Have you ever noticed how students start to squirm, tap their pencils, or bounce in their seats after sitting still for too long? That so-called “fidget factor” isn’t just a quirk — it’s a powerful clue about how children learn best. In fact, movement plays a vital role in helping K-5 students stay focused, process new concepts, and thrive academically.
Research underscores what many educators witness daily: Physical activity isn’t a distraction, but a catalyst for learning. Movement activates neural pathways, boosts memory, and improves self-regulation, making it an essential piece of effective early childhood education. For students showing signs of restless behavior or for those navigating attention deficit disorder classroom challenges, integrating purposeful movement can be a game-changer.
By creating dynamic, inclusive learning environments that embrace movement, schools can better support all learners, including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, while also mitigating the effects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
In this article, we’ll explore how thoughtful movement strategies can actually teach children how to stop fidgeting by channeling that energy in productive ways, leading to calmer classrooms and more engaged minds. Let’s look at why it works and how you can make it a practical reality in your school.
The Fidget Factor Explained
If you’ve ever wondered how to stop fidgeting in your classroom, you’re not alone. But it turns out that those wiggles, foot taps, and chair swivels might be exactly what students need.
The “Fidget Factor” refers to our body’s inherent, neurologically driven impulse to move. It’s a natural mechanism that supports both physical health and the learning process.
Recent studies challenge the old notion that fidgeting is purely disruptive. Instead, researchers are discovering that for many children, especially those showing restless behavior or managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, these small movements are essential. They help keep the brain engaged, making it easier to process and retain new information. In fact, without opportunities to fidget, students can lose focus entirely.
The Brain Science Behind Fidgeting
Scientists believe that our natural inclination for movement comes from the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS is a network of nerves in the brainstem that is responsible for regulating attention and sleep-wake transitions. This system relies on sensory input, including physical movement, to maintain an optimal state of alertness.
When students move, even through subtle actions like finger tapping or leg bouncing, their brains receive the stimulation needed to stay attentive and awake. This is especially critical in an attention deficit disorder classroom, where sustained concentration can be a daily challenge.

Fidgeting can help with learning comprehension and memory retention, too. Our “working memory” is a brain function that temporarily stores and manipulates information. Some studies indicate that subtle movements can improve working memory capacity in individuals with a tendency towards restless behavior. Fidgeting may serve as a way of processing information, in addition to keeping the brain focused.
Furthermore, physical activity, including fidgeting, increases dopamine and norepinephrine levels. These neurotransmitters are known to enhance attention as well as regulate our moods (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008).
So instead of viewing fidgeting or minor hyperactivity in the classroom as a behavior to suppress, we can see it as the brain’s natural strategy for achieving the focus necessary for learning and understanding.
Movement: A Hidden Ally in Learning
Transforming fidgeting into movement-based teaching strategies can be incredibly beneficial for learning. Physical activity increases oxygen levels in the blood and blood flow to the brain. As a result, the brain can function at optimal levels for learning.
Whether it’s crossing legs, drumming fingers, or shifting posture, these small acts all serve to regulate the body’s physiological state. For students, particularly students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, these micro-movements can make the difference between zoning out and staying tuned in.
By embracing the Fidget Factor, schools can foster an environment where movement is not a distraction but a powerful ally in maintaining focus and promoting meaningful learning.
The Shift in Educational Philosophy and Movement
It’s eye-opening to realize that the design of today’s classrooms, with students expected to sit quietly for long stretches, didn’t emerge from educational best practices. Instead, it can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, when uniform schooling was shaped to create disciplined, factory-ready workers. Rows of desks, prolonged sitting, and minimal movement were once intended to cultivate a docile workforce, not necessarily to support children’s cognitive development.

