Welcome to our blog:
The Natural High Essentials

Natural High is all about giving parents and educators the best content and tools to
engage kids so they can lead healthy and thriving lives.

The 10 Core Essentials

These core concepts are what you need to feel prepared to have ongoing conversations about substance use with kids.

natural high single spark
1. Peter Benson and Spark Theory

Kids that find their spark — another word for their Natural High — are far more likely to lead happy, successful lives.

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teens doing different activities
2. Dr. Harvey Milkman and The Iceland Study

A proven way to reduce the number of teenagers engaging in risky, dangerous, and life-altering behaviors with substance use.

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Positivity
3. Aspirational Lifestyle Case Study: South Africa

When you create an aspirational movement driven by influencers and storytellers — young people jump on board.

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social norms
4. Making Healthy Choices Cool – The Social Norms Theory

Studies have shown that when teens realize that not as many of their peers engage in substance use as they thought, then they’re less likely to use them, too.

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teenager peer pressure
5. Understanding Teenage Peer Pressure

The real danger of peer pressure in teenagers is that it happens internally. It’s teens’ desire for acceptance that drives them and can lead to unhealthy choices.

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teen drinking
6. Delayed First-Time Use

The single most important preventive measure: delay a kid’s first drink.

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Vulnerability to substance use
7. 4 Personality Type Risk Factor Series

These personality factors can be highly predictive of who develops problems with alcohol and substance misuse.

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Power of Storytelling
8. The Science Behind The Power of Storytelling

The power of storytelling and how it affects the brain.

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positive influences for teens
9. Why Positive Peer Influence Is So Crucial For Kids

3 ways to help steer kids to positive Influences.

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mother's advice to her teen daughter
10. How to Help Kids Find Their Natural High

Our guide combines Natural High’s Core Essential principles in a free and simple downloadable PDF.

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Through our weekly email series, The Natural High Essentials, we share articles with the most relevant research on drug and alcohol prevention, and we provide effective strategies to engage kids. If you want to get on our mailing list, subscribe here.

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All of our past Natural High Essentials articles can be found below, and we add new content weekly.

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