Sleep is your body’s way of restoring itself. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most Americans need at least seven hours of sleep a night.

A farmer driving a tractor over rolling fields of crops ready to harvest is often the idyllic image associated with farm life. In reality, the life of a farmer is often wrought with worry and financial stress due to a variety of factors from crop disease and destructive insects to violent storms, drought, and damaging floods. All of these factors and more contribute to the sobering fact that the suicide rate among farmers is the third highest of any vocational group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rural Americans, especially those working in agriculture, need more support to help with stressors, and for the treatment of mental illness, addiction and the prevention of suicide, according to Anna M. Scheyett, dean of the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work. Scheyett will join other experts from across the country Dec. 10 and 11 in the Crowne Plaza Atlanta-Airport for a conference titled “Rural Stress: Promising Practices and Future Directions.”

The challenges facing rural America today are diverse, and the answers to rural issues won’t come from a single expert or institution.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension focuses on improving the quality of life and health of Georgia residents. Georgia Extension agents and specialists develop programs that help families to engage in physical activity, decrease obesity, live with cancer and diabetes, prepare meals safely, and eat healthily while stretching their food dollars.

Georgia 4-H focuses on teaching kids about their heads, hearts, health and hands. When 4-H clubs started offering Yoga for Kids three years ago, the program was a perfect fit.

Summer break is almost over. That’s right — no more late nights, naps during the day and, my favorite, living without a schedule. While I hate to remind you that our time will no longer be our own, I hope to make it easier for parents, as well as teachers, to return to their respective routines, which includes getting children back to school. As parents, we are instrumental in our children’s educational success. There are some things we can do to prepare little ones for success in the classroom.

It’s cold outside, and it’s much easier this time of year to sit inside on a frigid, blustery day and read a book under a blanket while sipping a mug of tea. It’s often difficult for us to find the motivation we had on Jan. 1 to exercise and get fit.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s Walk Georgia program will host its fifth annual Walk Georgia Night with the Hawks on Saturday, Feb. 20.