Hey, Sleepyheads!

You know the phrase, ‘You Snooze; You Lose’? Well, you know what you’re more likely to lose if you AREN’T snoozing?—a good night’s sleep! Obviously, not getting a sufficient night of sleep can be extremely detrimental to your ability to function the next day. In honor of today—the Festival of Sleep—let’s sharpen our understanding of the many ways sleep helps us out.

Here are five different things a night of good sleep can do for us:

Helps You Remember
Give your memory a boost with some good sleep! Be sure to study before your big test the next day, but—just as important—be sure to get a full night of rest too! Whatever it is you’re studying for, you’ll be able to remember it better after you get a good night’s sleep!

Improves Athleticism
Sleep is proven to improve average sprint time, increase stamina, and decrease fatigue throughout the day. A Stanford University study on their football players saw that those who slept at least 10 hours a night for seven to eight weeks resulted in athletic improvements.

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Helps Your Body Lose Weight
Another study was done on people who were dieting. Half of the group was well rested and the other half was sleep deprived. They lost similar amounts of weight no matter how they slept, but those who were better rested lost fat while the others just lost muscle mass.

Helps You Avoid Feelin’ Blue
People tend to be irritable the day after a bad night of sleep. When night after night of poor sleep compounds and accumulates, it can definitely contribute to an unhealthy mind. Poor sleep habits can certainly contribute to depression. Stay emotionally stable with long nights of solid sleep.

Makes You a Better Driver
It was reported in 2009 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that sleepy drivers made up the vast majority of fatal car crashes. Getting enough sleep makes you a more alert and reactive driver.

Be sure to hit the snooze when you need some extra sleep and enjoy a good nap today in celebration of the Festival of Sleep. As always, thanks…for…*yawn*…reading.

- John

Hey, New Year Lads and Lasses!

New Years Eve Day is upon us and everyone is getting ready to ring in the new year! At 12 o’ clock tonight, we shake the dust of 2015 off our shoes and celebrate the arrival of 2016! At first glance, there isn’t much to explain about the New Years Eve tradition—stay up until midnight and countdown the hours, minutes, and seconds to the beginning of the coming year.

One might not expect such straightforward traditions to have changed much throughout the last 4000 years, however, that’s quite a long time to keep a tradition going exactly the same way that it had started. Things were bound to change a little, right?

Well, yes and no. See, the tradition of staying up until midnight has always been the New Years tradition. So if the tradition didn’t change, what did?

The date.

What?!! How can that be? How does the date of the new year get changed? Well, it’s not so much that the new year changed days as much as it was that people started using different calendars (and even making up their own). For instance, the ancient Babylonians used to celebrate their New Year’s Day late in March around the vernal equinox.

Originally, the Roman calendar only had 10 months and consisted of slightly over 300 days. But in the year 46 B.C., when Julius Caeser first introduced his Julian calendar (which most resembles the Gregorian calendar that we all know and love these days), he had to add 90 extra days just to make it all work!

But no matter whether people based their calendars off of earthly matters or the motion and arrangement of heavenly bodies, the important thing is that we continue to celebrate the passing of the old year and the coming of the new one with warm hearts and the company of those we love.

From Everything Summer Camp—Happy New Year’s, Everybody! And as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Campers!

Who went to summer camp at Herzl Camp in the summer of 1957 and was discovered sitting on top of a cabin roof strumming his guitar? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, but you can also find it right here on today’s Everything Summer Camp Blog post. It was Bob Dylan who made his way up there nearly 60 years ago at Herzl Camp.

Herzl Camp welcomes their campers to 120 acres in Webster, Wisconsin on the shores of Devils Lake. Just two hours north of the Twin Cities, this beautiful land is where Bob Dylan took his first steps towards independence. But he wasn’t called Bob Dylan back then.

He was born Robert Allen Zimmerman, but just because he wasn’t always known as Bob Dylan doesn’t mean that he wasn’t interested in music from an early age (as the image of him playing guitar on a Herzl cabin rooftop). He listened to a lot of radio when he was little, gathering an eclectic taste for blues, country, and rock and roll.

