Brain-Boosting Herbs for Focus & Clarity: Natural Remedies for Your Kids’ Success

Is your kiddo having a tough time focusing at school? You’re not alone!

In this final episode of our 3-part series on herbs for back-to-school support, we’re focusing on brain-boosting herbs that can naturally enhance your child’s focus, memory, and overall clarity. 🌿 Whether your little one is navigating homeschool, public school, or somewhere in between, these herbal remedies can offer the support they need to thrive academically and stay focused.

In case you missed it, we’ve already covered immune health and stress relief in the first two episodes—so be sure to check those out as well! Today, we’re talking about simple yet powerful herbs like Gotu Kola, Rosemary, and Tulsi, and how these brain-loving plants bring circulation and oxygen to the brain, giving it the fuel it needs to stay sharp.

Plus, I’ll share practical tips on weaving these herbs into your daily life—no stress, just natural goodness!

🎧 Tune in to discover how you can help your kids (and yourself) stay focused and calm

If you've been trying to figure out the best remedies to have stocked in your natural medicine cabinet, you are in luck! I've got a free guide for you where I'm sharing the best remedies to have for all the things from colds and flu, to tummy aches, sleeplessness, and daily well-being. You can get it right here!

Do you or your kids find it hard to focus, and you just wish you could get them to stay on task?  If you've ever been there, WishGarden Herbs' Attention Ally may be the perfect thing for your kids, or you too. It's the perfect blend of herbs to calm the nerves and improve focus! You can grab yours right here.

If you're done struggling to keep your kids healthy as cold and flu season comes about, then you are going to LOVE Oregon's Wild Harvest and their Kids Echinacea with Raspberry flavoring. I know my daughter LOVES it, in fact she asks me for it all of the time, even if she's not sick!
Be sure to get yours w/ 15% off here!

Chapters

• 1:44 Herbal Remedies for Improved Focus
• 9:53 Shift Your Lifestyle for Focus
• 18:07 Herbal Remedies for Cognitive Function
• 29:25 Herbal Podcast Disclaimer & Recommendations

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:45

Hello and welcome to the Herbalist Path, a podcast where you'll discover how to make your own herbal remedies at home so that you can take better care of yourself, better care of your family and better care of our planet. I'm Mel. I'm a clinical herbalist, environmental educator and mountain-l living mama with this crazy passion for teaching more mamas and their little loves how to use plants as medicine in a safe, effective and tasty way, so that there can be an herbalist in every home. Again, it's an absolute honor to have you on the journey down the herbalist path with me, so that together we can make herbalism Hashtag spread like wildflowers. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to part three of our three-part series here on the herbalist path, where I'm talking about herbs that can really help support your kids during the school year.

Speaker 1: 2:49

Whether you're a homeschooler, whether you're in public, private unschooling, whatever it may be, we're all susceptible to the germs and bacteria and things that are getting everybody sick. We're all susceptible to feeling stressed and anxious in various parts of life, and today our focus is on herbs that can help improve focus, which is obviously really, really helpful for pretty much everyone, right? So if you haven't tuned in to the other two episodes. Yet you definitely should go ahead and head to the herbalist pathcom slash blog posts and that will take you to our other podcasts in this series. Maybe I haven't taken my focus herbs before recording this whole episode, but definitely head there. And if you don't have there, you can also find it on Spotify or Apple or wherever you are tuning into this podcast at Right Stinking Now. So there's lots of info in those previous episodes all about anxiety and stress and how to support the immune system whether you, when you want to boost the immune system, versus when you just want to strengthen and nourish it all year long and all of those kinds of things so definitely want to tune into those. And today it's all about herbs that are going to help to bring circulation and blood flow up to the brain, which is going to boost your child's memory. Yes, these work for you too, and it's just going to help keep all of those distractions at bay, a little bit at least, right. And then I'll talk about some of my favorite combos of herbs to make great herbal teas with that you can share with your kids and really, really enjoy this and bring these herbs into the body and make it part of your lifestyle right.

