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The 5 Second Rule - is No More!

The 5 Second Rule

I am one of the guilty ones. In my younger adult life, I once dropped an M&M on the floor of a public building and scooped it up and popped it into my mouth all in one fell swoop. My co-workers were aghast.

Today, it’s different. I throw out my socks at the end of the airport security line, and I burn any personal items that may have made their way into anyone’s hospital room – pillows, slippers, even toothbrushes. Actually, I don’t bring anything home from a hospital anymore. I just leave it there. Call me a germ-a-phobe. When my son returned from China in 2014, I even threw out his shoes before he got out of my car.

However, a recent study released by researchers at Rutgers University now calls the 5-Second Rule a myth, and probably supports my paranoia – the rule that says if something is dropped on the floor and picked up immediately, there is little to no threat of contamination.  This is one of those notions that developed over time out of practicality. But in today’s environment, it’s just no longer wise.

The article states: After putting the five-second rule to the test, researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., found contamination with bacteria can occur in less than one second. "The five-second rule is a significant oversimplification of what actually happens when bacteria transfer from a surface to food," said study lead researcher Donald Schaffner, a professor and extension specialist in food science. "Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously."

So, I sent a son off to college this fall with hand sanitizer, vitamins, and extra pillow cases. I reminded him how important hand washing is in preventing illness. I even suggested he spray down the dormitory mattress with anti-bacterial cleaning products prior to making his bed. Think I’m crazy? Maybe I am.

But I do know this … there are a few simple things we can do to promote wellness and protect our own health. And now we know that the 5 Second Rule no longer applies. When you drop it, leave it, or sweep it up and throw it away.

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Getting Ready for Another Great Year of SkyWell Wellness

We are off to a great start this year. SkyWell champions have developed a calendar of events that will meet the needs and priorities of many students and staff. SkyWell Club leaders have also agreed to meet every Monday after school, beginning September 12, to make participation easier and attract more interest. We hope to see you then!

In a great conversation with SJMHS/Ann Arbor, we discussed some exciting possibilities to engage other high schools in wellness, bring medical experts and administrative leaders to participate with our students in the wellness dialog, and tap their vast clinical resources at our Wellness Expo and Career Fair. We look forward to working together.

This year, please join us at these special events:

• Monthly SkyWell Club activities to promote stress management, increase health awareness on a variety of topics, reduce stigmas and stereotypes, and have fun;
• January 2017 – Our 3^rd annual SkyWell Wellness Expo will also feature a health and medical career fair and our annual survey assessment of wellness needs and interests;
• February 2017 – a Million Step Challenge, offering a grand prize to the school whose team achieves one million steps first;
• May 2017 – Our 2^nd annual Walk for Wellness Fundraiser for a charity to be determined.

Welcome Back Students. Have a great year!

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Parks and Wellness

In my work as a wellness consultant, it’s always wonderful to watch how others define wellness for themselves and for those they care about. Important work is going on in our communities related to many dimensions of wellness including investments in trails, parks and recreation infrastructure, and timely wellness policies like bicycle lanes or the new Tobacco 21 initiative in Ann Arbor.

As we celebrate 100 years of the National Park Service, it seems obvious that recreation and the beauty of our national parks also contribute to wellness in a significant way.  Parks are places where people go to connect with others or reflect alone; places that promote activity, clean air and clean water; places where our history as a nation is honored.

I met with the 2016 SkyWell senior leaders this week. They demonstrated their creative energy about how to define wellness for this next school year and I am certain that their ideas will make an impact. As they discussed their priorities, I noticed they touched on much more than just physical wellness topics like nutrition and fitness.  Although those behaviors are key indicators for health issues like obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes, their discussion also focused on the environment, stress and anxiety, and reducing stigmas and stereotypes at school.

Progress toward optimal health is gained from any and all efforts that help us to expand beyond our everyday habits to reach new goals. We all benefit from our nation’s commitment to the US Park Service. We are also beneficiaries of a wellness culture that supports healthy living. Visiting a National Park is one way to achieve the inspiration we all need.

Happy 100^th Birthday to our National Park Service!

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SkyWell 2015-2016 Annual Report

If you would like to read the SkyWell Annual Report for the 2015-2016 school year, please click on the link below. 

SkyWell 2015-2016 Annual Report

The Benefits of Staying Active!

Join Us!

SkyWell Walk for Wellness

May 20 at Skyline

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Regular physical activity is good for everyone’s health, and people of all abilities and body types can be physically active. National Physical Fitness and Sports Month is a great time to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity.

For more information about the SkyWell Walk for Wellness

go to

tinyurl.com/SkywellWalk

Hope to see you there!

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April Showers Bring May Flowers ...

... and the

SkyWell Annual Meeting!

April 27, 12:00-1:30

in the Skyline Auditorium.

See you there!