Brain Breaks - Simple Ways to Break up the Day and Refocus Your Students

With 16 days of school left and testing season underway, our students need breaks in their day, and so do we! Our school days are jam-packed to maximize learning time. We are looking at computer screens at an increasing rate. Students need self-regulation skills and brain breaks are a perfect way to practice these skills. Author Stuart Shanker defines self-regulation as "the ability to manage your own energy states, emotions, behaviors and attention, in ways that are socially acceptable and help achieve positive goals such as maintaining good relationships, learning, and maintaining wellbeing."

What are Brain Breaks?

A brain break is a break from a cognitive load or activity. It's a break from whatever you are currently doing or thinking. Think of it as a mental break. Research shows that students tend to be more focused and productive when returning to work afterward.

Brain breaks can be active, movement breaks or quiet, mindfulness breaks. Many students enjoy an active break between learning blocks and a quiet break after lunch and recess. Experiment with different types of breaks during your day until you find what works best for your class.

Why Should Teachers Use Brain Breaks?

All students benefit from brain breaks. Recent studies have shown that brain breaks:

improve student behavior and their ability to stay on task
increase effort and productivity
enhance comprehension
fights mental fatigue
to help chunk learning
boosts creativity

How do I Implement Brain Breaks?

Set expectations for your students such as:

what does the brain break look like before, during, and after?
space out & find a spot
give others personal space
move your body safely
return to your work spot as soon as your brain break is over
restart your learning

Modeling - participate in brain breaks or model the behavior that you are expecting from your students
Use a timer so that your brain breaks are around 3 minutes
Try, try again - students will most like be reluctant at first because this is new to them. After a few breaks, they will get in the groove and will ask you for breaks.
Not all breaks have to be class breaks - allow students to self-regulate and take breaks as needed by providing them with a space and/or activity like a calming corner.