Chapter 1: What Your Brain Needs

Chapter Introduction

Take one slow breath in.

Now let it out, slowly.

Hi. I am the Turtle.

We have met before. Twice now.

If you read my G3 chapter — Your Brain and You — you already know that your brain has five big jobs: thinking, feeling, remembering, moving, and sensing. You know your brain makes connections that get stronger when you use them. You know that all feelings are okay, and that big or hard feelings call for a trusted grown-up.

If you read my G4 chapter — How Your Brain Works — you also know that your brain works like a team. The thinking part, the feeling part, the memory part, the moving part, and the sensing parts each have jobs. You know about attention and memory and that practice strengthens connections. You know that feelings can be complicated — you can feel two things at once, feelings can come from old memories, and the trusted-grown-up rule is the answer when feelings get hard.

Welcome back. The Turtle is glad to see you again. Take another slow breath. There is no hurry.

You are ten or eleven years old now. You are old enough to have noticed something the Turtle did not say at G3 or G4 — your brain is not separate from the rest of your body, the rest of your life, or the rest of the world. Your brain works because your body works. Your body works because you eat, sleep, move, breathe, drink water, see light, feel cold and warm, talk to people you love. Your brain is the place where all of that comes together.

This chapter has three big ideas, and each one is one step beyond G4.

The first big idea is what your brain actually does at G5 depth. At G3 we talked about five jobs. At G4 we talked about a team of parts. At G5 the Turtle wants to show you something new about how your brain works — your brain is always doing three things at once. It is taking in (input). It is processing (figuring out and feeling). It is doing (output). All day. All night. Every second. Without you thinking about it.

The second big idea is what your brain needs to work well. Just like the Bear taught you that food has three main parts and helpers, the Turtle is going to teach you that your brain has three big needs: REST, FUEL, and USE. Every other coach in the Library helps you give your brain one of those three. Grade 5 is the Connect year — and the brain is the place where every coach's work shows up. The Turtle will show you how.

The third big idea is the most important, as always. When your brain feels hard. You are old enough now for the Turtle to be honest with you. Ages ten and eleven are when some kids start having bigger or longer worries, sadder days that stick, feelings that confuse them in new ways. This is real. It is real for a lot of kids. And there is help. The Turtle will tell you what to do, the way the Turtle has been telling you since G3.

The Turtle walks slowly. There is no rush. Take one more slow breath. The Dolphin is in your corner. So am I. Let us begin.

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Lesson 1.1: What Your Brain Is Always Doing

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Describe the three things your brain is always doing — taking in, processing, doing
• Give one example of each in a normal day
• Understand that some of this happens automatically and some happens on purpose
• Notice that your brain works on many timescales — this moment, today, the whole year, your whole life
• Recognize that your brain is still growing at age 10-11 and will keep growing for years

Key Terms

The Turtle Watches the Stream

The Turtle has been watching brains for a long, long time. The Turtle is patient because the Turtle is a turtle. Watching brains is like watching a stream — water is always flowing, even when it looks still. Your brain is like that. Always flowing. Even when you are quiet. Even when you are asleep. Especially when you are quiet and especially when you are asleep.

At G3 I told you five jobs of the brain. At G4 I told you the brain works like a team of parts. At G5 I want to show you the three things your brain is always doing.

Thing 1: Taking in (input). Right now, as you read this, your brain is taking in:

• The shapes of the letters on this page (your eyes are sending signals to your brain)
• Sounds around you (a fan, voices, traffic, silence — even silence is information)
• Smells (whatever is in the air near you)
• Touch (the temperature of the room on your skin, the chair underneath you, the book or screen in your hands)
• Body signals from inside you (how full your tummy is, whether you are thirsty, whether you have to use the bathroom, how your muscles feel)

All of this is input. It is coming in. You are not thinking about most of it. Your brain is taking it in anyway.

Thing 2: Processing. Your brain is doing things with all that input:

• Turning the letter-shapes into words and meanings (reading)
• Connecting what you just read to what you already know (understanding)
• Deciding what is important to pay attention to and what to ignore (filtering)
• Making small feelings about what you are reading (interest, curiosity, maybe a little tired)
• Remembering some of what you read for later
• Comparing this to other things you have read before

This is processing. It is what your brain does in the middle. It is the part you cannot see from the outside. You usually do not notice it happening because it is happening so fast.

Thing 3: Doing (output). Your brain is also sending out:

• Tiny adjustments to your eye muscles so you can keep reading
• Signals to your hands so you can hold the book or scroll the screen
• Subtle changes to your face (a small frown if something is confusing, a small smile if you like it)
• Decisions (turn the page, take a break, ask a question, look up a word)
• Words, if you say something to someone near you

This is output. It is what comes out of your brain into the world.

All three things are happening at once. Right now. In you. Take a breath. Notice. Your brain is busy.

Automatic and On-Purpose

The Dolphin (Coach Breath) taught you in How You Breathe that breath has two modes — automatic and on-purpose. Your brain works the same way.

Most of what your brain does is automatic. Right now your brain is running your heartbeat, your breathing, your digestion, your blood circulation, your blinking, your temperature, your hunger and fullness signals, your tiredness, your balance, your memory of how to read, and a thousand other things — all without you thinking about any of it. The Turtle thinks about this often: your brain handles almost all of you, for free, all the time. You do not have to ask it. You do not have to manage it. It just works.

Some of what your brain does is on-purpose. Choosing to read this sentence is on-purpose. Solving a math problem is on-purpose. Stopping yourself from saying something mean is on-purpose. Practicing piano is on-purpose. Listening to a friend is on-purpose. Calming yourself down with slow breathing is on-purpose. The on-purpose part of your brain is the part you can practice.

The amazing thing about your brain is that on-purpose practice can change automatic patterns over time. This is one of the most important things in this whole chapter. If you practice paying attention, your brain gets better at paying attention automatically. If you practice being kind to yourself when you make mistakes, your brain gets kinder to you automatically. If you practice slow breathing when feelings get big, your brain learns to settle automatically. You shape your brain by what you do every day [1, 2].

The Turtle is patient about this. Brain change is slow. But it is real.

Many Timescales at Once

Your brain also works on many different timescales at the same time.

This second. Your brain just read that last sentence. It is processing it right now. In about a tenth of a second, your brain decided whether the sentence made sense.