He formed a few bands in high school and, during a talent show performance of Danny & the Junior’s ‘Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay’ at Hibbing High School, he and the band played so loud the principal cut the microphone in the middle of the song!

It must have been pretty loud!

He moved to Minneapolis after his high school graduation and enrolled at the University of Minnesota. Though he had been very drawn to rock and roll in his teen years, his college days introduced him to American folk and he began writing his own folk songs that offered more depth and dimension than most songs of the time were able to convey.

He started performing at a coffeehouse nearby campus called the Ten O’Clock Scholar. It was a popular place for college students to hang out and it quickly proved to be the perfect venue. His popularity expanded fast. Always wanting to travel, he went to New York City where his popularity grew even more as he appeared in clubs and discovered a network of other folk singers.

Not always appreciated for his voice which is commonly considered “scratchy” and “raw”—Bob Dylan himself would begin his shows by excusing himself for his voice. However, his highly influential, innovative songwriting brought fame and success to the young star and his music is still celebrated today. Unlike most of the pop music you’ll hear on the radio today, Bob Dylan wrote extremely honest music.

Bob Dylan explored and discovered the work he was capable of contributing to the world. With roots in summer camp, what will you be capable of? And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

With so many great summer camps to highlight, I’m talking about them year-round, even in the dead of winter! Everything Summer Camp has enjoyed the relationship we’ve grown with Alpine Camp for Boys just as all their campers grow to appreciate and enjoy the relationship they form with Alpine. Let me tell you about this great camp.

In operation since 1959, Alpine Camp sits high on top of Lookout Mountain in Mentone, Alabama. Boys will be boys. They’re encouraged to be at Camp Alpine where campers are given the opportunity to go on adventures and explore the massive rocks, rushing waterfalls, and deep woods that abound on the campgrounds.

Alpine Camp for Boys is a Christian summer camp first and foremost. This is a place where campers are encouraged to seek out not just their own personal growth, but their own, personal connection with God too.

And all the activities at Alpine Camp are geared to help their campers achieve these goals. More than just beautiful land, the amazing staff members at Alpine Camp are the best of the best. They’re involved with daily activities like Ropes Courses, Music and Art, Horseback Riding, Tennis, Watersports, Mountain Biking, Archery and Riflery, Fly Fishing, Wilderness Camping, Lacrosse, Golf, and so much more!

And where there are awesome activities, you can always find equally awesome facilities. The screened-in, open air cabins at Alpine can accommodate up to 10 campers. Each cabin shares central bath houses that provide showers, toilets, and sinks. Summers are jam-packed with fun in their open air gym, athletic field, tennis courts, and sand volleyball courts.

For a wonderful sense of comradery, maturation, and closer spiritual connection, Alpine Camp for Boys is a great place to make it all happen! Look into it for your camper and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Jolly Holidayers!

Christmastime is here. And with the season comes a wish of warmth and togetherness— time spent in the company of those we love. Though the days are short and dark and the nights aren’t fit for man nor beast, we brighten up the holidays with our laughter and light hearts. It’s easier to fill the days with cheer when we’re with our families and close friends.

I’ll be traveling to Milwaukee this weekend for my extended family Christmas get-together. My immediate family and I already celebrated our gathering, so this weekend is dedicated to seeing my cousins, aunts, and uncles. That’s why I’m taking the next few days off.

Every family has their own holiday traditions and, while any tradition is liable to change from time to time, some never will. It had always been my family’s holiday tradition to gather all cousins, aunts, and uncles at my grandfather’s house for general visitation, dinner, and a gift exchange that always resulted in a pretty wicked wrapping paper fight. We created lifelong memories in that house and so many great times.

But times have changed now. We’re unable to gather at my grandfather’s house anymore, but we still get together to make Christmas special. We all tend to get pretty into the holiday spirit, so there’s sure to be lots of food, festivities, and laughs! What’s most important, however, is that we all stop our busy lives for at least this one day and we celebrate with the people we love.

From everyone here at Everything Summer Camp, here’s wishing you nothing but the warmest wishes for you and your families’ holiday traditions. Enjoy this merry season and be sure to make it bright. As always, thanks for reading. I’ll be back next Monday with a brand new camp spotlight!

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- John