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Importance of Brain Gym exercises in children

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Importance of Brain Gym exercises in children

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Importance of Brain Gym Exercises in Children - Preschool in India - LittleElly

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Exercise can help enhance brain functions and make your child smarter, sharper, improve their interpersonal skills, boost their confidence and help improve their eyesight

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Brain gym exercises for kids are an excellent way of developing the cognitive X The brain's ability to acquire, process, store, and retrieve information. and intellectual skills of a child, while also enhancing their mental agility. Brain training exercises may also make the child smarter, aiding their overall growth and development, which may differ for every kid.

These exercises also provide an opportunity to improve your child's cognitive skills, enhance brain function, and display different learning strategies. It may eventually make children brighter, sharper, and more confident than their peers.

This post discusses some fun brain gym activities for children that you may do with your child.

1. Cross Crawls

The exercise helps release excess stress in kids with the possibility of concentration improvement, resulting in an effective focus on studies.

Instruct your child to move his left arm to the right leg and switch sides.

Instruct your child to draw the figure eight multiple times, either an imaginary one in the air or on a piece of paper.

The exercise helps improve your kid's reading speed, eye-muscle coordination, and peripheral visio i XThe ability to see objects from the corner of your eyes. n.

The exercise activates your kid's creative side and loosens the muscles of his arm and wrist.

This bilateral drawing activity requires your kid to sketch two images with both his hands.

The activity encourages your kid's learning skills and improves spelling accuracy, math calculation speed, and recognition of writing symbols. This is a great brain gym activity for kids.

Instruct your child to stretch one of his hands and place it near the same-sided ear.

The movements activate your kid's mind and body balance and encourage the brain to listen to the words correctly.

Ask your child to sit comfortably and bring one of his hands to the opposite shoulder.

The exercising posture and range of motion improves the blood circulation and improves your child's attention and memory.

By holding the hand steady, he has to pinch the shoulder around the trapezius muscle XA large, flat muscle that runs across the shoulders and down the upper back. .

Have your child stretch one of his arms and the other arm should be held at a right angle to hold the extended arm in a firm position.

The exercise strengthens your kid's upper chest and shoulders.

While sitting straight on a chair, your child must stretch his legs and cross the right leg over the left at the ankles.

Taking a deep breath, he should now lean forwards and stretch the arm to reach up to the feet.

Instruct your child to either stand or sit down comfortably.

The earth buttons exercise helps improve mental alertness and whole-body orientation.

He should place the right hand on the lips and the palm of the left hand over the navel position.

Your child has to hold both the ears with his thumbs and the index fingers of both hands and roll and unroll the outer edge of the ear.

Thinking Cap helps to improve hearing, peripheral vision, and short-term memory.

Your child can either perform the exercise while standing, sitting, or lying down.

Have him cross the left ankle over the right one, intertwine the fingers and place them near the chest and breathe deeply.

This exercise promotes mind and body relaxation.

Now he needs to rub both the upper and lower body parts in a small, circular motion.

The gravitational glider stretches your kid's hamstring XA trio of muscles at the back of the thighs that go from the hip to slightly below the knee. and enhances blood and oxygen flow.

The exercise boosts your child's self-expression, confidence, and stability..

It activates your kid's brain, betters hand-eye coordination, and tool controlling skills.

Your kid should now turn his head towards the direction of the pinched shoulder and take a deep breath.

It improves your kid's thinking ability, increases the ability to pay attention to detail, and is great as a short- and long-term memory booster.

By rotating the extended hand, he needs to make the symbol infinity in the air at least three times, and vice versa.

The slow lateral movement enhances the attention span of your child and mental coordination.

2. Lazy Eights:

3. Double Doodle:

4. The Elephant

6. The Active Arm

Brain gym exercises can enhance a child's cognitive and intellectual skills, brain function, and confidence levels.

These exercises promote a child's attention, muscular and mental coordination, physiological stability, self-expression, and memory.

Brain exercises, such as lazy eights, double doodle, the elephant, active arm, earth buttons, hookups, and thinking cap can boost skills such as vision, hearing, alertness, learning, and critical thinking.

Brain exercises, including the cross crawls, the owl, and the gravitational glider encourage lateral movement and help improve blood circulation and oxygen flow.

7. The Gravitational Glider

8. Earth Buttons

9. The Thinking Cap
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1. What age is brain gym for?

Brain gym in children may start at any age. It is primarily introduced in preschool and school children and may be started as young as one and a half years ( 1).

2. Is brain gym an effective educational intervention?

Brain gym is considered helpful in improving attention, memory, and academic skills but has not been unanimously accepted as an effective educational intervention. Sufficient scientific evidence is yet to be established in its favor ( 2) ( 3).

3. Is brain gym discredited?

Brain gym is considered a myth as there is no clear evidence ( 2) ( 4). The lack of adequate scientific data supporting the effectiveness of the techniques could be the reason.

4. Which brain gym technique should I use to calm children down?

Hook-Ups is one of the several brain gym methods used to calm children's nervous systems and relax their bodies because these exercises link the body's electrical circuits and help circulate energy that has been blocked by tension.

5. How can brain gyms be used in the classroom?

School management can make brain gyms a part of childrens' warm up activities that children can perform before starting a lesson or activity. Alternatively, these activities can be used during breaks to help children get refreshed and re-energized.

6. What are brain exercises for children called?

Brain exercises or brain gym exercises are also called cognitive training that includes age-appropriate routine activities for children to enhance their cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills.

Mind game exercises are a fun and creative way for cognitive development. These brain gym exercises for kids are suitable for enhancing their creative thinking and logical reasoning power. With this collection of children's exercises, you can help them achieve better mental health by improving their executive functioning, memory, alertness, stability, and calmness. Remember not to push them too hard and let them complete the workout at their pace by making them understand the importance of each exercise.

Key Pointers

Brain exercises are believed to improve one's memory and concentration. Check out this interesting video below to understand how they may sharpen your mind and help in boosting your productivity.

References:

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy.

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Brain gym exercises for kids can be a fun, effective way to improve their brain function. Discover ideas for some of the best brain gym exercises in this post.

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Brain gym exercises are simple activities that improve cognitive function. These exercises help enhance learning, communication ability, attention, memory, academic performance in children and also help maintain a healthy lifestyle ( 1), ( 2). While they were initially designed for kids, they also may help delay Alzheimer's XA brain disorder that impacts memory, thinking, and cognitive functions due to the shrinking of brain cells. disease, Parkinson's 3), ( XA brain disorder that leads to degeneration of the nerve cells and causes involuntary movement of the arms, legs, or the jaw disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, and depression and anxiety in adults ( 4), ( 5), ( 6).

This article explores the 15 best brain gym exercises and their benefits. Keep reading.

Why Are Brain Gym Exercises Good?

Michael Hamlin, Certified Personal Trainer, says, "Brain gym exercises are based on the idea that certain movements, such as shaking your hands, rocking, and stretching, can help brain function. There needs to be more research on brain gyms. But a substantial amount of research has found that exercise, in general, can help relieve anxiety and depression by releasing endorphins and improving blood flow in the brain. For example, researchers found that those who exercised regularly showed fewer signs of anxiety and depression when exposed to stress."

Most brain gym exercises are appropriate for people of all ages. For example, some simple movements such as walking and stretching have been shown to be effective in easing anxiety, regardless of a person's age or fitness level. In fact, tasks such as sleeping or listening to music also allow the brain to rest and recover, which can help with mental health.

1. Make you smarter and sharper.

2. Boost your confidence levels.

3. Improve your self-esteem.

4. Improve attention and memory.

5. Boost thinking and decision-making abilities.

6. Revitalize your natural healing mechanisms.

7. Restore health and harmony.

8. Help improve eyesight.

9. Enhance creativity and communication skills.

10. Cheer you up when you feel disappointed or rejected.

The best part of brain gym is that anyone can do these exercises, from kids to older adults, and improve their quality of life. Explore the brain gym activities in the following section.

15 Brain Gym Exercises

According to Hamlin, "These exercises are designed to develop, increase, and improve functions of the body, such as vision, concentration, balance, coordination, and communication.

Next to this, brain gym exercises are the foundation for developing a more alert and relaxed body and mind, and this translates into improved physiological function. These exercises help improve the functionality of specific neural pathways so that the body and mind work harmoniously together and students can be more balanced and grounded in their physical, mental, and emotional activities."

Let's take a look at the brain gym exercises you can do.

1. Marching In Place

Marching in place is a great way to warm up your muscles. This low-to-moderate intensity exercise preps your muscles and improves breathing, balance, and hand-leg coordination.
How To March In Place
2. Cross Crawl

Cross crawl exercise helps improve the coordination between the right and left brain. You can do it either by standing, sitting, or lying, depending on your comfort level.
How To Do Cross Crawl

1. Stand straight with your legs hip-width apart, shoulders rolled back, and chest up. Look ahead.

2. Lift your right hand above your head. This is your starting position.

3. Lift your left leg off the floor, and bend your left knee.

4. Simultaneously, bend your right elbow and try to touch the left knee with your right elbow.

5. Get back to the starting position. Do the same with your left hand and right leg.

6. Do three sets with eight repetitions.

You may sit on a chair and do this exercise if you have a knee injury or are relearning to balance your body.

3. Ankle Touch
Similar to the previous exercise, the ankle touch exercise helps enhance balance and coordination between the left and right limbs. How To Do Ankle Touches
4. Ankle Touch Behind Your Body

This brain gym is another variation of the ankle touch. It is an effective way to improve balance and coordination between the right and left limbs.
How To Do Ankle Touches Behind Your Body
5. Step Touch
Step touch, also known as the dancer's warm-up, is great for lateral or side-to-side movement coordination. How To Do Step Touch

1. Stand with your legs close together.

2. Take a step toward your right with your right leg.

3. Place your left foot next to your right leg.

4. Take a step toward your left with your left leg.

5. Place your right foot next to your left leg.

6. Do this 30 times at a slow to moderate pace.

6. Neck Circles

Neck circles are good for the neck muscles and head movement coordination. This activity also improves balance if you do it while standing. Keep your eyes closed when you do this exercise.
How To Do Neck Circles
7. Cook's Hook-Up

The cook's hook-up exercise helps calm the nerves and improves hand and brain coordination.
How To Do Cook's Hook-Up
8. Brain Button

This exercise helps improve the flow of electromagnetic energy. It relaxes the eyes, shoulder, and neck and promotes body balance.
How To Do Brain Button Exercise
9. Lazy Eights

In lazy eights, you trace the number eight or infinity symbol with a marker on a whiteboard or with a pen/pencil on white paper. Following the shape with your eyes have several benefits. It improves eye muscle movement, visual tracking, peripheral vision X The ability to see objects away from the center that are out of the direct line of sight or from the corner of the eyes. , attention span, and coordination. This activity enhances your abilities to understand languages, study comprehension, and eliminate reversals and transpositions.
How To Do Lazy Eights
10. The Elephant

The elephant brain gym helps improve attention, recognition, perception, memory, speech, spelling, thinking ability, depth perception, and eye coordination.
How To Do The Elephant
Note: You can also do this exercise in a sitting position.

11. The Energy Yawn

The energy yawn exercise helps release tension in the jaw and relaxes the eyes.
How To Do Energy Yawn
12. The Thinking Cap

The thinking cap activity is one of those brain exercises for memory that effectively improve learning speed and mood, increases attention span, and boosts memory in kids and adults.
How To Do Thinking Cap

1. Sit on a chair. Place your index finger and thumb on your ear.

2. Massage the top of your ear and gradually come down to the auricle XThe outermost layer of the ear made of skeleton and skin (also called the pinna) that helps collect and transmit sound waves. .

3. Massage from the back to the top of your ear.

4. Do this slowly for 15 times.

13. Belly Breathing

This exercise helps increase oxygen supply in the body, which, in turn, helps you relax and improves your reading and speaking abilities.
How To Do Belly Breathing
14. Trace X

The trace X exercise helps improve eye coordination, vision, depth perception, hearing, and body coordination. It enhances your skills in writing, organization, mathematics, spelling, grammar, language learning, sports, and executive function (planning and scheduling).
How To Do Trace X
Note: You can also draw a big 'X' spanning the diagonals of a whiteboard and trace it with your eyes.

15. Positive Points

This exercise helps draw positive emotions and reduces the negative ones. It releases stress, relieves memory blocks, and boosts your mood. The positive points brain gym also enhances long-term memory and improves learning, reading, academic skills, and stage and sports performances.
How To Stimulate The Positive Points
Note: Practice it regularly to train your brain to restrict bothering thoughts.

Workout routines are good for maintaining a fit and healthy body. It is a universal truth that exercising improves your muscle tone and fitness, but there are a few exercises that improve your brain fitness or cognitive function as well. You can look up specific exercises to train certain aspects of brain functioning like brain exercises for concentration, brain exercises for focus, brain exercises for learning, and brain exercises for creativity. They help boost your memory and attention span along with academic and athletic performance. Make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly as incorrect form can lead to injuries or muscle pains. Additionally, you can practice mental exercises that stimulate brain function to enhance cognitive and memory functioning. Consult a therapist and primary care physician before beginning these brain gym exercises to learn how to make the most of these exercises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you train your brain like a muscle?

Michael Hamlin says, "The brain is not a muscle, but in many ways, it does work like one. The brain is made up of millions of neurons communicating through electrical and chemical signals. Like a muscle, your brain can be trained to become stronger over time using activities such as brain gym exercises."

Is brain gym evidence-based?

Yes. Brain gym exercises help improve cognition, mental health, and overall well-being.

Which brain gym exercise is best for students?

The following exercises are best for students:

Belly breathing

Positive points

Thinking cap

Brain button

How do you exercise your left brain?

Do coordinated moves of the right limbs to exercise your left brain.

Is the brain gym an effective educational intervention?

Yes. The brain gym might help improve thinking, reading, and speaking abilities. However, no evidence shows the brain gym to be an effective educational intervention.

Which brain gym technique to use to calm children down?

You can use Cook's hook-ups and cross-crawls to help children calm down after experiencing anxiety and distress. Hook-ups can help control their breathing while cross-crawls can improve their focus and release stress.

Does brain gym help autism?

No, current scientific evidence shows that brain gym does not increase engagement in children with autism ( 7).

How much brain training should you do in a day?

You can practice 60 to 90 minutes of brain training or brain workout every week to keep your brain sharp and healthy.

What time of the day is your brain sharpest?

Studies suggest your brain is sharpest in the mornings following a good night's sleep ( 8), ( 9). Ideally, you can perform cognitive-heavy tasks in the morning.

Key Takeaways

Learn how to improve your focus and concentration with brain gym exercises. Discover simple and effective techniques in the video below to help you stay focused and productive.

Sources

Articles on StyleCraze are backed by verified information from peer-reviewed and academic research papers, reputed organizations, research institutions, and medical associations to ensure accuracy and relevance. Read our editorial policy to learn more.

1. THE EFFECT OF BRAIN GYM® ON ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1029010.pdf

2. Memory and Time of Day
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233046511_Memory_and_Time_of_Day

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Top 15 Simple Brain Gym Exercises For Children & Adults

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Brain gym exercises improve learning, memory, attention, academic performance, planning, and mood. Here are the 15 brain gym exercises for kids and adults.