This minute. Your brain has been holding onto the words of the last paragraph long enough to make sense of this one.

This hour. Your brain is keeping track of what you have learned in this lesson so far, so you can connect it to the next part.

Today. Your brain remembers what you ate for breakfast, where you walked, what your morning was like, whether you slept well last night. All of that affects how you are feeling and thinking right now.

This week. Your brain is sorting and storing what happens this week, so that next month you will still remember some of it.

This year. Your brain is growing — yes, growing — through this whole year. New connections. New skills. New understanding. Things you cannot do well in October may feel easy by April.

This lifetime. Your brain is on a journey that started before you were born and will keep going until the end of your life. The brain you have at age 10 is different from the brain you had at age 5, and very different from the brain you will have at age 18 or 30.

Most kids your age think of the brain as a thing that does stuff now. But the brain is also doing stuff for tomorrow. For next year. For the rest of your life. What you do now shapes the brain you will have later [3]. The Turtle wants you to know this because it changes how you might think about practice, about sleep, about who you spend time with, about what you put into your body and into your head.

Your Brain Is Still Growing

The Turtle wants to give you one more thing in Lesson 1.

Your brain is still growing. Some parts of your brain are mostly done growing by your age. The moving part. The sensing parts. The feeling part is mostly built. But the thinking part — the front of your brain — is still adding connections at age 10 or 11, and it will keep growing all the way through high school and your early twenties [4].

That is part of why grown-ups sometimes seem better at planning, at waiting, at not getting upset over little things — they have more years of thinking-part growth. It is part of why kids your age sometimes feel things very strongly even when the situation does not seem that big. The thinking part, which helps you slow down and think things through, is still adding power.

The Turtle is patient with this. So should you be with yourself. Your brain is not broken when it feels overwhelmed sometimes — it is growing. Trusted grown-ups understand this. They will not be mad at you for big feelings. They will help.

Different brains grow at different paces. Different brains have different strengths. Some kids your age find math easy and reading hard. Some kids find reading easy and sports hard. Some kids find social stuff easy and writing hard. Some kids have brains that work in different ways from most other kids — kids with autism, with ADHD, with dyslexia, with sensory differences, with anxiety, and with many other ways of being have brains that work in real, valid ways. No brain is the "right" brain. Every brain is the right brain for the person who has it. Neurodiversity is the word for this — different kinds of brains in the world is normal and good.

Lesson Check

1. What are the three things your brain is always doing?
2. Give one example each of automatic and on-purpose brain activity.
3. What does the Turtle mean by "many timescales at once"?
4. About what age does the thinking part of your brain finish growing?
5. What is neurodiversity? Why is it normal and good that different brains work in different ways?

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Lesson 1.2: What Your Brain Needs (the Connect Lesson)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Name the three big needs of your brain — REST, FUEL, USE
• Describe what each one means and where it comes from
• Identify how each of the other eight coaches helps your brain
• Explain why the Turtle calls G5 Brain "the most Connect-themed chapter"
• Notice in your own day where your brain is getting (or not getting) each of its three needs

Key Terms

Your Brain Is the Connection Point

At G3 I told you four supports of brain health: sleep, real food, moving, and play. At G4 I deepened the same idea. At G5 I want to organize all of this into something easier to remember.

Your brain has three big needs: REST, FUEL, and USE.

That is it. Three needs. If you give your brain those three things, it works well. If one of the three is missing or short, your brain works less well. The Turtle has watched this for a long, long time.

The amazing thing about G5 is that every other coach in the Library helps you give your brain one of those three needs. That is why the Turtle calls this the most Connect-themed chapter. The brain is where every other coach's work shows up. Let me show you.

Need 1: REST (the Cat is the partner here)

Your brain needs sleep. More than anything else, sleep. The Cat (Coach Sleep) taught you in How Sleep Works that sleep is when your brain sorts and stores what you learned, repairs itself, and gets ready for tomorrow.

What sleep does for your brain:

• Memory. What you practiced today gets moved into longer storage at night. Without sleep, much of today's learning is lost [5].
• Repair. Your brain has a small clean-up system that mostly runs at night. It clears out waste products that built up during the day. Without enough sleep, the clean-up does not finish.
• Feeling regulation. Sleep helps the feeling part and the thinking part work better together. Kids who do not get enough sleep often feel more grumpy, more anxious, more easily overwhelmed.
• Growing. Your body and brain are still growing. A lot of that growth happens at night.

The Cat and the Turtle have a rule for kids your age: most kids ages 10-11 need about nine to eleven hours of sleep a night [6]. Some kids need a little less. Some need a little more. Your trusted grown-ups know your body. The Turtle is not going to tell you "you must sleep exactly X hours." The Turtle is going to tell you: listen to how you feel during the day. If you are tired all morning, you probably need more sleep at night.

The Rooster (Coach Light) is part of this too. The Rooster told you that morning light helps set your body's clock so sleep happens on time. The Cat and the Rooster work together on the day-night rhythm. The Turtle is grateful to both of them.

Need 2: FUEL (the Bear and the Elephant are the partners here)

Your brain runs on what you eat and drink. The Bear (Coach Food) taught you in What Food Is Made Of — just last week if you read it in order — that food has three main parts (carbs, proteins, fats) plus helpers (vitamins, minerals, water).

Your brain uses all of them.

• Carbs. Your brain mostly runs on the sugar from carbs. Skip meals and your brain runs low.
• Fats. Your brain is about 60% fat by weight. Brain cells have fat in them. Omega-3 fats (from fish, walnuts, flaxseed) are especially important for brains your age.
• Proteins. Your brain uses proteins to build chemical messengers — the small things that carry mood, thinking, and memory signals.
• Vitamins and minerals. Many of them are needed for brain work — iron, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D, and more.

Then there is water. The Elephant (Coach Water) taught you in How Water Moves Through You that your body is about 60% water and the brain is too. Even being a little dehydrated can make thinking foggier, headaches more likely, and mood lower [7]. A well-hydrated brain works better than a dry one.

The Bear-Turtle-Elephant partnership for kids your age is simple:

• Eat real food, eat variety, eat at regular meal times. Especially eat breakfast — the brain needs morning fuel.
• Drink water through the day. Not just at meals. Sips often.
• Eat protein at most meals. Growing brains need building blocks.
• Eat some fat at most meals. Avocado, nuts, fish, dairy, eggs.
• Eat vegetables and fruits for the helpers.