Speaker 1: 4:49

So there's a lot of things that we can observe in our children that might be signs that they are having a little trouble and might just need some support with staying focused, and if you really think about it, a lot of these can kind of go across the board. There's so many children dealing with this. In fact, I was on a field trip with my daughter's sixth grade class just yesterday, before recording this, and we were doing an outdoor school thing, which was super fun, by the way, because I don't know if you know, but I went to school for environmental and experiential education and I was a backpacking guide and wilderness therapist and I led a lot of outdoor education tours with young kids way back before I was a mom. So to get to go and do this with my daughter and her friends in the classroom well, it was an outdoor classroom which I feel like gosh, where I live. If I could just send her to outdoor school forever and ever and ever, I would.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Unfortunately, at this age where she lives, that's not really an option where I am and we've kind of gone back and forth with homeschooling and going to public school and, at this point in our lives right now the public school system is better for her and we're just really fortunate that we're in a very small, intimate community and, while there's not a lot of funding at her school, the community of parents and children and teachers that come together to make that school so special and so amazing is really really nice. And, that being said, is really really nice. And, that being said, I'm also just so grateful that at this age she's already got such a solid foundation that sets her apart from a lot of children that maybe didn't get that kind of foundation. And in fact, at outdoor school it was really really cool because I wasn't there for the first two days, it was a three-day thing. But when I got there the instructors were like, are you in here as mom? And I'm like I am. And they were like, oh my gosh, in the foraging class, like she knew everything, she kind of took the class away from me and even started talking about the medicinal properties of the plants and I was like that's my girl. It felt really really good and I had heard it from many of the plants and I was like that's my girl, you know, it felt really really good and I had heard it from many of the instructors. They were just like, wow, okay, and these instructors teach all kinds of schools around Oregon and I think that they're not accustomed to so many of those schools being just filled with mountain kids, like we're a very small, intimate, mountainous community, like the parents that live here live here because we want to play outside all the time.

Speaker 1: 7:30

So about getting easily distracted and how we can support our kids during this time, that's what I was chatting about with the teachers and the other parents that were chaperones we were just talking about. You know how much of a dramatic difference behavioral problems and ability to focus and all of these things are so much more prevalent right now, post 2020. And really ever since, things like iPhones and iPads and smartphones, whatever you want to call them, whatever brand you've got have really taken away our ability to stay focused, brand you've got, have really taken away our ability to stay focused, like, why can't these kids remain in tune with what's going on in the class? Well, because we're so used to that 10, 15 minute spurt of attention with reels and shorts and things like that all throughout. It's no wonder, right?

Speaker 1: 8:22

So you might see that your kid is easily distracted, or yourself you might see that they're really, really forgetful. Like you might see that your kid is easily distracted, or yourself you might see that they're really, really forgetful. Like you can tell them one thing and like 10 minutes later they haven't done it and they're like I forgot. And you're like how did you forget? Like I literally just said it and still they do this Right. Or maybe they're losing stuff all the time, like you're like where did your pencils go? I don't know, I can't find them. Why can't you find them? We have one space for them to go. That's just where they should go, right? Or they can't pay attention for long. They've got that really really short attention span. Or to be able to follow instructions, they really really struggle to listen right. They really really struggle to listen right. So there's a lot of contributing factors.

Speaker 1: 9:14

I already talked about how the screen time and the TVs and all of that stuff like it's really designed to keep our brains not able to stay focused and have attention. And then in the other episodes I talked a lot about how lifestyle plays a huge role in each of the immune and the stress. And now the gut brain connection comes up again here in the talking about herbs, about boosting the brain. So the gut health of your child and yourself plays a huge, huge, huge role in all of these things. So our dietary and lifestyle habits make an incredible impact on the way that your brain's going to function and the way that your child's brain's going to function.