Today, however, we’re seeing a more data-driven shift. A growing body of evidence reveals that excessive sedentary behavior contributes to long-term health issues, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and depression. Physical inactivity also undermines cognitive skills essential for learning, such as memory, attention, and executive function.
So not only is sitting still for too long counterproductive for students prone to restless behavior, but it is also detrimental to every student’s long-term physical and mental health. Because of this, more and more schools are embracing movement-based learning techniques.
A Modern Approach for Focus
More educators are strategically leveraging movement as a vital self-regulation tool for students. This is particularly meaningful for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who often experience a surge of energy that needs a safe outlet. For these students, fidgeting can be an essential coping mechanism to sustain focus and manage impulses.
The aim isn’t to eliminate fidgeting altogether, but to help students learn how to stop fidgeting in ways that are distracting or disruptive. The goal is to channel their need for motion into subtle, purposeful actions that aid concentration.
Ultimately, this approach reframes fidgeting from a purely disciplinary concern to one of pedagogy and neuroscience: By honoring students’ biological need for movement, schools can better support learning and minimize behaviors that might otherwise seem problematic.

Reconciling Biology and Environment
Here’s the real challenge: our brains are wired for movement, but our classrooms are built for stillness. The “Fidget Factor” isn’t a flaw – it’s a natural neurological impulse and a fundamental health need. Yet chair-bound classrooms frequently suppress these instincts, creating a mismatch between human biology and the environment we expect students to thrive in.
For principals and teachers, this means rethinking classroom management. Restricting movement fails to address hyperactivity in the classroom and may actually impede a child’s ability to focus and learn. Movement is a necessary addition to an outdated model that works against how children’s bodies and brains function best.
By recognizing this, school leaders can shift from viewing fidgeting purely as a behavioral problem to understanding it as an opportunity to align educational spaces with how children truly learn.

Movement's Impact on Students: The Tangible Benefits
We know that physical activity, including fidgeting, stimulates the RAS, improves working memory, and increases dopamine and norepinephrine levels—all of which enhance concentration. But movement can do a lot more for students. The research supporting movement-based learning as an effective teaching method is growing.
Enhancing Early Childhood Development
For young children, physical activity has a profound impact on the developing brain. Physical activity is particularly beneficial while learning, as it supports neuroplasticity —the brain’s ability to form new neural connections —by stimulating the release of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Additionally, physical activity promotes the growth of the hippocampus, a region of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

One study found that integrating physical activity into children’s daily routines enhanced their executive function and expressive language development. Another meta-analysis revealed that physical activity interventions significantly improved executive functioning in children with ADHD.
Improved Academic Achievement
Physically active students generally receive better grades.
One study followed over 1300 students in grades 2-5 for three years to determine the effects of physically active classroom lessons on BMI and academic achievement. The “academically oriented physical activities” supplemented content in math, ELA, geography, history, spelling, science, and health. The students who participated in the physically active lessons showed an average improvement of 6% in their academic achievement, while those who did not participate experienced a 1% decrease.
Another trial involving 2301 primary students found that an exercise intervention increased academic scores by 8.36-9.55 points.
Yet another study found that in California, students who passed the state physical fitness test scored higher on standardized tests. In addition, California students whose fitness improved between 5th and 7th grade saw a greater score increase on their standardized tests than those whose fitness declined.
Perhaps most remarkably of all, a 3rd grade class saw an average improvement of over 89% in multiplication after a two-week movement-based intervention using Math & Movement products and activities.
Increased Student Engagement
Movement-based learning is a form of experiential learning, meaning that students get to learn through direct experience rather than passive instruction. These hands-on, full-body learning activities are ideal for increasing student engagement.
A recent study by the National Math Foundation found that movement-based activities in school significantly increased engagement across a sample size of 492 students in 3rd through 5th grade. The data showed a highly significant relationship between the type of activities and the level of student engagement. Physical activity during multiplication lessons resulted in greater engagement compared to traditional sedentary activities.
Average Student Engagement by Activity Type
Behavioral Regulation
For students struggling with focus, movement can serve as an effective form of self-regulation. Fidgeting and kinesthetic activities provide a constructive outlet for excess energy. Adding regular movement helps prevent restlessness and boredom that often lead to disruptive behavior. This creates a better environment for all students.
Elevated Social-Emotional Well-being
Movement also significantly contributes to social-emotional health. Physical activity stimulates the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals boost moods and help students manage anxiety and stress. As a result, movement leads to calmer and more focused behavior in the classroom.
We know that exercise also reduces cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone.” With some simple movement, students can reduce negative feelings and boost positive ones.
Furthermore, physical activity in the classroom promotes collaboration and connection among students. The social aspect of moving together cultivates feelings of comfort, acceptance, teamwork, trust, and happiness.

