If you’ve been following our Shurley English Blog posts, you know we’ve been flooding you with creative ideas on how to continue supporting your students’ academic progress. With the high demands placed upon our students today, it’s evident that they have fewer opportunities to truly unwind and relax.

Today, my suggestion is to remember to include some downtime into your students’ daily schedule, and here’s why:

Research shows that time off-task is important for proper brain function and health.
The brain uses 20% of the body’s energy while on-task.
Napping 10-30 minutes can increase alertness and improve performance.
Resting mental states help us process our experiences, consolidate memories, reinforce learning, regulate our attention and emotions, and keep us productive!

Downtime will give the brain an opportunity to make sense of what has just been learned, and shifting off-task can actually help learners refresh their minds, gain insight, and return to the task with more focus.

Brain Break Exercise: Breathing

Simple breathing exercises are an amazing tool that can help students relax or calm down at any given moment. It can help them manage the ups and downs of school and life—all they have to do is breathe.

Breathing Exercise (2-5 minutes)
Students can stand or sit for this activity.
Ask students to put both hands on their belly.
Guide students in taking three slow deep breaths in and out to see if they can feel their hands being moved.
You may like to count “1, 2, 3” for each breath in and “1, 2, 3” for each breath out, pausing slightly at the end of each exhale.
Encourage students to think about how the breath feels, answering the following questions silently, in their mind.
What is moving your hands? Is it the air filling your lungs?
Can you feel the air moving in through your nose?
Can you feel it moving out through your nose?
Does the air feel a little colder on the way in and warmer on the way out?
Can you hear your breath?
What does it sound like?

Remember, time off-task isn’t always wasted time or a sign of laziness. I encourage you to create the balance between being a “human-being” and a “human-doing!”