Speaker 1: 9:53

So the things we need to think about are avoiding all of those heavily processed foods, the big fancy boxes of cereal and whatnot that are marketed oh so well to our children, that are loaded with dyes and artificial additives and tons and tons of sugar. We got to find a way to kick those to the curb and I know it's easier said than done. Right, we're a society built on convenience. We are a society built with a food system designed to keep us sick, designed to keep our children sick, designed to make everybody sick, so that the food system then feeds into the medical system, and it's really really gross. It's a really really gross system, and we also have made ourselves so busy that we can't cook wholesome food because it takes so much time, right? So this becomes a really great challenge, and pick one thing at a time.

Speaker 1: 10:43

I'm going to be talking a lot about things that can shift, and there's no way you can expect yourself to shift everything right away. Just know that mama you are, you are doing your best. I get that. You are definitely doing your best. So take what seems like it can be something that you might be able to approach and bring it into your family's lifestyle on a step-by-step basis and then go to the next thing and then go to the next thing. So other things that you can do. You can increase your omega-3 fats. So get more salmon and avocados and high-quality olive oils, things along those lines. Increase your probiotics, whether taking them in a capsule form or pill or eating them in your fermented foods. That's really a great way to go. A couple of bites of fermented foods each day. Or these days you can get your yogurts loaded with probiotics or cottage cheese, things along those lines and just make sure that they're getting all of their essential vitamins, so the B-complex vitamins, the A, c, all of those. So if you can find a good quality multivitamin which maybe I'll link to a couple here in the show notes, definitely, definitely do that.

Speaker 1: 11:54

And then pay attention to what kinds of allergens and food sensitivities might be contributing to a lack of focus, and this really ties into that gut-brain connection. A lot of times we are and seeing things that are telling us that, oh, the body doesn't like that, but we learn to ignore it and just keep going with it, and so the body adapts to it, but really, really, it doesn what's coming? Definitely try to limit that screen time and help them get outside to play. Play outside all day, every day, as you might imagine in the beginning of this podcast episode. Yes, I am definitely a huge advocate for that. Make sure they're getting regular exercise, whether it's yoga or they're in some type of martial arts, or maybe they're in a sport or they just like to run. Let them go run outside, help them get rid of that excess energy and things along those lines, and start their days off with lots and lots of protein in their breakfast. This is going to sustain their energy throughout the day so that they can focus better. So, yes, we can use things like eggs or high quality yogurt with some good granola and blueberries. Really been jamming on that simple breakfast lately myself. You know what else can we do? That's high protein. There's so many things. You can give them smoothies and add in some hemp seeds and other high protein additives as well.

Speaker 1: 16:27

So just setting the stage for some lifestyle shifts you may want to consider Again. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to implement them all. Just take it easy and choose what seems approachable for you and your family now. This is a lifestyle that should stick with you forever. So you know, if you've been on this earth for 35 years and you're like, oh time to shift my lifestyle and you try and do it all, then you're going to have a really hard time.

Speaker 1: 16:54

So when you choose to do different shifts in your lifestyle and also bring on herbs to really help and support brain function and the ability to stay focused and clear throughout the day, throughout school, throughout work for you, and these herbs have such a better chance of truly, truly helping you. So one of the first herbs that I absolutely love and I take on a very regular basis is go to cola or centella asiatica. And go to cola is fantastic because it brings blood flow up to the brain. So that's going to nourish the nerves and your brain cells, increasing oxygen to the brain and reduce oxidative stress. It's pretty amazing what it does. And then it brings about greater clarity, more alertness, it helps with concentration and memory and it's a neuroprotector, so it's actually protecting the brain and helping it stay strong, healthy and ready to do what it needs to do for all of us.

