What are brain breaks and why are they important for students?
Realms of research on the science of learning suggests long hours of study without break doesn’t benefit students in the long run. Instead, short and focussed time slots, followed by regular intervals induce effective learning. This is where brain breaks come into play.
What are brain breaks?
In simple terms, brain breaks are short intervals that are recommended by child psychologists to be implemented in between academic or other strenuous mental work. They are designed to enhance focus, retention and overall learning and engagement. They act as a complementary to physical breaks, that are aimed at recharging the mind instead of the body.
Importance of brain breaks for youngsters
Brain breaks are proven ways to improve learning efficiency. There is a limit of processing information after which most youngsters need to recharge their mind. Experts suggest that a downtime after 45 minutes of continuous psychological activities is important to restore sufficient blood and oxygen flow to the brain. The best way to allot brain breaks is by offering them time-outs as soon as their attention span goes beyond twice their age. So, if a child is 15 years old, it’s best to give them a brain break after 30 minutes of brain function. The goal is to allow enough time to recharge, but not so much that will derail them. This can only be achieved by adhering to well-drawn schedules. The benefits of brain breaks include improved cognitive abilities, efficient learning, sound mental health, and reduction of stress and anxiety.
Types of brain breaks
There are predominantly five kinds of brain breaks, namely: Outdoor, indoor, gaming, calming and virtual. Here’s a closer look at each of them.
Outdoor brain breaks: As the name suggests, outdoor brain breaks are brain rebooting activities that are done outdoors. Popular examples include nature walks and jogging.
Indoor brain breaks: Indoor brain breaks are activities that can be done inside the four walls of the house and can instantly boost cognitive functions of youngsters. Baking and solving puzzles can be good ideas.
Gaming brain breaks: Brain breaks can also be induced in the form of easy and fun games like carrom and rock-paper-scissor.
Calming brain breaks: These are by far the most effective brain breaks as their only purpose is to calm the nerves and take the youngsters to a happy and peaceful state. Popular examples include: ‘pranayama’ or deep-breathing exercise and playing with slime or playdough.
Virtual brain breaks: Virtual brain breaks are those that transfer youngsters to virtual reality momentarily. For instance, Quick Draw! That is available on all Android and iOS devices. It’s an exercise almost like Pictionary, but the fun part here is that, here the youngsters get to draw whatever they like, and AI on the app guesses the thing.