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The purpose of this lesson is to give educators time to reflect on their overall health, including how they are personally meeting some basic physiological needs: nutrition, exercise, and sleep. By providing some resources and time to research, we aim to promote self-driven health, with educators leading healthy decisions in their lives, tied to their holistic well-being.
It is important to note what this lesson is not:
At the base of Maslow’s Hierarchy are physiological needs. These are the basic self-preserving needs such as food, water, and shelter. These are biological needs that must be met in order to survive. If these needs are not met, the human body cannot function properly. Our actions are motivated to meet these needs. When we think about what makes us happy and what motivates us to do certain things, we begin first with physiological or basic needs. Once these lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs, which include safety and security.
Nutrition, exercise, and sleep are all essential to overall health. Effective nutrition provides the nourishment and nutrients that our physical bodies need to develop properly, feel well, and discourage disease. Regular exercise increases needed strength and moves oxygen and needed nutrients through the body. (Mayo Clinic Staff) Exercise can even help you to sleep longer and more deeply.
Bodies use specific nutrients from food and water to build up and maintain body parts by breaking the food and water down into their chemical components. When the foods we eat consistently are missing these essential chemical components, the body’s systems and overall functioning are disrupted. These disruptions can have drastic short and long-term effects on our overall health. Selecting primarily nutrient-rich foods, properly balancing the types of foods we eat, and adding variety to our diets encourages long-term, optimal health. We can use our nutritional choices to encourage our bodies to perform better, sleep better, and be better.
Exercise and physical activity provide many health benefits. Adding physical activity into a daily routine increases brain function, lung capacity, blood flow, and muscle tissue. In addition, research has shown that daily exercise can improve sleep quality, life expectancy, and happiness.
The quality of our sleep is greatly affected by our routines, especially those just before bedtime. Nutrition, exercise, medications, as well as our daily schedules can impact healthy sleep. Developing good “sleep hygiene,” or sleep habits, can greatly improve our ability to both fall asleep and stay that way. When our sleep is not long enough or deep enough, our mental and physical health can feel the impact.
This lesson would be a great opportunity to practice good nutrition and hydration by providing staff with healthy snacks and water bottles. Good food can create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Activity 1: (5 Minutes) DISCUSSION
Review Maslow’s Hierarchy by projecting it on the board.
Have a discussion about the lowest level of the hierarchy: Physiological Needs.
Activity 2: (10 Minutes) VIDEO AND DISCUSSION
Watch the video, “Can you spot the problem with these headlines?” by Jeff Leek and Lucy McGowan at TEDEd.
Have a discussion:
Extension: Conduct an anonymous poll using an online poll or by writing
answers on scraps of paper and collecting them.
Activity 3: (5 Minutes) RESEARCH CAUTIONS
There are many health resources online and so much misleading information to sort through. Locating trustworthy and helpful information can have a great impact on healthy choices.
As a group, read through the checklist displayed on the slide:
Checklist for Finding Good Sources (National Institute on Aging)
Display this list of sources and ask the group what other health sources they trust:
Activity 4: (10 Minutes) THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE
Daily habits affect our health, but making lasting changes can be hard. There are lots of reasons for good habits not to stick, reasons why willpower alone may not be enough to create lasting change. These reasons are valid and cannot be ignored. Kerry Patterson, author of Change Anything, recommends looking at six influences that can inhibit change. When reframed, however, these influences can actually work in our favor. We can eliminate pitfalls and create the path of least resistance so that eating well and exercising melds into our everyday lives seamlessly.
