The View

Positive Education

Lynda Hudson

Brain Breaks

How long can you sit and focus on a task? Can you go 50 minutes or 100 minutes and honestly say you have used your time well? Do you find yourself searching for other things to do, because they might entertain you more? Have you already stopped reading this article and started thinking about what’s for dinner?

 

What if we could tell you that all you have to do is have a brain break and then you will feel more enthused about the job at hand. It’s human nature to be distracted, but what if there were ways you could fuel your brain so that you could maximise your opportunities?

 

Brain breaks are often used in classes as a way to increase engagement and cognitive functioning. They assist students in enhancing focus, mood and learning. As well as providing students with opportunities to develop creativity and social skills. Depending on the particular activity they can also increase oxygen in the bloodstream which also helps with their concentration. Brain breaks are activities that should be planned to bring back the emotional state needed to return the amygdala from overdrive into the optimal state for successful information flow. 

 

A great resource to read on the benefits of brain breaks is this one by the Institute of Positive Education. They have been active in researching and developing ways to implement beneficial brain breaks into their daily routines. 

 

Here are a couple of my personal favourites that I use with my students: 

  • Thumb pointing Challenge
    • Clench your left fist and give a 'thumbs up' sign. With your right hand, keep your thumb tucked in and point your pointer finger directly at the raised thumb on the left hand.
    • Then switch positions, with the left pointer finger pointing at the right hand’s raised thumb. Swap between these two positions and try to improve your speed and coordination.
  • One, Two, Three Three- Aghh!
    • Students can either stand with their eyes open or closed, with the teacher calling out ‘one’. Another student must then call out ‘two’ and so on in numerical order until all students have called out a number.
    • If two students call out the same number at the same time, the count resets and the game begins again. 

Now over to you, what will you plan as your brain break activity for yourself to decrease your stress and increase your productivity for the day?