MOVEMENT INCREASES ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING
Muscle activity = nourishment for the brain
Crossing the midline of your brain through movement is nourishment for your brain throughout any lesson
“Growing bodies have a natural need to move. Increased opportunities to move while seated improve blood flow and oxygen to the brain, thereby increasing attention and concentration levels."
Watch this video to see how VS’ 3D rocking mechanism allows for extremely dynamic sitting. The seat area reacts to every change of weight and leans gently forward, backward, or sideways. In this way, it continuously supports changes between different sitting positions.
Passive sitting is not healthy
Scientific studies show that conventional furnishing recommendations with rigid chair-table combinations lead to serious pressures on physical and mental development and health. Constantly sitting still leads to a standstill, physically and mentally. From an early age, we spend far too much time sitting. Children, like adults, often sit up to ten hours a day. Studies show that the energy turnover when sitting passively is so low that the risks for diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and dementia not only increase significantly in adulthood, but also in adolescents. We have to free ourselves from this inertia trap.
Dangers of Sitting
In elementary school children are sitting around 10 hours a day; in offices, workers sit around 11 hours a day. Listen to Dr. Dieter Breithecker, Health and Kinetics Scientist, explain why sitting is unhealthy, and his tips on how to get out of the sitting trap. Dr. Dieter Breithecker is the President of the Federal Institute on the Development of Posture and Movement in Germany.
Movement supports mental and physical development
“Watching a child makes it obvious that development of body and mind comes through movement.”
More researchers are corroborating the findings that even low-intensity activities can promote good health, provided they take place regularly and are integrated into the daily routine. The psychologist Jean Piaget has shown that the sensomotoric skills of a child represent the foundation of their intellectual, social, and personal development. A lack of proprioceptive sensory experiences can lead to posture and behavior problems, lack of concentration, and weakness in language, reading, and math. Bottom line: movement throughout the day not only supports good health, but it also promotes content and skill acquisition.
At VS, we believe successful learning should balance the needs of the body, mind, and soul. We always encourage mobility and natural curiosity. From our fully-adjustable chairs to modular tables that encourage collaboration, we believe that learning is an active process. When students engage their senses while learning, the long-term benefits include a heightened focus, stronger motivation, and a sense of well-being.
Activity is a high-yield investment
Regular activity is required for students to connect meaning throughout the various content areas they are exposed to throughout their day.
The journal Pediatrics (2014) published research that kids with ADHD who took part in a regular physical activity program showed important enhancement of cognitive performance and brain function. The findings, according to University of Illinois professor Charles Hillman and colleagues, demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity in improving childhood cognition and brain health. Physical activity is a high-yield investment for all kids, especially those challenged with attention or hyperactive issues. In short, movement is ADHD medication.
- 40% higher test scores
- 15% more likely to go to college
- Reduced risk for heart diseases, diabetes II, stroke, cancer, dementia
- 1/10th as likely to be obese
- May live 5 years longer
(Nike, Inc. 2013, Siddarth et al. 2018, Schmid et al. 2014, Wheeler et al. 2017)
Movement as a support for those with ADHD/ADD
“With VS furniture, students with ADHD don’t have to worry about being compliant – the furniture allows them to stop focusing on being still and instead lets them release their creativity.”
Mobile wobble stools, like the Hokki, create added motion and balance, making it easy for all ages to be more engaged and focused. They are very helpful for students with ADHD, who have a reduced release of the hormone Dopamine. Stools tend to allow more synaptic switching of nerve cells, which releases more Dopamine and thereby increases focus. The release of Dopamine directly correlates to movement.
We have an 8 year old boy in one of our classes who suffers from ADHD. His compulsive behavior and fidgetiness disrupt the class daily, requiring intervention from the teacher. His inattentiveness in class is also contributing to his personal poor scholastic performance. We heard about the Hokki Stool and its potential to mitigate some behavioral situations in children living with ADHD and acquired one...In 2 weeks he has become much less fidgety and his behavioral outbursts have subsided dramatically. Within a few weeks of sitting on the Hokki Stool in class his attentiveness has improved and his interest in classroom activities has increased. His scholastic achievements are improving and we have confidence he will pass to the next grade. We are convinced the design of the Hokki Stool requires his mind to actively work and monitor his position thus reducing anxiety and information overload. (Story provided by a School Counseling Psychologist)
The Hokki stool by VS is a true original, with an iconic wobble that provides natural and unrestricted movement with 360-degree rotation. The Hokki is incredibly stable and crafted with a slip-resistant base, lightweight yet sturdy design, and 100% recyclable materials.
Fidgeting actually boosts the brain.
Children in particular, whose physical and mental development processes are not yet complete, require more regular movement stimuli than adults. That’s how we can also explain the everyday image of a student tipping their chair back to balance it on two legs –– their unconscious is ordering them to move in order to prevent emotional, mental, and physical disorganization.
Elementary school-age children cannot sit still for longer than one minute, on average. And it’s suggested that young people and adults shouldn’t hold a body posture for longer than 15 to 20 minutes.
As soon as muscle fibers are activated, there are positive effects for body, mind, and soul:
- Blood circulation is increased, organs such as the brain receive more oxygen
- Biochemical messenger substances are released that lead to positive metabolic outcomes (including hormones, proteins, enzymes) for fat and sugar metabolism and promote neuroplasticity (growth and wiring of nerve cells)
- Students are more emotionally engaged and there is a positive impact on school performance
