— by Ashley D. Cox, MA, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapist, LMFT #91052
It’s been one of those nightmare days from start to finish. Not only did you leave your presentation notes at home, but you hit every red light on the way back and now you have to deal with your son’s failing math grade.
Whatever caused your stress, it’s important to talk about it with loved ones instead of keeping your frustrations bottled inside. And what’s a better way to do this than around a dinner table with food? When you eat as a family, you can actually leave the table feeling more than just satiated: you can feel less stressed and tense, too.
Here are five expert-backed reasons you should gather around the table with your family more often.
EATING AS A FAMILY IMPROVES BRAIN STIMULATION.
Licensed marriage and family therapist Ashley Cox of The Center For Enriching Relationships (formerly Lighthouse Psychological Services) explains that sitting down for a meal with your family is great for the brain, body and spirit.
“Several studies have shown that family dinners boost mood, conversation, vocabulary and create positive feelings in children and teenagers,” she tells ENTITY. “Children who eat with the family engage in conversation and will learn more words than their peers that do not have a regular dinner. Scientists have found that children who have regular dinners know six times more words that are rare and show greater school performance. Research has also shown that adolescents are two times more likely to get As when having a family meal five to seven times per week.”
This article was originally posted on Entity Magazine and was reposted with their permission. The original article can be found here.