The Turtle is not telling you what to eat. The Bear is. The Turtle is just nodding along, because the Turtle has seen brains that get fed well and brains that do not, and there is a real difference.

Need 3: USE (the Lion is the main partner, with help from many others)

Your brain needs to be used. This is the third leg of the stool, and the one kids your age sometimes do not notice.

What does "use your brain" mean? It means:

• Move your body. The Lion (Coach Move) is the main partner here. Moving your body releases chemicals in your brain that help mood, focus, learning, and growth. Kids who move every day usually feel better, learn better, and sleep better [8, 9]. The Turtle has watched this for a long time.
• Learn new things. Reading, math, music, art, sports, building, drawing, cooking, languages, games. Anything that asks your brain to figure something out. Anything that is a little hard at first. Your brain gets stronger by working at the edge of what it can do — not too easy, not too hard, just stretching a little.
• Pay attention. Practicing attention is practicing a brain skill. Quiet time without screens, time in nature, reading a real book, having a real conversation, doing one thing at a time — these all strengthen attention. The world is full of things that grab attention quickly (screens, especially) but do not deepen it.
• Connect with people. Talking to family. Playing with friends. Listening to a grandparent's story. Hugging someone you love. Sharing a meal. Your brain is a social brain. It needs people [10]. Kids who are isolated, who never get to connect with people they love and trust, often feel worse and learn worse than kids who do.
• Feel feelings. Yes — feeling feelings is using your brain. Letting yourself feel sad when sad things happen. Letting yourself feel excited. Letting yourself feel scared without pretending you are not. The Turtle taught you at G3 that all feelings are okay. At G5 the Turtle adds: feeling them and naming them is part of how your brain learns.

The Turtle is patient about this. Use is what makes the brain stronger. Without use, the brain settles. With use, it grows.

The Helpers — Every Other Coach

The Cat, the Bear, the Elephant, and the Lion are the four main partners for the brain's three needs. Every other coach helps too.

• The Dolphin (Coach Breath). Your brain uses oxygen — a lot of it. About 20-25% of all the oxygen your body uses goes to your brain [11]. The Dolphin keeps your brain supplied. The Dolphin is also the cousin-coach who works with the Turtle on big feelings — slow breath helps the feeling part settle so the thinking part can come back.
• The Rooster (Coach Light). Sets your body clock. Helps the Cat's sleep work happen at the right time. Bright morning light is especially good for mood and alertness.
• The Penguin (Coach Cold). Cold weather affects how your brain feels — most kids feel sharper in cool air, slower in very cold. The Penguin taught you about cold-and-mood; the Turtle adds that the brain notices.
• The Camel (Coach Hot). Hot weather can make brains feel sluggish or grumpy — especially when dehydrated. The Camel and the Elephant and the Turtle all watch this together.
• Even the Whole Team. Every coach affects the brain in some way. The brain is where everything comes together.

Connect: Why G5 Brain Is the Most Connected Chapter

The G5 theme is Connect. Each coach's chapter at G5 shows how their domain connects with everyone else's. The Brain chapter is the most explicitly connected chapter because the brain is the connection point.

The Bear's food goes to the brain. The Cat's sleep happens for the brain. The Lion's movement strengthens the brain. The Dolphin's breath supplies the brain. The Elephant's water carries everything to the brain. The Rooster's light times the brain's day. The Penguin's cold-tolerance is the brain's mood-balance. The Camel's heat-tolerance is the brain's calm-balance. And the Turtle's brain is where all of it lands.

Every coach in the Library has a partnership with the Turtle. Every coach's work goes through the brain. When you think about your brain, you are thinking about the whole team at once.

That is what Grade 5 is about.

Practice With a Trusted Grown-Up

The Turtle has a small thing for you to try.

Find a trusted grown-up. Ask them: "Can we look at one day in my life and see how my brain got its three needs?"

Pick yesterday or today. Together, talk through:

• Rest. How much did I sleep? Did I have any quiet time? Was the day rushed or did I have breaks?
• Fuel. What did I eat (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks)? Did I drink water? Did I have all three main parts of food (carbs, proteins, fats)?
• Use. Did I move? Did I learn something? Did I pay attention to one thing for a stretch of time? Did I connect with people I love?

You are not trying to be perfect. You are trying to notice. The Turtle is proud of you for trying. Most adults the Turtle has met have never thought about their day this way.

Lesson Check

1. What are the three big needs of your brain?
2. How does the Cat help your brain? Roughly how many hours of sleep do most kids your age need?
3. Name three ways food fuels the brain.
4. Why does the Turtle say "use makes the brain stronger"?
5. List three coaches besides the Cat, Bear, Lion, and Elephant who help your brain, and one thing each one does.

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Lesson 1.3: When Your Brain Feels Hard

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Recognize that some hard brain feelings get longer or bigger at your age — and that this is real
• Name patterns that mean it is time to tell a trusted grown-up (worry that keeps coming back, sadness that does not lift, feeling stuck or hopeless, social hurts)
• Understand that asking for help is brave, not weak
• Know the difference between everyday hard feelings (which slow breath and talking can sometimes help) and stuck hard feelings (which need trusted grown-ups, doctors, or counselors)
• Repeat the crisis resources kids your age can ask their grown-ups to use

Key Terms

The Turtle Is Honest

At G3 I told you all feelings are okay. That is still true.

At G4 I told you feelings can be complicated. That is still true.

At G5 I have to tell you one more honest thing, because you are old enough to know.

Some feelings get bigger or longer at your age. That is real. The Turtle has watched ten- and eleven-year-old kids for a long, long time. Some kids your age start having worries that do not go away as easily as they used to. Some kids start having sad days that stretch into sad weeks. Some kids start feeling like they want to hide from friends. Some kids start feeling really hard about their bodies, their grades, their family, their friends — feelings that did not seem this big at G3.

This is real. It happens to a lot of kids. It does not mean anything is wrong with you. It means your brain is in a stage where some feelings can become bigger [12].

And the most important thing the Turtle wants you to know is this: there is help for all of this. You do not have to carry it alone. The Bear, the Cat, the Lion, the Penguin, the Camel, the Dolphin, the Rooster, the Elephant, and I all say the same thing — trusted grown-ups can help.

Everyday Hard Feelings vs Stuck Hard Feelings

The Turtle wants to teach you the difference between two kinds of hard feelings.

