Stress Relief & Mindfulness Blog

Girl Scouts River Valley Host Change to Chill Overnight

Once again, Allina Health is proud to partner with Girl Scouts River Valley. This year, in addition to Health Powered Kids patches that can be earned, Girl Scouts can attend the first ever Change to Chill overnight and earn a Change to Chill patch!

[Girl Scouts – Friday, August 18^th, 2017] Everyone gets stressed – but you can learn simple tips and tricks to get perspective on things that matter. Start your school year off right with Girl Scouts River Valleys and Change to Chill by Allina Health! Learn stress-busting techniques, practice chilling out with mandalas and art journaling, and chill with your friends at this super fun overnight event! Get your adrenaline rush on the high ropes and rock climbing, then wind-down with some yoga before bed.

Girls will earn the Allina Health Change to Chill patch. Dinner and breakfast included.

To learn more about patches that can be earned through Health Powered Kids, click here.

Shakopee High students help peers cope with stress

Shakopee Valley News [January 28, 2017] – During homeroom, Jennie Diep-Nguyen, 16, said she would normally be on her phone or catching up on homework. Either way, she would be stressed.

Instead, Diep-Nguyen spent a recent Friday homeroom before lunch laughing with two friends and pouring gold glitter into a small bottle of water.

It was the week before holiday break, so they had just finished end-of-the-year tests.

“It’s a good opportunity to get away from all of it,” Diep-Nguyen said.

The three Shakopee High School juniors were making “calming jars” they could shake when stressed out. While the glitter settles they are suppose to work on calming breathing techniques.

This was just one of five sessions about de-stressing seniors Betsy Berens, Sarah Gentrup, Makenzie Johnson and Mikayla Thompson organized in the fall as part of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program.

“We got to pick from different options and I just felt like we all connected most with what Change to Chill had to offer with stress management,” Berens said.

Click here to continue reading.

Allina Health wins Minnesota Business Magazines’ Leaders in Health Care Award for Community Outreach

MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 28, 2016) — Allina Health was honored with Minnesota Business Magazine’s Leaders in Health Care Award for Community Outreach for its Change to Chill™ program at an awards banquet on Thursday, October 27. Allina Health created Change to Chill (changetochill.org) in response to the mental health crisis among teens, as revealed in a recent community health needs assessment.

“Allina Health is leading the way by providing teens the tools they need to stress less and care for their mental well-being,” The Minnesota Business Magazine noted. “Change to Chill is a free, online resource that provides stress reduction skills, life balance techniques, mindfulness, resiliency, deep-breathing activities and health education resources for teens.”

Click here to continue reading and view all winners and finalists for the 2016 Leader in Health Care Awards.

Change to Chill teaches ways to reduce stress

Middle school and high school students from the Centennial School District and other Twin Cities districts gathered at Centennial Middle School to learn Change to Chill techniques that teachers can incorporate into their classes. Videos were taken this day and will soon be added to the Change to Chill website.

[Quad News, Sept. 13, 2016] With school back in session, many middle school and high school students stress levels are quickly on the rise as they try to balance academics, friends and family, sports and other after-school activities.

The Allina Health Change to Chill program, a free online program, aims to help teens (and adults alike) to manage their stress in a healthy way. Every three years, Allina Health completes a community needs assessment to determine what issue is the top area of concern. The most recent survey found that the top area of concern was mental health.

“There was a real gap for any resources for teenagers on mental health and mental well-being. It (Change to Chill) is designed to be a prevention-based program to work on mindfulness, resiliency, guided imagery, meditation, yoga …” said Allina Health’s Manager of Health Improvement Susan Nygaard. “Teens can learn how stress is physiologically impacting their bodies, and they can learn strategies and techniques that they are able to apply when they are under stress.” Click to continue reading.

Teen stress levels addressed with new initiative

CIRCLE PINES — Centennial High School is launching an initiative next year designed to help their students cope with stress. The program is titled L.E.A.P.: Lunch, Energize, Achieve and Participate.

The program will increase the daily 20 minutes students are allowed for lunch to an hour and allow students to eat their lunch in different areas throughout the school — including the band room — and connect with teachers. It will also give students the opportunity to participate in different programs and clubs that promote stress relief.

Click to read full article.

‘Chiller Challenge’ reminds Andover students to stress less

Andover High School students and others across the state of Minnesota are taking the “Chiller Challenge” to de-stress.

The challenge, launched by Allina Health last year, aims to help adolescents find balance in their lives, according to Karen Manikowski, project manager with Allina.

“Teens are really stressed,” Manikowski said. “There’s a lot going on.”

With pressures at home, school, online and more, kids’ bodies cope by releasing chemicals that keep them alert short term, but in the long term they can stir up problems like body aches, difficulty sleeping or falling asleep, headache, upset stomach and more, according to Allina’s Change to Chill online resource. Click to read more.

Change to Chill inspires Andover High tech students

[CTN News, March 11, 2016] Today’s teenagers are feeling stressed out. That according to a 2014 nationwide survey, which said more than 25 percent of teens experienced extreme stress. But there is hope for those looking to stress less. Allina Health has created Change to Chill and a contest for students, the Chiller Challenge, a statewide initiative with high schools to help their students find healthy ways to deal with stress.

Fox 9 morning news: Health Powered Kids and Change to Chill

[KMSP Fox 9, Oct. 8, 2015] No parent wants to see their child stressed out, or to be stressed out themselves. Stress makes family life challenging for everyone. It’s impossible to shelter our families from all stress, though. Some stress is normal and unavoidable. Now, Allina Health has online tools to help kids, teens, parents and educators deal with that stress.

Susan Nygaard, manager of the Allina Health Community Health Improvement program talked with Fox 9’s morning news team about two web sites, Health Powered Kids and Change to Chill to help kids of all ages, and even adults. Click here to watch the segment.

MinnPost: Allina Health’s new Change to Chill website created to help teens deal with stress

ChangeToChill640 On Change to Chill, a new online resource for teens created by Minneapolis-based Allina Health, young people can learn how to meditate, practice guided imagery or live a more balanced life.

The site, launched this month, was inspired by findings of Allina’s tri-annual Community Health Needs Assessment, a federally mandated study designed to assess and address pressing community health needs.

“Every three years, as part of a required process to maintain our tax-exempt status, we survey community members about health problems that they are seeing and issues they are concerned about,” explained Susan Nygaard, RN, Allina Health’s manager of community health improvement. “We study our survey findings and look at state and local data to determine the top issues we need to focus on.”

In Allina’s latest assessment, mental health and obesity were seen as the most pressing health concerns in the state. The mental health of teenagers, as highlighted by a 2014 American Psychological Association report finding that American teens report stress at equal or higher levels to adults, was of particular concern, Nygaard said; Change to Chill is one of Allina’s responses to this issue.

Click to read full article.

Girl Scouts River Valley Host Change to Chill Overnight

Shakopee High students help peers cope with stress

Allina Health wins Minnesota Business Magazines’ Leaders in Health Care Award for Community Outreach

Change to Chill teaches ways to reduce stress

Teen stress levels addressed with new initiative

‘Chiller Challenge’ reminds Andover students to stress less

Change to Chill inspires Andover High tech students

Fox 9 morning news: Health Powered Kids and Change to Chill

MinnPost: Allina Health’s new Change to Chill website created to help teens deal with stress

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