Milo Academy Academy in Days Creek, Ore., with the help of the people at CREATION Health, held a monthlong water challenge this fall that combined the student body and the teaching staff together. Water tumblers were provided by CREATION Health, and there were prizes given to the student and staff member that consumed the most water during the month.
Even if the students or staff did not win the prize, they were all rewarded with better health through the water challenge. A daily report was sent from the health department encouraging and reminding the student body and staff to stay hydrated. In that reminder were little quotes and fun facts about water and its health benefits, to keep the staff and students encouraged to stay healthy and hydrated.
We also generated a personal report page where participants could indicate how much water was being consumed as well as the health benefits experienced. Many of the reports described how participants experienced their chapped and dry skin becoming more moist without the use of lip balms or lotions. Most reports indicated they just needed to go to the bathroom more often. As health educators we know that this is cleaning out any impurities that might be building up inside as well. By the end of the study some of the students and faculty mentioned they were not needing to go the bathroom as frequently. Their bodies were adapting to the extra water.
Other reports said by drinking water they curbed their desire to eat junk food as often as they had in the past. They also found they were consuming less food on the whole. In time they will find out that they will drop weight if they continue this trend. As of now they have not noticed if they are dropping weight.
The greatest issue that arose through this process was the frequency of needing to go to the bathroom. Many teachers came up to me telling me that most of the class continued to get up during lectures and projects to run to the bathroom. It was also great to see many of the students get good results out of the use of the donated tumblers. They really enjoyed the different colors they had to choose from.
In all we here at Milo experienced a rejuvenation in health and feel that through God’s guidance as well as good choices we can continue to reach new goals in health and wellness. I am looking forward to the reports that come back in the future of how lives were changed due to this challenge.
Milo Academy sophomore Hector Hernandez accepted the water challenge.
Diana Quiroz, Milo Academy senior
Students selected their favorite color insulated tumbler from CREATION Health for the water challenge.