Everyday hard feelings. These come and go. You feel sad after a fight with a friend, but by the next day the friendship is back and the sad feeling lifts. You feel worried before a test, but after the test the worry goes away. You feel hurt when a sibling says something mean, but you talk to a grown-up and it gets better. These are normal. Everyone has them. The tools you already have — slow breathing (the Dolphin's), talking to someone you trust (every coach's), moving your body (the Lion's), eating real food (the Bear's), sleeping enough (the Cat's) — usually help.

Stuck hard feelings. These are different. They do not lift in a few days. The worry keeps coming back even when nothing new is happening. The sadness stays for a week, then two weeks, then a month. You start avoiding things you used to love. You start feeling like nothing helps. You start having body aches or tummy troubles that come with the worry. You start feeling like you do not want to be at school, or with friends, or at home.

Stuck hard feelings call for a trusted grown-up. Right then. Not later. The grown-up will not be mad. They will be glad you told them. They will help figure out what your brain needs. Sometimes that is talking together. Sometimes that is changing something at school or home. Sometimes that is talking to a doctor or a counselor — a special grown-up trained to help with stuck feelings. All of these are normal and helpful.

Patterns to Tell a Grown-Up About

The Turtle is going to list some patterns that mean it is time to tell a trusted grown-up. You do not need to wait until things are really bad. Sooner is better.

• Worry that keeps coming back. Especially if you start worrying about things that did not used to worry you. Especially if worry shows up in your body — tummy aches, headaches, can't sleep, can't eat, heart pounding for no clear reason.
• Sadness that does not lift. A few sad days are normal. Two weeks of sad days is a sign your brain needs help.
• Wanting to hide from people. Pulling back from friends, family, school, activities you used to love. Wanting to spend lots of time alone in your room when you used to want to be with people.
• Feeling like nothing matters. Like nothing you do is good enough. Like things you used to enjoy do not feel fun anymore.
• Big swings. Feeling really up one minute and really down the next, in a way that confuses you.
• Feeling hurt by friends a lot. As kids your age get older, friendships can get more complicated. Kids start joining and leaving groups, saying things online, leaving people out. Social hurts are real brain hurts. Tell a grown-up.
• Feeling really hard about your body, your weight, your eating. (The Bear's chapter said the same. The Turtle agrees completely.)
• Trouble sleeping for many nights in a row. (The Cat says the same.)
• Feeling like you want to hurt yourself, or like you do not want to be here. This one is the most important. If you ever feel like this — even once — tell a trusted grown-up RIGHT THEN. Not later. Not in a day. Right then.

All of these are signals from your brain that it needs help. None of them is a sign that anything is wrong with you. Brains are complicated, and brains your age are growing, and sometimes the growing process needs extra support. Every kid deserves that support if they need it.

What Help Looks Like

When you tell a trusted grown-up, they might:

• Sit with you and listen. Sometimes that alone is what your brain needed.
• Help you sort out what is bothering you.
• Help you change something — at school, with friends, at home.
• Take you to a doctor (a pediatrician), who knows about brain and body health.
• Take you to a counselor or therapist — a grown-up specially trained to help kids work through hard feelings. Counselors are not just for emergencies. Many kids see counselors regularly, the way they see a dentist. It is normal. It works.
• In some cases, a doctor may recommend medicine that helps the brain when feelings get really stuck. Some kids and grown-ups take this kind of medicine, and it helps. There is nothing wrong with needing it. The Turtle is not for or against medicine in general — the doctor and your family will decide what fits your brain.

The Turtle wants you to know that getting help is brave, not weak. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. The Bear, the Cat, the Lion, the Penguin, the Camel, the Dolphin, the Rooster, and the Elephant all agree.

Crisis Resources

These are helpers grown-ups (and sometimes older kids) can use when feelings get really big or really unsafe. You do not have to memorize the numbers. The grown-ups in your life can use them.

For a real emergency where someone needs help right away:

• A grown-up can call 911. Real people answer fast and send help.

For feelings that feel really scary or unsafe — including thoughts of hurting yourself or not wanting to be here:

• The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. A grown-up (or you yourself, if you have been taught) can call or text 988 day or night. Real people answer. They help right away. 988 is the most important number in this section. If you ever feel like you want to hurt yourself or not be here, tell a grown-up so the grown-up can use 988 — or you can call 988 yourself if no grown-up is around. Real people will help.
• The Crisis Text Line. A grown-up can text the word HOME to 741741, day or night. Real people answer by text. (Some older kids use this themselves with their grown-ups' permission.)

For other big or hard worries:

• The SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. Day or night. Real people answer.

For grown-ups concerned about a kid's eating or body image:

• The National Alliance for Eating Disorders at 866-662-1235, weekdays 9 to 7 Eastern.

These helpers are real and they work. Kids your age usually tell a trusted grown-up first when they can; the grown-up makes the call. 988 is one case where a kid might call directly if no grown-up is around and the kid is in real distress. Many older kids your age can be taught to do this. Ask your trusted grown-ups about it.

The Brave Thing

The Turtle is going to finish this chapter with one more thought.

Asking for help is the bravest thing you can do. Not the hardest — though it might feel hard. Not the strangest. Not the weakest. The bravest.

The Turtle has watched kids ask for help for a long, long time. The kids who ask early — who tell a trusted grown-up the first time something feels off — usually feel better faster than the kids who wait. The kids who tell someone they trust about their stuck feelings usually find that the feelings start to soften. The kids who go to a counselor or doctor when they need to often look back and say it was the best thing they ever did.

You are not the only kid who has ever felt this way. Whatever you are feeling, the Turtle has seen many kids feel it. They got help. They got better. Most of them are now grown-ups themselves, with kids of their own, telling their own kids: ask for help.

The Bear, the Cat, the Lion, the Penguin, the Camel, the Dolphin, the Rooster, the Elephant, and the Turtle are all on the same team. We agree. We point to the same place. You are not alone.

Take a slow breath. The Turtle is proud of you for reading this lesson. The Turtle will see you again.

Lesson Check

1. What is the difference between everyday hard feelings and stuck hard feelings?
2. Name five patterns the Turtle says mean it is time to tell a trusted grown-up.
3. What can help look like? (Name three things.)
4. What is 988, and when would it be used?
5. Why does the Turtle say asking for help is brave, not weak?

