Why giving your brain a break improves learning
“Man, I could really use a break!”
We’ve all said it. We’ve all meant it. What you might not know is that we all really do need a break. And it has never been more true than right now as we’re all adapting to the rigours and challenges posed by COVID-19. But what kind of a break?
A brain break.
Whether you’re 8 or 68, brain breaks are a great way to refresh our minds. What is a brain break? It is a short mental break that helps us refocus so we can return to our task feeling centered and ready to proceed.
We’ve incorporated these refreshing mental pauses into our daily programmes at Walden and it’s something to introduce with your home-learning programmes too. We’ve learned that brain breaks help children (and adults) re-energize their brains and bring their attention back in a more focused fashion. And, when we’re more focused we all are more capable of learning. Research suggests that many students can focus for a length of time that equals their age plus two minutes. So, for that 8-year old we’re looking at a highly focused attentional awareness for approximately 10 minutes. You can well imagine that after that time…which seems long when you’re little…it’s pretty easy to start you brain wandering.
That’s when the time is right for a brain break which usually take about two minutes. Typically the break is something physical that can be done right at their desk.
However, it’s also a great idea sometimes to make the break a little longer, get up and move around. These breaks can take a maximum of 2 minutes and suffice to help a student refocus. Typically the break is something physical that can be done right at their workspace..
For example, if a student has just completed a math lesson on counting, we might ask them to count the steps it takes them to get to the family room.
By combining physical activity with mental exercise we actually get increased oxygen to our brains and you just know that’s got to help!
If you’d like a few examples and some more thoughts on the benefit of brain breaks this article on Edutopia has some great information.
This approach leads also to the issue of focused learning and the practice of mindfulness meditation in schools. I wrote a little bit about this in a previous post and in an upcoming post we’ll explore this in more detail.
Growing numbers of teachers, parents, and children are reaping the benefits that learning mindfulness—defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”—can bring, including reduced levels of stress and anxiety, increased focus and self-regulation, and improved academic performance and sleep, among others.*
We know that by combining physical activity, brain breaks, focused learning, wellness and mindfulness we’re introducing principles and programmes that contribute considerably to our commitment to make good people.
So the next time you feel like you need a break…do it! You’ll come back even stronger and you probably will create even better outcomes.
Now, I’m going for a break. Talk to you next week!