Speaker 1: 18:07

I will say with Gotu Kola, if you're using it too much, you might notice somebody gets a little bit dizzy or may have a headache or something along those lines. It's also something you may want to avoid taking later at night, because for some people it can be like a bit too stimulating, so it can cause a bit of insomnia. So pay attention to those things and, like with every herb, you want to start with a very small dose and increase the dosage as you see fit, making sure that it's a good match for you or your child or what have you. So pay close, close, close attention to these kinds of things when you decide to bring on a new herb into your body or your child's body. And in fact I'm about to be teaching a class that is all about the essential safety tips for herbalism that moms really need to know so you can really start to do these natural remedies without worrying so much. I'm going to pop a link in the show notes to that class if you want to join. I would love, love, love to have you there and really set you on a solid foundation to being like okay, I understand these safety boundaries and we do talk about dosage in there, so dosage is really important. It can be the difference between harming your child and actually doing them a lot more good. Right, and obviously, when we're turning to herbs, it's because we want to do good.

Speaker 1: 19:42

So, speaking about herbs, another one that I love that you probably already have right in your kitchen cabinet, like just hanging out there waiting to be used by you, is rosemary. Yeah, the same culinary rosemary that you might cook with rosmarinus officinalis, and this stuff is loaded with antioxidants. It's an anti-inflammatory and a neuroprotective. It's really, really impressive. It's got rosmarinic acid in there, which has been shown to improve memory, to improve cognitive function and to even boost the mood. How great is that. It's also another one that's going to bring blood flow and oxygen up to the brain.

Speaker 1: 20:30

So for your children that struggle with focus, this can work absolute wonders. It can increase their memory. You can just get a little bit a sprig of rosemary and put it behind their ear. Have them smell it. A lot of this comes out in the volatile oils of rosemary, so the essential oil of rosemary can go a long way. Of course you would want to dilute that to avoid harming your child in any way, shape or form. Dilute it heavily. I'm not going to dive into how much to dilute essential oils right now, because that's not what we're here for. We're going to talk about rosemary. You can also drink this in a tea, and so can your kid. Again, it's loaded with all those antioxidants, so that's going to protect the brain cells from oxidative damage, which is going to promote long-term brain health. So, yes, mama, drink the rosemary tea for sure, and allow rosemary to be more a part of your life, to increase your memory, increase your focus and overall cognitive function for you, for your child.

Speaker 1: 21:40

It's also shown to be really helpful for those that have Alzheimer's or dementia and to help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia. So definitely something you want to have on hand. It's going to boost the mood. It's really beneficial for those that are dealing with ADHD. It's great for those that might have headaches that are due to poor circulation into the brain, because it is bringing that blood flow up to the brain and it's pretty darn tasty. I really like to have it with some. And it's pretty darn tasty. I really like to have it with some mint and that peppermint and rosemary together I absolutely love.

Speaker 1: 22:15

And then I'll add in this next herb which I've talked about, I think, in the other two episodes I can't remember right now because maybe I'm not taking my brain herbs, but I'm pretty sure I did mention Tulsi in both of the other episodes because it's fantastic as an immunomodulator and to support the respiratory tracts during cold and flu season. It's amazing for stress relief and calming and soothing the nerves and it promotes focus, clarity and again boosts the mood. So if you have a child who has very low energy and just the inability to focus, tulsi can be a superhero. It's also just really, really tasty, so it can be very, very easy to get kiddos to take. So the way it does it is, it also brings circulation up to the brain, bringing about that oxygen and all the nutrients that the brain cells need, which in turn is going to increase the memory, increase the focus and help your children stay alert during school. It's really, really fantastic.

Speaker 1: 23:21

And it happens to be an adaptogenic herb. So our adaptogenic herbs help your body to adapt to life's various stressors, whether they are mental or they are physical or they are emotional. These adaptogenic herbs are absolute powerhouses, even if I can't speak about them properly. They are the jam and you should have more on board. And Tulsi is a fabulous one for most children, of course, again, with herbs, no one herb I talk about on this podcast is guaranteed to be good for you or your child.

