Latest Issue of the MindBrainEd Think Tank + (ISSN 2434-1002) 7 MindBrained Bulletin Think Tank V4i7 Exercise J | Page 18

Think Tank:
Exercise
Marc Helgesen
Let’s move: 5-minute energy breaks
We’re not designed to sit still all day. We’re not even designed to sit through a 90-
minute class. Thousands of years ago, on the plains of the Serengeti, people walked
10-20 kilometers every day (Medina, 2014). It has only been in the past century or
two that people moved to cities. Later we started going everywhere in cars and trains.
We might have gotten used to it but our bodies haven’t changed in that short time.
We need to move.
As teachers, we stand and move around. It is
When we stand up and
easy to forget how hard it is to say alert when
move for just one minute,
you are just sitting. (If you go to faculty
there is a 15% increase of
meetings, you might have an idea.*) How
blood and, therefore,
long do your students sit during class? For
oxygen, to the brain.
most teachers – unless they teach kids – the
answer is “the whole class.” But when people
sit for 20 minutes, blood flows south. There
is a build-up of blood in the feet, lower legs and buttocks However, when we stand up
and move for just one minute, there is a 15% increase of blood and, therefore,
oxygen, to the brain (Sousa, 2011).
And it pays off in the classroom.
Here is something people might find surprising: brain science shows that exercise
correlates with increased scores on seeming unrelated subjects like math and science
(Ratey and Hagerman, 2010). The same writers cite research that shows increased
rates of vocabulary learning among physically active learners.
For several years, I’ve been using “energy breaks” – short bits of physical activity in
my classes. They really are short – usually less than five minutes. But it is a great use
of time. The students really get energized. They are more ready for the rest of the
class.
One simple example is “5 right here, right now.” Students identify at least five
physical exercises they can do in the space around their desks. Obviously things like
running are not practical but there are many things they can do: j