Healthy Jingles that Changed My Life
Vernon Quarstein, PhD – Winter Park, FL
“The idea for Healthy Jingles dates to back to when I was working on my MBA at William and Mary. At that time I was smoking, and I had tried everything to quit. But what finally worked was a jingle I composed and memorized. Every time I wanted a cigarette that jingle would pop into mind and my brain would say “stop!” After 25 years of smoking, I quit in just 20 days. I also used jingles to lose weight. I found that jingles are very powerful in helping to break bad habits. They become encoded in the brain and influence behavior. But it seemed that no one had taken this concept and related it systematically to health. This was the inspiration for my first book Healthy Jingles for the Mind and Body.
“Several years ago, I become quite concerned about the obesity epidemic in children. So I thought why not take the jingles that I had written for adults and simplify them for kids? That idea has led to series of jingle books for kids, each on a different topic. So far, we’ve finished Healthy Jingles for Kids volumes on Walking and Running, Strength and Flexibility, and Eating and Nourishment. We’ve also set the jingles to music and produced several CDs for kids from 2 to 8.
“Besides improving my own health, the Healthy Jingles idea has introduced me to great people and organizations, including folks at the Disney Corporation. I also love to hear from people who have read the books and have had great results. For instance, one woman in Annapolis set up a makeshift track around her house for her two young boys who had memorized jingles from the Walking and Running book. They are now winning medals and athletic prizes at their school. Because of the jingle idea, I believe I have a mission. With my wife Priscilla, I am speaking to schools, organizations, and parents about how Healthy Jingles can instill good habits in kids with little effort. It’s really making a difference.”