Speaker 1: 24:03

You do need to do your research. You do need to do some testing to make sure that it is a safe herb for your child, because they're going to act differently all across the board. Yes, some are what's called grass or generally regarded as safe for so many, and that's primarily what I'm going to talk about on this podcast. And still with that, there can be, you know, medications that you might be on or health issues or other things happening that you really need to take into consideration. And if those are a big concern for you, definitely join me in the herbal safety essential skills that moms really need to know. It's a class I'm doing to just kind of take the worry of natural remedies away from you, so you are thinking very wisely when it comes to using your herbs and natural remedies.

Speaker 1: 24:50

And then other exciting news coming down the pipeline In October we are launching Naturally Healed it's kids safe herbal remedies and it is a whole program that's going to line it out for you in the most simplified form so you know exactly what to do when your kid can't poo or when they've got runny poo or they are dealing with anxiety or they are dealing with colic or various first aid conditions. Basically, everything that a mom needs to know to be able to heal her family naturally is coming out in that course, which launches early October 2024. I am so darn thrilled about it and I know that you are going to be loving it too. There are a ton of recipes in there that I have been making over the years of being a mother and an apothecary owner and an herbal product formula. They formulator, they're delicious formulas, they're effective formulas and you are going to have the know-how to choose herbs in the right way for you and your entire crew. So that's coming in October Naturally Healed KidSafe Herbal Remedies a program just for you. I am jazzed about it. If you would like to make sure when you're approaching using herbal remedies when it comes to dosage, allergies, how to identify things and make sure that you're doing this in a safe way and it becomes just a natural mode for you, join me in my upcoming class all about herbal safety skills that moms really need to know, and we'll have a good time talking about all the things you really need to take into consideration when it comes to using herbal remedies in a safe and effective way. Okay, so that's it for this three-part series. I really hope that you learned a lot. So, again, this series was all about herbs that we can choose to use to really support our children throughout the school year. You know, when colds and flus start coming around and hitting everybody, when kids are dealing with anxiety because school and life are hard right and they're not used to this hard, or they don't like that, they're doing active shooter drills. I don't like that either. Or you know, thinking about you and big stressful election seasons, things along those lines. And then, of course, today we talked about herbs to boost brain function and memory and clarity and all that jazz. So let me know if you liked these episodes, if they were helpful for you.

Speaker 1: 27:25

Oh, I forgot, I was going to tell you a great tea blend that I love to do for everyday happiness. So what I would put together is two parts of Tulsi, one part of nettles, half a part rosemary, half a part peppermint, half a part red clover blossoms, and I would also add in some. Did I say peppermint already? Goodness gracious, I think that I did. I would also add in some oat straw for even more nourishment to that blend. You could add a little bit of fennel or a little bit of anise seed not star anise, but anise seed, pimpanilla anisum for some sweetness to the blend, if that's what you want to do. You could add in a little hawthorn, if you wanted to support the heart even more so, oh, and add in some go-to cola to that blend. Just about half a part there. All right, I hope you got that. I didn't have it written down, I just pulled that out of my brain as I said it. So if you have any questions, definitely reach out and I will let you know that formula in a more clarified way.

Speaker 1: 28:35

Okay, thank you so much for tuning in to this episode and if it's helpful, please, please, please, share it with your friends that need to know this stuff and, pretty, pretty please, leave me a review where you are listening to podcasts these days, so that other people can find this show as well and so that we can make herbalism spread like wildflowers. So grateful that you stay tuned to this whole episode. Have a great day. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of the Herbalist Path. Being on this journey with you is absolutely incredible. If you dig this episode, please leave me a review on your favorite podcast player and share it with your friends so that together, we can make herbalism hashtag spread like wildflowers.

Speaker 1: 29:25

On another note, I must mention that, while I know you're getting some good info here, it's important to remember that this podcast is purely for entertainment and educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. While the information in this podcast is absolutely relevant, herbs work differently for each person and each condition. That's why I recommend you work with a qualified practitioner, whether that be another herbalist, a naturopath or your doctor. So thank you again. I am truly honored that you're tuning into these episodes and on the path with me to make sure that there's an herbalist in every home. Again, don't forget to share this episode with your friends so that we can make herbalism Hashtag spread like wildflowers.