Reduced Screen Time
Adding more physical activity to classroom routines can also help reduce screen time, a growing concern of many educators and parents. On average, elementary school students sit for 8.5 hours each day. Some children may spend more than 6 of those hours in front of a screen. Movement-based activities can significantly reduce these numbers while creating an active learning environment.
Screen Time for Kids: A Movement-Focused Approach for Schools
Better Physical Health
Movement is crucial for healthy child growth and development. Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that children aged 6-17 years complete 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Regular exercise helps prevent risk factors for detrimental health outcomes, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, among others.
Some research suggests that even frequent fidgeting may be enough to reduce some all-cause mortality risks associated with sedentary lifestyles. Any movement is beneficial to physical health.

All in all, the movement habits we help young students develop are likely to persist, setting them up for enduring cognitive and physical health benefits. This research allows school leaders to frame movement-based learning integration as a data-backed strategy for enhancing student performance and addressing public health concerns.
Practical Strategies for Movement Integration in K-5 Classrooms
Now that we’ve explored the benefits and research backing movement-based learning, how can schools put these insights into practice? Here are some effective, research-backed strategies you can implement right now.
Purposeful Movement Brain Breaks
Short, structured brain breaks, lasting just 1 to 5 minutes, are powerful tools to combat restless behavior and cognitive fatigue.
Research shows that taking brief, frequent physical activity breaks during long periods of sitting can help maintain the brain’s blood flow patterns that typically decline with prolonged sitting. These breaks were also linked to improvements in working memory, suggesting that preserved cerebral blood flow may partly explain the boost in cognitive performance.
Here are a few quick movements to try with your elementary students:
- Countdown Shakeout: Start at 10 and count down together aloud as a class. Shake one body part per count (on 10, shake your right arm, on 9 shake your left leg, etc.). End in calm stillness.
- Desk-Side Freeze Dance: Instruct your students to move in place next to their desks when music is playing. They can jump in place, wiggle their arms, etc. When you stop the music, students should “freeze” or hold their pose.
- Air Drawings: Students use their arms, hands, and fingertips to draw in the air. Practice drawing spelling words, sight words, geometric shapes, numbers, and math equations.

Tailor these breaks to students’ energy levels: Use alerting movements when kids seem sluggish and calming stretches when the class gets too revved up. Better yet, teach students how to self-direct their own breaks. This builds awareness of when they need to move, giving them ownership over maintaining their focus and frustration levels. These critical life skills are especially beneficial in an attention deficit disorder classroom.
Movement as an Instructional Strategy
Why not merge movement directly with academics? Kinesthetic learning ties physical actions directly to lesson content, engages multiple areas of the brain, and enhances comprehension. It’s ideal for those who struggle with purely auditory or visual instruction. For students showing hyperactivity in the classroom, channeling their energy into meaningful activities is behaviorally and academically beneficial.
Active math movements are Math & Movement’s short brain breaks for practicing counting with physical activity. They do not require any materials – only your students’ bodies, energy, and imaginations! They’re perfect to do between lessons, during transition times, or whenever your class needs a minute to reset.
Most of our active math movements are cross-body movements, meaning they engage both sides of the brain.
Get started with these quick movements by downloading our FREE Training Manual. The PDF includes over 250 active math movements that teachers can begin with their students immediately!
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See how simple adding movement can be!
Let’s shift our view of movement as a “time filler” or reward. Instead, we can use these strategies with confidence, knowing it is an evidence-based instructional method. A movement-based approach supports students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder while enhancing learning for every child. Math & Movement is on a mission to make movement-based learning the standard in every school.
Related Reading: Exercise Snacks for Kids: Increase Physical Activity in Schools
Unlocking Your School's Potential Through Movement
It’s time to rethink what we once saw as mere restless behavior. The Fidget Factor shouldn’t be considered a distraction that needs to be suppressed. Instead, it’s a vital, neurologically driven impulse that can help students stay focused, engaged, and ready to learn.
Integrating movement into K-5 classrooms can turn hyperactivity in the classroom into productive learning. It can help students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder discover how to stop fidgeting in ways that hurt their learning and instead, embrace movement that aids their comprehension.
Math & Movement makes kinesthetic learning feasible for every classroom with activities and educational materials that supplement a school’s existing curriculum. Our whole-school kits turn energy into engagement and fidgets into focus. Students can move on our floor mats and stickers as they explore standards-aligned concepts.
Built for Busy School Schedules
How Does Math & Movement Work?

