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You are here: Home / Mind and Body / Do Brain Breaks Work?

October 29, 2015

Do Brain Breaks Work?

bored studentUnlike a specific class period of physical education, brain breaks are short bursts of physical activity that can happen throughout the day in the traditional classroom. They often last only one to three minutes and require minimal supplies and preparation. So, do they work?

While brain breaks are not a substitute for physical education nor the recommended sixty minutes of physical activity each day for youth, they do benefit mind and body health. Different studies in the classroom(PDF)Links to a PDF document. have shown some of the following benefits of regularly participating in brain breaks: improved classroom behavior, improved student concentration and increased academic achievement.

Teachers as well as parents can encourage and lead youth to take a brain break throughout the day. Here are some ideas for including brain breaks:

  • A set of twenty-one physical activity cards by Alliance for a Healthier Generation are ready to print with instructions for a variety of easy tasks to act out. A few of the tasks require a ball for students to complete the physical activity but most of them can be acted out without any props.
  • An online resource, GoNoodle is for teachers as well as parents. Anyone can create a free GoNoodle account and link to clips that lead youth in a variety of healthy activity games.
  • Healthy Learning Brain Breaks, OSU Extension Lucas County handout with simple activities
  • American Heart Association shares In School Activity Breaks(PDF)Links to a PDF document.
  • A-B-C For Fitness™ stands for “Activity Bursts in the Classroom.” They share a detailed manual for teachers(PDF)Links to a PDF document. to use brain breaks in the classroom.

During my late afternoon stretch at the office, my mind wonders, “if it’s good for youth in the classroom, are brain breaks good for my adult mind and body too?”

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WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, CFLE, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Lucas County

REVIEWED BY: Shannon Carter, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Fairfield County

SOURCES:

  • A-B-C for Fitness http://www.davidkatzmd.com/abcforfitness.aspx
  • Alliance for a Healthier Generation https://www.healthiergeneration.org
  • Donnelly, J. E., Lambourne, K., Classroom-based physical activity, cognition, and academic achievement https://www.nemours.org/content/dam/nemours/www/filebox/service/preventive/nhps/pep/classroompa.pdf
  • GoNoodle www.gonoodle.com
  • Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans http://health.gov/paguidelines/

Categories: Mind and Body
Tags: brain breaks, children, classroom, mind and body

Avatar for Patrice Powers-Barker
Avatar for Patrice Powers-Barker

About Patrice Powers-Barker

Patrice Powers-Barker, CFLE (Certified Family Life Educator) implements Ruby Green Smiths’ description of Family and Consumer Sciences, “where science and art meet life and practices.” The Mind and Body topic lends well with empowering families to evaluate their daily habits and to make individual as well as family goals to enact mindfulness and abundance. The “science and art” of mindfulness can be practiced throughout different aspects of life - from work and play to eating or parenting and education. Patrice loves spending time with family, treasuring the four seasons of Northwest Ohio and appreciating the abundance of her local community.

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