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End-of-Chapter Activity: A Brain-Needs Week

The Turtle has a noticing project for you. It runs for seven days, with a trusted grown-up checking in. The format mirrors the G5 Food chapter's noticing project — small, doable, focused on awareness.

What you need

• A small notebook or piece of paper
• A pencil
• A trusted grown-up checking in each day

What to do

Each day for seven days, you will write down three short notes about your brain's three needs.

Rest. How many hours did I sleep? Did I have quiet time? (One sentence.)

Fuel. Did I eat real food at meals? Did I drink water? Did I eat breakfast? (One sentence.)

Use. Did I move my body? Did I learn something? Did I connect with people I love? Did I pay attention to one thing for a while? (One sentence.)

That is the whole project. Three sentences per day. Seven days.

After seven days

Look at your twenty-one notes. What do you notice?

• Which need was strong on most days?
• Which need was the weakest?
• What kinds of days felt better — the ones where all three needs were met, or the ones where one was missing?
• Were there any patterns you did not see before?

Talk with your trusted grown-up. Pick one brain-need habit to try for the next two weeks. Just one. Some ideas:

• A consistent bedtime (the Cat would love this)
• A real breakfast every school day (the Bear says yes)
• A short walk outside after school (the Lion would love this)
• A no-phones hour before bed (the Cat and the Rooster both)
• A daily check-in with a parent or grandparent about how the day went (the Turtle's favorite)
• A quiet 10 minutes a day with no screens — reading, drawing, looking out the window
• Trying a new activity that uses your brain in a new way (a musical instrument, a language, a sport, a craft)

The Turtle is patient. Small habits over many days are how brains grow well.

Optional extra

If you keep the brain-needs notebook for a whole month, the Turtle will be very happy. Many great learners and great-feelers started by noticing.

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Vocabulary Review

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Chapter Review

1. What are the three things your brain is always doing? Give an example of each.
2. What does it mean that your brain works on many timescales at once?
3. What part of your brain is still growing at age 10-11, and how long will it keep growing?
4. What does neurodiversity mean? Why is it normal and good?
5. What are the three big needs of your brain?
6. How does the Cat help your brain? About how many hours of sleep do most kids your age need?
7. How do the Bear and the Elephant help your brain together?
8. What does "use" mean for the brain? Give three examples.
9. Why does the Turtle say this is the most Connect-themed chapter in the G5 cycle?
10. What is the difference between everyday hard feelings and stuck hard feelings?
11. Name five patterns that mean it is time to tell a trusted grown-up.
12. What is 988? When would it be used?
13. What is the Turtle's view of asking for help? Why does the Turtle say it is brave?
14. How do all nine coaches connect through the brain?

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Instructor's Guide

Pacing recommendations

This G5 Brain chapter is the SECOND chapter of the G5 cycle and the third chapter in the Turtle's K-12 spiral. Three lessons span eight to ten class periods (G5 lessons are slightly denser than G4 at FK 5-6 reading level). The brain-needs week activity adds seven days outside class time with family check-ins.

• Lesson 1.1 (What Your Brain Is Always Doing): two to three class periods. The input/processing/output framing is the G5 structural deepening alongside the broader three-needs structural-simplification of Lesson 2. The many-timescales-at-once framing is new at G5 and sets up the developmental brain growth content.
• Lesson 1.2 (What Your Brain Needs): three class periods. This is the most explicitly Connect-themed lesson in the G5 cycle to date — every coach's role in brain health is named. The rest / fuel / use triad is the chapter's organizing structure.
• Lesson 1.3 (When Your Brain Feels Hard): three class periods. The mental-health vigilance content is the chapter's load-bearing safety material, treated with greater explicit detail at G5 than G3 or G4 because ages 10-11 are squarely in the developmental window for emerging anxiety and depression. The everyday-vs-stuck distinction, the patterns-to-tell-grown-ups list, and the 988 framing all calibrated for age 10-11 developmental sensitivity. Coordinate with school counselor and families before teaching.

Lesson check answers

Lesson 1.1

1. Taking in (input), processing, and doing (output). Sample examples: input = reading letters, hearing sounds; processing = understanding words, feeling about them; output = moving eyes, deciding to turn the page.
2. Automatic: breathing, heartbeat, digestion. On-purpose: choosing to read, practicing piano, calming yourself with slow breath.
3. Brains work at the second-scale, minute-scale, hour-scale, day-scale, week-scale, year-scale, and lifetime-scale all at once. What you do now shapes what your brain will be later.
4. The thinking part is still adding connections at age 10-11. It keeps growing through high school and into the early twenties.
5. Neurodiversity is the fact that different kinds of brains exist. Different brains have different strengths and ways of working. All brains are valid — autism, ADHD, dyslexia, sensory differences are real, valid ways of being.

Lesson 1.2

1. Rest, Fuel, Use.
2. Sleep is when the brain sorts memory, repairs, regulates feelings, and grows. Most kids ages 10-11 need about 9-11 hours of sleep.
3. Carbs (main fuel — brain runs mostly on sugar from carbs). Fats (brains are about 60% fat; omega-3s help brain growth). Proteins (build chemical messengers). Vitamins/minerals (many specific brain jobs).
4. The brain gets stronger when it works at the edge of what it can do — moving, learning, paying attention, connecting with people, feeling feelings.
5. Sample three: Dolphin (oxygen + cousin-coach for breath-and-feelings), Rooster (sets body clock), Penguin or Camel (weather affecting brain mood), Elephant (water carries everything to brain).

Lesson 1.3

1. Everyday hard feelings come and go (tools you have usually help). Stuck hard feelings do not lift after days or weeks — they need a trusted grown-up.
2. Sample five: worry that keeps coming back, sadness that does not lift for two weeks, wanting to hide from people, feeling like nothing matters, big swings, feeling hurt by friends a lot, feeling really hard about body or eating, trouble sleeping for many nights, feeling like wanting to hurt yourself or not be here.
3. Sample: sitting and listening; helping sort what is bothering you; helping change something at home or school; visit to pediatrician; visit to counselor / therapist; sometimes medicine prescribed by a doctor.
4. 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Used when feelings feel really scary or unsafe, including thoughts of hurting yourself or not wanting to be here. Grown-ups call or text; older kids may call directly with grown-up guidance.
5. Sample: asking for help is hard but helps. Kids who ask early feel better faster than kids who wait. The Turtle has watched many kids ask for help and get better.

