

Make Earth Day A National Holiday | North Face Brand x Change.org

Save The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge | Patagonia x Change.org

Environmental Dates to Save!

September 19th | International Coastal Cleanup Day (Read for cleanup tips!)

September 21st | Zero Emissions Day

September 22nd | Car Free Day

Works Cited

^[1]Mead, M. Nathaniel. “Benefits of Sunlight: A Bright Spot for Human Health.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 116, no. 4, Apr. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/, 10.1289/ehp.116-a160. Accessed 11 Aug. 2020.

^[2]Eva Selhub MD. “Nutritional Psychiatry: Your Brain on Food - Harvard Health Blog.” Harvard Health Blog, 16 Nov. 2015, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626. Accessed 11 Aug. 2020.