A Teacher’s Mindfulness – Mindful Daydreaming

You may be thinking, ‘How can daydreaming be mindful?’. It doesn’t necessarily fit what we know about daydreaming.

What is daydreaming anyway? It is the state of consciousness that happens when our brain triggers a thought process that is not anchored in the immediate surroundings. It is usually pleasurable and takes us to a place that allows us to relax and be happy. On average, a daydream lasts only 14 seconds!

As children in school, we were likely told to “stop daydreaming” and it was seen as a waste of valuable school time. Along with other natural reflexes like sighing, we have tended to suppress a natural mindful strategy that helps us to relax.

We can make Mindful Daydreaming a part of our mindfulness practise by making the daydreams the object of the mindful focus.

When we are mindful of our daydreams, we are able to:

– Receive feedback on our own conscious or unconscious well- being. Our spontaneous daydreams can help us to know whether we are more positive or negative in the moment, depending on the emotions evoked by the daydream.
– Manipulate our thoughts allowing us to engage with our emotions without physical risk.
– Take a mini- holiday allowing us to explore places that bring us peace and relaxation. This may be a particular landscape, activity or alternative reality.

If we mindfully daydream, we are bringing focus, formality and purpose. Treat these daydreams as a meditation.
– Find a quiet place and sit or lie in a comfortable position where you will not be disturbed.
– You may want to set a timer to give a definite time to this meditation or you can use this as a bedtime meditation to fall into a peaceful sleep.
– Play soft meditation music and take deep, mindful breaths.
– Allow your mind to roam without any specific purpose.
– As the thoughts come through, pay attention to them but do not judge. Just note them and allow them to flow.

So, why not try it right now! Take a deep, mindful breath, close your eyes and allow yourself to take part in a daydream. Relax and let yourself drift off for a few moments. It is good for your health!

Mindfulness for Children- Top Mindful Sleep Tips For Parents

A common concern for parents is the lack of their child’s ability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. According to research by the National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprivation  in children results in:

• Poor concentration leading to a fall in academic performance.
• Chronically sleep-deprived teenagers become more impulsive leading to risk-taking behaviours.
• Sleeping problems increase the risk of disorders such as depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Children start getting negative feelings which may lead to depression.

How Much Sleep Does a Child Need?

A study showed that an increase in sleep time by approximately 30 minutes every night for 5 nights had an immediate impact on emotional ability and restless-impulsive behaviors of children in school. (1)

With this in mind, how can you, as a parent, support your child in getting the right amount of sleep each night?

Top Sleep Tips 

• Bed Time:  Have a set bed time or wind-down time to bed time. Set patterns trigger the habit of sleep.
• Mindful Breathing:  The breathing changes energy from tension to relaxation. It does this by turning off our sympathetic nervous system that produces stress hormones. This then turns on our parasympathetic nervous system, which turns off the stress hormone pump. So, deep breathing relaxes the body, decreases the heart rates lowers the blood pressure and creates the feeling of calmness.
  • Belly Breathing– Sit or lay comfortably. Place your hands on your belly and take a deep breath in for four counts, blowing up your belly like a balloon. Hold the breath for one count and then slowly exhale for five counts, deflating the balloon in your belly. Continue to do this for a few minutes until you see or feel calm and relaxed. (With young children, have them place their soft cuddly animal on their tummies to do this exercise.)
• Mindful Gratitude– Once the child has relaxed with the mindful breathing, have them think of one thing they are thankful for or made them happy during the day. Have them imagine what it felt like, encouraging them to close their eyes and see it in their mind and smile.
• Meditation Music:  Sometimes silence is worse than noise and can keep children awake. Playing soft meditation music can help children relax as they listen and drift off to sleep. (You can find several free options on my YouTube channel that can be found here.)
• BEDTIME – GUIDED MEDITATIONS for Children:  Turn off the lights and play one of the following guided meditations (or find your own in my library of sleep meditations found here.)
  • Childrens’ Guided Meditation for Deep Sleep!- (20 minutes) https://youtu.be/i6HgGCZmiI8
  • Guided Meditation for Sleep… Floating Amongst the Stars- (1 hour)- https://youtu.be/N4qCFFBrrgk
  • Children’s “SWEET DREAMS” Guided Meditation!- (25 minutes)- https://youtu.be/Vg3xQqLZxbU
  • Mystery Island: An Adventure Story for Children for Sleep & Relaxing- (25 minutes)- https://youtu.be/EXGshn1Sd40
  • Childrens Space Adventure – A Bedtime Story for Sweet Dreams with Jason Stephenson (10 minutes) – https://youtu.be/d5Xppqi6azY?list=PLwRp13WDIrMOSH7pzcrCME5e9TBaJ3wGs

If, after a period of time, this does not help your child drift off into a peaceful sleep and get the recommended sleep time, I suggest visiting your family doctor for support and advice.

(1) Gruber R, Cassoff J, Frenette S, Wiebe S, Carrier J. Impact of sleep extension and restriction on children’s emotional lability and impulsivity. Pediatrics. 2012 Nov;130(5):e1155-61. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-0564. Epub 2012 Oct 15.

First Baby Steps!

“No dream is too big and no dreamer is too small.”- from the children’s movie TURBO

I went with my little boy today to see the movie TURBO. It was a great film and was filled with an inspirational story line to never give up on your dreams.

My academy has dreams. No matter how good we may get, we want to get better! It is as pure and simple as that. It is not always easy. However, we are always looking to improve. We know we must always look towards the future and identify ways to engage children.

Following our amazing CPD training last Monday, the academy has been working hard to develop a blog site. It is the first baby steps. It is our hope that, by the end of the year, blogging will be embedded across the academy and it is having a real impact on writing standards.

Our blog can be found at http://glpa.primaryblogger.co.uk . Every class has a blog, including me at http://principalsblog.primaryblogger.co.uk . Take a sneak peek! It will have a grand launch in a couple of weeks. So, get a chance to see it grow from the beginning.

As I said, this is only a baby step. However, I think I will enjoy this one grow up to out perform the parent.

Dream Big Dreams!