Skills Guide Content
Goal: Movement can help manage and improve focus and attention
Different physical techniques that improve studying effectiveness: read aloud, walk or pace while reading, movement breaks, talking about what was read, highlighting materials, taking notes, using a ruler to focus eyes on specific text. Sometimes, adults can think a student’s movement is just distracting fidgeting but in reality its a way of allowing energy to get out of the body so the brain can focus.
Activity from Planner
Brief bursts of exercise improve energy, focus and stamina, adding fuel to your fire. Physical activity immediately boosts your brain’s dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels, creating the same positive effects as medications that treat ADHD — increasing the ability to focus and pay attention.
2-5 minutes of movement:
- Walk the halls
- Run in place
- Jumping jacks
- Stretch
- Hug yourself
Add a movement break to your week!
Extended Activity
Use movement to help you focus – brief bursts of exercise improve energy, focus and stamina, adding fuel to your fire.
Physical activity immediately boosts your brain’s dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels (you can look those words up in the glossary at the back of this planner). All of these create the same positive effects as medications that treat ADHD — increasing the ability to focus and pay attention for longer, remembering details, and feeling sharp and engaged.
2-5 minutes of simple exercises will immediately help. Consider walking halls, running in place, jumping jacks, stretching, standing, reaching up, and bending over. Even hugging yourself by wrapping your arms around your body will stimulate your brain to wake up and get back on task.
- Pay attention to your low-energy times of day – do you have important responsibilities or classes at that time? Feel sleepy? Feel distracted? Feel bored? Try 2-5 minutes of movement, and your brain will turn on again.
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