Give it a Rest!

Life's been crazy recently.  So much has changed in my personal life and in my professional life since the beginning of 2020 and, though the idea of getting back to normal would be lovely, I am under no illusions that life will never be the same again.  Am I searching for that ever illusive new normal that people keep talking about?  Maybe.  Ultimately I find myself wondering what my next step might be?

I got a letter today from work requesting that I attend a welfare meeting to see about my plans for going back to work following a period of extended absence and to see if there's anything that they can do to make my return to work a bit easier.  While I really appreciated that, I found myself panicking at the idea of returning to the same levels of stress that contributed to me being ill in the first place.  I didn't want to find myself back in that dark place.  Indeed, during my absence from work I found myself dealing with so many personal issues and problems that all I currently want to do is rest for a bit.

Let me be clear.  I went in to work, had that meeting and the language and tone of the meeting was so supportive.  The stress I perceived soon subsided thanks  to a supportive manager and HR partner.

But I did found myself wondering about stress.  What are the benefits of resting/sleeping?  Are there any benefits for learning?  How do we build in appropriate amounts of rest into our learning and teaching?

("Stress" by topgold is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

What I found was surprising.

There are a range of physiological benefits to resting which include:

1.  Weight loss - studies show that those who get healthy amounts of sleep feel less hungry and burn more fat.

2.  Improved Immune System - studies suggest that stress depresses the body's immune system.  

3.  Improved short term memory - when you're so focused on all the important things you need to do just to get through the day, is it any wonder you can't remember where you put your keys?!

You can find out much of this from quick Internet searches.  

But in terms of education, teaching in a post covid-19 era where digital modes of communication is impacting our daily lives, the reality of the environmental stress caused by excessive screen time has to be taken account of.  Dunckley (2012) pointed to some alarming issues resulting from excessive screen time.  This includes:

1.  Narrowing of the blood vessels at the back of the eye.

2.  Impaired attention span owing to the body's production of stress hormones.  

3.  Fast but less accurate cognitive responses in teenagers.


Therefore, for educators working in an emerging digital landscape, its really important that we acknowledge the benefits of "brain breaks" for our students.  

Terada (2018) points to a number of benefits of rest breaks for our students:

1.  Rest breaks give our brains the opportunity to consolidate memories, reflect on past experience and plan for the future.

2.  Rest breaks can improve attention and reduce low level disruption in class time.  

So, if we acknowledge that rest breaks are important to maximise the effectiveness of online learning, we then need strategies that allow us to do this.  If anyone has strategies or techniques that work to build in brain breaks into our teaching practice, it would be really amazing if you would share these in the comments section below.

You can follow me on twitter
@McintoshMclean.

References

Dunckley, V. (2012)  Screens and the stress response [Online].  Available at: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/mental-wealth/201211/screens-and-the-stress-response%3famp (Accessed 12th November 2020).  

Terada, Y.  (2018)  Research - Tested Benefits of Breaks [Online].  Available at:  https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks (Accessed 12th November 2020).






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Reflection on Metaskills

Image
Introduction Have you heard about metaskills?  This is a framework that the SQA have devised that allows us to reflect on many of the skills and qualities that we have.  It also allows us to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses highlighting what we might want to improve on.   When I reflected on this framework I realised that my self-management, social intelligence and ability to innovate didn't just magically happen overnight.  They emerged over time.  So I wanted to write this with a view to sharing my own experience and to highlight some ways that other people might consider developing their metaskills too.  So here are two things that I'd like you, the reader, to think about.   1.  Focusing on the Important Bits. As a student when I began studying maths, I really found it hard to focus.  Maths was boring and hard, and there were lots of distractions around.  I wanted to be able to go out with my friends, play some music,...
Read more

H818 Conference Presentation: Mobile Blogging - A Course for Educators

Image
Downloadable Copy of Transcription Downloadable Copy of Presentation Slides Abstract The potential of mobile technology to enhance learning and teaching practice has been recognised in various academic studies (Xiao (2020); MacCallum et al. (2017); Mohammadi et al. (2020)) and the learning opportunities afforded through the use of mobile devices are complimented by a number of learning theories including connectivism (Siemens, 2004 as cited by Manchester University, ND) and social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978 as cited by McLeod, 2019) .   In contrast however, policies on learner behaviour management coupled with issues relating to the individual and collective identities of educators have led to resistance in the adoption of mobile technology within learning and teaching practice.   Indeed removal of mobile devices is still used as a punitive action against learners where the devices themselves are deemed a classroom distraction by educators.   Yet, studies address...
Read more

Waiting

Image
Just reflecting today on time, generally, and how much of it we spend waiting.  So here's a little poem I call, "Still waiting..." Waiting with baited breath for a new opportunity. Waiting for some response to my application form. Waiting for feedback from my teacher. Waiting... tick, tick, tick.   Waiting for the next bus to arrive so I can get home. Waiting for test results to determine the step. Waiting to meet the next group of people to come through the door. Waiting... tick tick, tick. Waiting for my true love to call me. Waiting for the fairy-tale to happen. Waiting for a letter to tell me some good news instead of bad. Waiting... tick, tick, tick. Waiting patiently on my own in a Waiting room. Waiting on customers to place their orders. Waiting for the end of the day so I can go home and do it all again tomorrow. Waiting... tick, tick, tick I'm still waiting.  
Read more