Brain breaks are pauses in learning taken in order to carry out physical activities for the purposes of enhancing learning. They can be set within a philosophy of a healthy lifestyle for effective learning.

Knowledge bank

There are many commercially branded brain break activities which claim specific brain-related benefits. In some cases these brain break regimes include reference to the importance of nutrition and hydration in learning, and a quest to educate young people about the benefits of proper nutrition and hydration, sleep, exercise and laughter.
Brain break activities are said to influence a range of aspects of learning and development including:

• overall improvement in balance and coordination
• integration of the brain’s function between the so-called left and right hemispheres of the brain, via the brain structure the corpus callosum
• improvement in attention through physical, intellectual and emotional reprieve; taking a break from your learning improves your concentration
• enhanced cardiovascular and respiratory function
• stress relief.

Caution needs to be exercised in promoting some of the proposed benefits, as much of the science behind the claims has not yet been properly evidenced. However, many teachers report a range of benefits in their learners as a result of introducing brain break activities.

Some proponents of brain break activities make claims that their approach has particular benefits for young people with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

One approach advocated by Alistair Smith in Move It (2002) identifies eight different categories of movement:

• relaxers to support emotional awareness of relaxation and anxiety
• energizers to lift the energy levels of a group
• stretchers to improve physical flexibility
• lateralizers to assist children to develop a sense of left and right and to support coordination and balance
• little and large movements to improve hand-eye coordination and voluntary muscle movements
• coordinates done with other people in partnership, developing observation skills, mental rehearsal and cooperation
• linkers to link directly with learning and content
• eye trackers designed to improve eye movement tracking in relation to reading.

Two examples of a brain break activity are:

• Cross crawl — it is claimed that this helps to improve coordination and balance and is also a useful energizer activity. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, once you are stable in your stance, lift your right knee and move your left hand across to touch it. Bring the knee down and the hand back to your side then repeat with the right hand and left knee. This should be repeated with each side 10-12 times.
• Active punctuation – designed to assist learners to learn content in the lesson. It consists of a series of movements to represent different aspects of punctuation, e.g. a small jump for a full stop, two hands in the air inclined to the left to start speech. These actions are added to prose as it is read out.

Ask yourself

• How much movement do your learners currently enjoy in lessons?
• What might be the benefits of learners having more structured movement in lessons?
• How could you bring movement into lessons safely?
• What else do you need to know or experience to take this further?

To do list

• Read a good book or visit a website on educational kinesiology, brain breaks or Brain Gym.
• Experiment safely with what you find out with a group of learners with whom you have a good relationship.
• Trial a range of brain break activities at different times of the day, and with different groups, and get feedback from learners using a question like: ‘What were the benefits of the exercise?’
• Encourage learners to research the impact of diet, hydration, sleep and exercise on learning and to share their discoveries with the class.

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