Chapter review answer key

1. Input (taking in from the world and from inside the body), processing (figuring out, feeling, remembering, deciding), output (movement, words, expression, action). Examples open-ended.
2. Brains operate on second/minute/hour/day/week/year/lifetime scales simultaneously. What kids do now shapes the brain they'll have later.
3. The thinking part (front of the brain) is still adding connections; it grows through high school and into early twenties.
4. Different kinds of brains exist with different strengths and ways of working. All are valid — autism, ADHD, dyslexia, sensory differences. Different brains is normal and good.
5. Rest, Fuel, Use.
6. Cat: sleep for memory consolidation, repair, feeling regulation, growth. Most kids ages 10-11: 9-11 hours.
7. Bear: carbs (fuel), proteins (building blocks for chemical messengers), fats (brain is 60% fat; omega-3s especially), vitamins/minerals. Elephant: water carries everything to brain; even mild dehydration affects thinking.
8. Sample three: move your body (Lion); learn something new; pay attention to one thing for a stretch; connect with people; feel feelings.
9. The brain is the integration point where every other coach's work lands. Every coach has a brain partnership. The G5 Brain chapter explicitly maps all nine.
10. Everyday hard feelings come and go with usual tools. Stuck hard feelings persist for days or weeks; need a trusted grown-up.
11. Sample five from the chapter list (worry that keeps coming back, sadness that does not lift, hiding from people, nothing matters, big swings, social hurts, body or eating hardness, sleep trouble, wanting to hurt self).
12. 988 = Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; call or text; day or night; for feelings that feel really scary or unsafe including self-harm thoughts.
13. The bravest thing you can do. Asking early helps faster than waiting. The Turtle has watched many kids do this and get better.
14. Bear (fuel) → brain; Cat (rest) → brain; Lion (use) → brain; Dolphin (oxygen + cousin-coach for feelings); Elephant (water); Rooster (clock); Penguin/Camel (weather mood); Turtle integrates everything.

Discussion prompts

1. What was new in this chapter that you did not know before?
2. The Turtle says your brain is doing input/processing/output right now. Can you name something each part is doing right at this moment?
3. The Turtle introduced the idea that what you do now shapes the brain you'll have at 18 or 30. Does that change anything about how you think about now? (No right answer; discussion only.)
4. Which of the three needs (rest, fuel, use) feels strongest in your life right now? Which feels weakest?
5. The Turtle is body-positive in the same way the Bear is — different brains in the world is normal. Have you noticed differences in how friends or classmates learn or feel? (Hold sensitively; non-comparison framing.)
6. Why does the Turtle say "asking for help is brave"?
7. What is one habit you would like to try to give your brain better support?
8. If a friend started showing some of the patterns from Lesson 3, what would you do?

Common student questions

1. "My friend is always tired and sad. Should I tell?" — Yes. Tell a trusted grown-up. You are not telling on your friend. You are helping them get help. The Turtle's rule on this is the same as the Bear's, the Dolphin's, and the Elephant's: when a friend's body or brain is in trouble, you tell a trusted grown-up right away.
2. "What is the difference between anxiety and just being worried?" — Everyone worries sometimes — before tests, in new situations, when something hard is coming. That is normal. Anxiety is the grown-up word for worry that gets really big, gets stuck, comes back even when nothing new is happening, or shows up in the body (tummy aches, headaches, can't sleep). If worry feels like that for you or a friend, tell a trusted grown-up. There is help.
3. "What is the difference between sadness and depression?" — Sadness is normal and comes and goes. Depression is the grown-up word for sadness that sticks around for many days or weeks, makes things that used to be fun not fun anymore, makes you want to hide, and does not lift with the usual tools. If sadness feels like that for you or a friend, tell a trusted grown-up.
4. "What is a counselor or therapist?" — A grown-up specially trained to help kids work through hard feelings. You sit with them and talk. They help you figure things out. Many kids see counselors — at school, at a clinic, at a hospital. It is normal. It works. Some kids see one every week for a while, some go for a short time and then stop. Your family and a doctor would decide together if a counselor fits.
5. "What about Andrew Huberman / brain optimization protocols / things I see online?" — A lot of brain content online is made for adults, and a lot of it is not very accurate. The Turtle teaches what the actual research on kids' brains says, not what is popular online. If you see something online about brains that you wonder about, ask a trusted grown-up. They can help you figure out what is real.
6. "Are video games bad for my brain?" — Not in the simple way that some people say. Some video games can be fun, social, and even good for certain skills. Too much screen time (any kind) can crowd out other things your brain needs — sleep, outdoor time, in-person friend time, paying attention to one thing for a stretch. Trusted grown-ups set the balance in your family.
7. "What if I do not have a trusted grown-up I can talk to?" — Tell a teacher, school nurse, school counselor, or any other safe adult — that is exactly the kind of trusted grown-up the Turtle means. If you cannot think of anyone, tell that to someone safe. Finding a trusted grown-up is one of the most important things at this age.
8. "Is medicine for hard feelings normal?" — Some kids and grown-ups take medicine that helps with brain feelings. A doctor decides if medicine fits a specific person. Many people who take this kind of medicine feel better and live full, good lives. There is nothing wrong with needing it. The Turtle is neutral about medicine — it depends on what your brain and your family and your doctor decide together.

Parent communication template

Dear families,

This week we are reading Chapter 1 of the Grade 5 Coach Brain (Turtle) chapter — What Your Brain Needs. This is the third chapter in the Turtle's spiral (G3 was Your Brain and You, G4 was How Your Brain Works) and the second chapter in the Grade 5 Library cycle.

The chapter teaches three big ideas: what your brain is always doing (input, processing, output — happening automatically and on-purpose, on many timescales at once); what your brain needs to work well (the three needs: rest, fuel, use — with explicit Connect-theme partnerships to every other coach); and when your brain feels hard (the mental-health vigilance lesson — everyday hard feelings vs stuck hard feelings, patterns to tell a trusted grown-up about, and crisis resources including 988).

The most important content in this chapter is Lesson 3. Ages 10-11 are squarely in the developmental window for emerging anxiety, depression, and other patterns of stuck feelings. The chapter explicitly normalizes that some feelings get bigger or longer at this age, names patterns that signal time to tell a trusted grown-up, and provides crisis resources (especially 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). The chapter does NOT name clinical diagnoses (anxiety disorder, depression as condition name, ADHD, etc.) but does use the grown-up words anxiety and depression in age-appropriate framing as patterns rather than diagnostic categories. Clinical diagnostic detail waits for Grade 6+.

