Many children eagerly enter their first classroom excited and a little nervous. It is perfectly natural, after all, to feel jittery when confronting something so new as school. But some children come bearing more than a normal amount of trepidation; some, in fact, are deathly afraid of saying good bye to their mothers. “I had…
Taking a final exam can be a stressful experience for any student. As the moment arrives when the tests are handed out and procrastination is no longer an option, nervous attentiveness and the flushed pallor that accompanies an increased heart rate can clearly be observed in some students. How do stress and anxiety affect a…
Intensive standardized testing not only causes stress in students, but may undermine learning. Anecdotal reports from educators, combined with a surge in prescriptions for such medications as Ritalin and Prozac, suggest that students are experiencing increased stress in the classroom. At the root of the problem, some researchers suggest, are schools that primarily rank students…
One of the world’s leading experts in the neurobiology of emotion, Dr. LeDoux has garnered many accolades for his basic research into how the brain processes fear. Using clever conditioning experiments, he and his colleagues have been able to show that a small almond sized brain structure called the amygdala is responsible for processing fear…
Fear is normally a healthy emotion that helps keep us from danger, but for some people it becomes an unmanageable force that consumes their every waking hour. I know because it happened to me when I was fourteen and suffered my first panic attack in Madame Andreassion’s third period French class. It was terrifying because…
Naps are a great source of comfort for some. The biggest question being how long should I nap and what benefits are derived from these naps. Here are some guidelines: 10 to 20 minutes This power nap is ideal for a boost in alertness and energy, experts say. This length usually limits you to the…