Brain Power Wellness Reviews How Brain Breaks Can Help Students Over the Summer

With summer break quickly approaching for students around the country, many parents and educators are already thinking about how they can help their children stay physically active, mentally sharp, and emotionally healthy during those months. The staff at Brain Power Wellness (“BPW”) recognizes that summer can be an excellent time for students to practice brain breaks, either alone or with their friends, relatives, and other significant persons in their lives.

While the adult brain, on average, must take a break at least every 90 minutes, students’ brains need to be refreshed even more often than that. Taking regular breaks, even during what could be a productive lesson, leads to enhanced focus and improved long-term memory.

Below, Brain Power Wellness reviews and shares some ways brain breaks can help students over the summer, by using some of the BPW exercises and activities they learned in their classrooms during the school year.

The Brain Uses a Lot of Energy

Dave Beal, the CEO and executive director of Brain Power Wellness, reviews in his book, The Brain Power Classroom, the following startling statistic: “The brain may only make up 2% of a person’s body weight, but it uses anywhere from 20-25% of its energy and oxygen intake. This means that if you want to give your brain the energy it needs to perform consistently throughout the day at optimal levels, you need to replenish the energy that the brain consumes by giving it a break.”

During the school year, it is recommended that students be given at least one “brain break” during each of their lessons. Not only will this provide students’ brains with the rest they need, but it will also create a challenging, active, and fun atmosphere for learning.

During the summer, though when most students have much less structure, it can be harder to work in these essential brain breaks. One of the best ways to achieve this is through physical exercise. Fortunately, during this warm weather season, it is usually not too challenging to provide children with the opportunity to engage in some form of physical exercise.

Why Physical Exercise Works

Physical exercise can help to feed and re-feed a brain that may have become fatigued. As Beal explains, “When you move your body, it fuels new nerve connections that are essential to the normal health and function of the brain. Increasing your heart rate helps to push more blood through your veins, which increases blood flow to your extremities. This delivers the necessary nutrients and oxygen that the brain needs to function better.”

Example of Physical Exercises That Work

Brain Power Wellness reviews some exercises that are great ways to provide students with the brain breaks they need over the summer.

Push-Ups can increase stamina and help students gain muscular strength. They also energize one’s whole body and improve one’s mood. Squats can help students develop physical strength in their lower body while also teaching them how to connect to their core and center their energy.

Another great physical exercise, according to Brain Power Wellness, is 3-6-0 Core Tapping, which can be done with other children or with the entire family. This helps to create warmth in the body’s energy center while also building concentration through a fun and challenging rhythm-counting game. What’s more, this is an exercise in neuroplasticity, this means each of the brain’s hemispheres is engaged in distinct activities. This helps the brain grow!

These are just a few examples of ways in which students can integrate necessary brain breaks into their summer routines. For more ideas on how to use Brain Power Wellness’ social media as a resource, please visit their website: https://www.brainpowerwellness.com/

About Brain Power Wellness

Brain Power Wellness is a holistic, school-based wellness organization that supports healthy, happy, and focused school environments. The mission of Brain Power Wellness is to help transform the culture of its partner schools through self-development, mindfulness, community building, retreats, SEL, holistic wellness, and brain training for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Recently, corporate groups have begun attending Brain Power Wellness retreats, where participants receive powerful tools for creating healthy, sustainable, and happy work environments.