What the chapter does NOT teach: anatomical brain part names (no prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus — Grade 6+ territory), clinical diagnostic labels as conditions, brain-optimization protocols, branded mental-health methods. The chapter teaches functional understanding of brain needs and routes hard feelings to trusted grown-ups, doctors, and counselors.

The end-of-chapter activity is a brain-needs week — three short notes per day (rest, fuel, use) for seven days, with family check-ins. The chapter is most powerful when paired with family conversation about how each family member meets their brain's three needs.

If at any point your child shares something concerning — about feelings, about friends, about anything — please reach out. The earlier kids get support, the faster they feel better. We are a team.

Thank you for being part of your child's learning.

Anticipated parent concerns and responses

• "Is it appropriate to talk about anxiety and depression at age 10?" Yes — research strongly supports age-appropriate mental-health literacy at this developmental window. Ages 10-11 are exactly when many mental health patterns start to emerge, and kids who have language for what they are feeling are more likely to ask for help early. The chapter uses anxiety and depression as descriptive patterns rather than diagnostic categories.
• "My child has been diagnosed with anxiety / depression / ADHD. Is the chapter okay for them?" Yes. The chapter normalizes diverse brains (neurodiversity), explicitly names that there is help (counselors, doctors, sometimes medicine), and frames asking for help as brave. If you would like to talk before or after teaching, please reach out.
• "What about the 988 number? Is it safe to give to a 10-year-old?" 988 is the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline operated by trained crisis counselors. The chapter explicitly says kids your age usually tell a trusted grown-up first; 988 is named as one situation where a kid might call directly if no grown-up is around and they are in real distress. This is in line with current pediatric mental-health guidance. Re-verify the number's currency at any reading.
• "My child has had hard feelings. Will this chapter make them worse?" Research on mental-health literacy shows the opposite — naming patterns and providing resources reduces stigma and increases help-seeking. The chapter is calm, body-neutral, neurodiversity-positive, and routes everything to trusted grown-ups. If your child is currently in treatment or support for stuck feelings, the chapter will likely affirm what they already know.
• "What if my child does not have a trusted grown-up they feel comfortable with?" The chapter explicitly addresses this: teachers, school nurses, counselors, doctors are all trusted-grown-up candidates. If your child needs additional support, please reach out.
• "What about screen time and brains?" The chapter mentions screens in the context of the Cat-Rooster sleep partnership and the Use-need (focusing one thing for a stretch). It does not prescribe specific screen-time hours — family choice with pediatric guidance.

Founder review notes — safety-critical content protocol

This chapter is flagged founder_review_required: true because it covers multiple safety-critical content categories:

• Mental health vigilance (load-bearing). Lesson 3 is the chapter's load-bearing safety section. Anxiety, depression, and stuck-feeling patterns named at age-appropriate framing (as patterns, not diagnostic categories). The everyday-vs-stuck distinction, the patterns-to-tell list, and the crisis-resource section (with 988 prominently featured) are all calibrated for ages 10-11 developmental sensitivity. Self-harm and suicide-related thoughts named explicitly with tell-a-grown-up-RIGHT-THEN framing and 988 routing. Citations 12, 13 anchor pediatric anxiety/depression research.
• Pre-adolescent vulnerability. Ages 10-11 are squarely in the developmental window for emerging mental-health patterns. The chapter handles this by (a) normalizing that some feelings get bigger at this age, (b) providing language without diagnosing, (c) framing help as brave, (d) explicit crisis-resource section.
• Age-appropriate health messaging. No anatomical brain part names (G6+ territory). No clinical diagnostic labels as conditions ("anxiety disorder," "ADHD," "autism spectrum disorder" — G6+ territory). No brain-optimization protocols. No prescriptive intervention schedules. Mental-health words anxiety and depression used at G5 functionally as patterns rather than diagnoses.
• Neurodiversity inclusion. Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, sensory differences, anxiety, and other ways of being explicitly named and normalized — preserved from G4 framing and deepened at G5. Neurodiversity introduced as vocabulary.
• Medical claims. All descriptive framing. No prescriptive health claims. Medicine for mental-health framed as "doctor and family decide together" — neutral, normalizing, never prescriptive.
• Crisis resources. Re-verify all phone numbers and URL currency at publication: 911, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Crisis Text Line (HOME to 741741), SAMHSA 1-800-662-4357, National Alliance for Eating Disorders 866-662-1235. NEDA helpline 1-800-931-2237 is non-functional as of this writing and is not cited.

Influence-zone discipline

K-12 influence-free zone is total exclusion — Saladino, Brecka, Hamilton, Greenfield, Huberman, Hof are absent from body content at every K-12 grade. The Brain chapter is the highest-risk surface for Huberman leak because brain and neuroscience are his single most-named popular-culture domain. The chapter teaches brain function, mental health, and brain optimization (rest/fuel/use) thoroughly using underlying foundational research without naming any contemporary popularizer. The anticipated parent/student question about "Andrew Huberman / brain optimization protocols / things I see online" is addressed in Common Student Questions with the standard "made for adults, often not accurate, ask a trusted grown-up" response. Body content holds the firewall total.

Cycle position notes

This chapter is the SECOND chapter of the G5 cycle, following G5 Food (Bear). The Bear opens; the Elephant lands. The Turtle's G5 chapter is the most explicitly Connect-themed of the cycle to date — the brain is the integration point where every coach's work shows up. Each subsequent G5 chapter will continue deepening the Connect theme through its specific coach's domain.

What this chapter does not teach

Anatomical brain part names (prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum — Grade 6+ territory), specific brain-optimization protocols, clinical diagnostic categories as named conditions, branded mental-health methodology (no "growth mindset" by Dweck-name, no specific therapy modalities by name), specific medicine names or doses, pandemic-era topics, or any branded protocol from any contemporary popularizer.

Lesson 1.3 special note

Lesson 1.3 carries the chapter's most load-bearing safety material. The eating-disorder-vigilance content from G5 Food's Lesson 3 cross-references here — the patterns lists in both chapters complement each other (Food covers body / eating signals; Brain covers mood / feeling signals). The 988 prominence is intentional — at age 10-11, kids should know this number exists and be able to ask a grown-up to use it. The named recognition of suicide / self-harm thoughts as patterns to tell a grown-up RIGHT THEN is calibrated for developmental need at this age, with crisis-resource routing absolute.