Display these graphics and use the Change Anything handout for any needed clarification:
Slide: The Six Influences
| Motivation | Ability | |
| Personal | Personal Motivation
Love What You Hate (individual motivation to act) |
Personal Ability
Do What You Can’t (individual ability to act) |
| Social | Social Motivation
Turn Accomplices (social motivation to act) |
Social Ability
Into Friends (social help to aid ability) |
| Structural
(Careful! Just buying things doesn’t fix a habit) |
Structural Motivation
Use Incentives (space motivates action) |
Structural Ability
Control Your Space (use of tools, access, space) |
Here is what it could look like when it comes to physical health:
Slide: The Six Influences (An Example with Exercise)
| Goal: Get Stronger | Motivation | Ability |
| Personal | I want to be strong. | I need to learn how to use the weight machines at the gym. |
| Social | I will invite my best friends to join me. | I will contact my friend who is a personal trainer and ask her for tips. |
| Structural | I will post a picture of the human body with muscles on my mirror. | I will use my health app to track my consistency. |
Slide: The Six Influences (An Example with Nutrition)
| Goal: Eat More Veggies | Motivation | Ability |
| Personal | I don’t eat vegetables because I don’t know how to cook them. | Learn some new cooking techniques. |
| Social | I really enjoy cooking with my sister. | My sister knows a lot about cooking delicious meals with vegetables. |
| Structural | I will follow some YouTube channels of chefs who cook vegetables. | I will lay out the vegetables that I want to use for dinner in the morning. |
Slide: The Six Influences (An Example with Sleep)
| Goal: Improve Sleep | Motivation | Ability |
| Personal | I want to feel energized during the day. | I need to find out how many hours of sleep make me feel my best. |
| Social | I can establish a sleeping schedule with other family members. | I can read some sleeping tips with my family members. |
| Structural | I can buy warm, comfy pajamas that I am excited to wear to bed. | I can set an alarm on my phone to tell me when to go to bed and when to wake up. |
Activity 5: (5 Minutes) VIDEO AND DISCUSSION
Watch the video, “What Happens if You Get 1% Better Every Day?” by James Clear (author of Atomic Habits), describing how tiny changes can make a big difference.
Have a discussion:
Activity 6: (15 Minutes) NUTRITION
Read a couple simple rules that are based on good dietary principles. This should apply to the whole group, no matter what their individual circumstances are. They are found in the USDA’s “Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
When we listen to our bodies and pay attention to how it feels when we fill it with nutritious foods, we can experience the health benefits and be holistically well.
Have a discussion:
Because everyone probably has a different knowledge-base and interest in nutrition, participants will have 15 minutes to explore some resources tailored just to them. Using reputable sources, pick a couple choices to explore and answer (The Lesson Links handout has live links to the following resources):
Have a discussion:
Activity 7: (15 Minutes) EXERCISE
Watch the video, “What happens inside your body when you exercise?” by the British Heart Foundation. (encourage participants to stand/stretch while watching. Read and discuss the following quotes:
Because everyone probably has a different knowledge-base and interest in exercise, participants will have 15 minutes to explore some resources tailored just to them. Using reputable sources, pick a couple choices to explore and answer. (The Lesson Links handout has live links to the following resources):
Have a discussion:
Activity 8: (15 Minutes) PERSONAL MEDICAL HEALTH RESEARCH
Read the definition of health literacy:
“Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions,” according to the Health Resources & Services Administration.
Finding accurate and timely health information is a challenge, especially for educators who have to write sub plans for any time that they take off for medical needs and are often busy writing lesson plans after work. Concerns about health and medicine can be overwhelming and impact mental wellness, so taking the time to discover applicable information could put educators at ease.
Give participants time to explore. Educators should take 15 minutes to explore resources related to their own medical health, or that of a loved one. Explore, then discuss (The Lesson Links handout has live links to the following resources):
Have a discussion:
Activity 9: (5 Minutes) PERSONAL 1% IMPROVEMENT GOALS
There is a lot of information out there about health and wellness. It can be overwhelming, but pick some habits to improve by 1% that resonated for you today. Once you have some goals in mind, fill out the chart on the Improvements & Influences handout to mitigate any potential pitfalls.
Activity 10: (5 Minutes) PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS AROUND OUR SCHOOL
Have a discussion about student populations or members in the local community that don’t have their basic needs met:
