1 How to help your child learn. (Levels of Alertness)
Updated: Apr 24, 2020
Broadly we have six ‘Levels of Alertness’. Your child may have gone up and down the alertness staircase below, several times today!
Important to note that all these states have a role to play in our physical and mental wellbeing.
Our Six levels of Alertness
Deep Sleep. In this state we are sleeping soundly. This is a time when our brains restore and build. Memories and learning are laid down.
Light Sleep. We appear to be asleep but our eyelids may flutter and we may seem restless – moving about in the bed.
Drowsy. We enter this state just before, or just after, sleep. Our eyelids may droop, we tend to gaze into the distance without focus.
Calm-Alert. Arha! The ideal state for learning. We are alert and calm. Our brains are primed to focus and take on new information. We are responsive to each other and enjoy general interaction. Body movements can be minimal as we concentrate. Note - we cannot be in this state all the time, we have to move into the other states during our day.
Active-Alert. As the name suggests, in this state we are physically active, moving our bodies vigorously. Time in this state is often fun and invigorating and offers a great ‘movement break’ for our brains. However, too much time in this state can lead to sensory overload and over excitement. It can then become hard to get out of this state and we move into the next state…. Crying!
Crying. Overstimulated, and in distress it is time to move down the alertness staircase!
In the next blog I will discuss our sensations, the food for our brains. Then I will be bring these two thoughts together in blog 3 - How our sensations affect our levels of alertness.
Sue