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Illustration Briefs

Lesson 1.1

• Input / processing / output diagram. A stylized side-view of a child's head with three labeled arrow flows. Arrows coming IN from world (labeled INPUT) — icons of an ear, eye, tongue, hand, body-sensation symbol — point toward the brain. Inside the brain area, a soft cloud labeled PROCESSING contains small icons of gears, a memory file, a feeling heart, a question mark. Arrows going OUT (labeled OUTPUT) leave from the brain — to mouth, hand, face, body. Coach Brain (the Turtle) stands beside the diagram. Mood: clear, friendly, never anatomical-textbook-feeling.
• Automatic vs on-purpose. Two side-by-side scenes. Left: a kid doing automatic things (breathing, blinking, walking down a hallway without thinking about it) with small "automatic" labels floating. Right: the same kid doing on-purpose things (sitting and reading carefully, drawing with focus, deciding which shirt to wear) with "on-purpose" labels. The Turtle in between, smiling. Caption: "Both kinds of brain work all day."
• Timescales. A simple visual showing concentric circles or stacked horizontal bars labeled "this second / this minute / this hour / today / this week / this year / this lifetime" — each smaller than the next bigger one. Tiny icons in each (a clock for second, a meal for hour, a graduation cap for year, etc.). The Turtle pointing at the diagram, with caption: "Your brain works on all of these at once."
• The growing thinking part. A simple cartoon showing a child's brain with a soft glowing front region labeled "thinking part — still growing." A timeline below shows ages 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 with the glow getting larger across the years. Caption: "Your thinking part keeps growing through high school and into your early twenties."

Lesson 1.2

• The three-needs diagram. A simple triangle with REST at one corner, FUEL at another, USE at the third. Inside the triangle: a happy brain symbol. Around the corners, icons of related coaches — Cat for REST, Bear and Elephant for FUEL, Lion for USE. Coach Brain (the Turtle) in the center, gently smiling. Caption: "Three needs. Three coach families. One brain."
• The whole-team brain. A circular diagram showing the brain at the center, with nine arrows pointing inward from nine coach icons arranged around it — Bear (food), Turtle (already at center), Cat (sleep), Lion (movement), Penguin (cold), Camel (hot), Dolphin (breath), Rooster (light), Elephant (water). Each arrow labeled with what that coach gives the brain. Mood: connected, whole-team-is-here.
• A brain-need day. A wide multi-panel showing a normal kid's day with explicit brain-need labels: morning (rest — woke up rested), breakfast (fuel — real food), school recess (use — moving and connecting), afternoon snack (fuel — water and food), after-school activity (use — learning), dinner (fuel + connecting), wind-down (rest — quiet evening), bedtime (rest — sleep). The Turtle present in each panel with a small thumbs-up. Mood: ordinary, balanced, doable.

Lesson 1.3

• Everyday vs stuck feelings. A simple two-panel illustration. Left panel: a kid feeling sad about something at school, then later that day feeling better after a hug from a parent — labels show "sad" → "okay again." Right panel: a kid feeling sad many days in a row, hiding under a blanket — label shows "stuck sadness — tell a grown-up." Mood: matter-of-fact, never dramatic, calm.
• Asking for help. A scene of a kid sitting on the couch with a trusted grown-up (parent, grandparent, aunt, teacher — varied across chapter illustrations). The kid is looking at the grown-up, talking. The grown-up is leaning in with full attention — not on a phone, not distracted. The Turtle is in the background, looking proud and calm. Caption: "Asking for help is the bravest thing you can do."
• The crisis resources. A simple infographic of the four crisis numbers (911, 988, Crisis Text Line HOME to 741741, SAMHSA, NA Eating Disorders) presented as a friendly poster a kid might see in a school nurse's office. The Turtle is at the bottom with a gentle nod. Mood: practical, calm, accessible. Not scary.
• The whole team again, at the end. A closing illustration showing all nine coaches together — Bear, Turtle, Cat, Lion, Penguin, Camel, Dolphin, Rooster, Elephant — looking warmly at a single child in the center. The child has a slight smile and is taking a slow breath. Mood: connected, hopeful, you-are-not-alone.

Aspect ratios: 16:9 for web display, 4:3 for print conversion. All illustrations show diverse skin tones, body types, hair textures, gender expressions, and abilities (including kids who use mobility supports, glasses, hearing aids, sensory tools). The Turtle's character design carries forward from G3 and G4 Brain.

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Citations

1. Hebb DO. (1949). The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. Wiley. (Foundational on "cells that fire together wire together" — neural connection strengthening.)
2. Pascual-Leone A, Amedi A, Fregni F, Merabet LB. (2005). The plastic human brain cortex. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 377-401. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144216
3. Stiles J, Jernigan TL. (2010). The basics of brain development. Neuropsychology Review, 20(4), 327-348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-010-9148-4
4. Casey BJ, Tottenham N, Liston C, Durston S. (2005). Imaging the developing brain: what have we learned about cognitive development? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(3), 104-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.01.011
5. Tononi G, Cirelli C. (2014). Sleep and the price of plasticity: from synaptic and cellular homeostasis to memory consolidation and integration. Neuron, 81(1), 12-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.12.025
6. Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D'Ambrosio C, et al. (2016). Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: a consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(6), 785-786. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.5866
7. Adan A. (2012). Cognitive performance and dehydration. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 31(2), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2012.10720011
8. Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF. (2008). Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(1), 58-65. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2298
9. Donnelly JE, Hillman CH, Castelli D, et al. (2016). Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children: a systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 48(6), 1197-1222. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000901
10. Cohen S. (2004). Social relationships and health. American Psychologist, 59(8), 676-684. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.676
11. Raichle ME, Gusnard DA. (2002). Appraising the brain's energy budget. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(16), 10237-10239. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.172399499
12. Merikangas KR, He JP, Burstein M, et al. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980-989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017
13. Ghandour RM, Sherman LJ, Vladutiu CJ, et al. (2019). Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in U.S. children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 206, 256-267.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.021
14. National Emergency Number Association. (2024). 9-1-1 Statistics and Public Education Materials, including 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline integration. NENA: The 9-1-1 Association.