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Choose Your Materials
Identify your school’s grade levels and instructional priorities—we’ll recommend the kits and materials that best support your academic goals.
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Access our Activity Database
Our materials come with free, ready-to-use activities—making it easy for teachers to add movement to lessons with minimal prep.
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Prep in Minutes
Most activities require little to no prep. Just roll out the mat and start teaching with movement.
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Easily Fit Activities into Your School Day
Use activities as warm-ups, classroom lessons, or interventions. Also add to family engagement events, summer learning, and afterschool programs.
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Get Support from Real People
Our U.S.-based support team is dedicated to helping your school succeed with movement-based learning. Easily plan virtual or in-person PDs for your staff.
Make the Fidget Factor your friend and bring productive movement to your classrooms today!
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FAQs
How to stop fidgeting in class?
Fidgeting is often misunderstood as a restless behavior or a lack of discipline, but it’s actually a natural, neurologically-driven impulse (known as “The Fidget Factor”). Especially in K-5 classrooms, many students rely on small movements to help their brains stay alert and process information. Instead of trying to completely stop fidgeting, it’s more effective to guide students toward purposeful, meaningful ways to move that support focus rather than distract from it.
For example, short, structured brain breaks involveing 1 to 5 minutes of movement can reduce restless behavior and keep kids engaged.
Teachers can also incorporate kinesthetic learning activities, where students physically move as part of the lesson. This channels energy productively and often leads to deeper comprehension. Healthy outlets for activity work to keep minds calm, bodies regulated, and the classroom focused.
What exercises stop fidgeting?
Instead of trying to stop fidgeting outright, it’s better to give students quick, purposeful exercises to channel energy. Short brain breaks involving jumping jacks, brief walks, or stretches help reset focus and reduce restless behavior. These small movements satisfy the brain’s need for stimulation, making it easier for kids to settle back into learning with fewer distractions.
What causes restless behavior?
Restless behavior in the classroom often comes from a natural biological need for movement. Children’s brains crave frequent sensory input to stay alert and process new information. Without chances to move, kids may start tapping, wiggling, or talking out of turn simply to wake up their brains.
For some, like students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, this need is even more pronounced. Factors such as lack of sleep, anxiety, or too much sedentary time can also amplify fidgeting. Movement-based learning strategies can help students stay active and academically focused in the classroom.
How to help a child with attention deficit disorder in the classroom?
Supporting a child with attention deficit disorder in the classroom starts with understanding that their need to move is how their brain maintains attention. Incorporate short, regular movement breaks, offer flexible seating, and weave kinesthetic activities into lessons to keep them engaged.
Clear routines and visual schedules also help reduce anxiety and keep expectations predictable. Above all, creating a classroom culture that sees hyperactivity in the classroom as a cue for creative, purposeful movement empowers these students to thrive academically and emotionally.
How does hyperactivity affect learning?
Hyperactivity in the classroom can make it harder for students to:
- Sit still
- Follow multi-step instructions
- Stay focused or on-task
- Manage time
- Organize materials and prioritize tasks
- Wait for their turn to speak or participate
These challenges can impact academic progress. With healthy outlets such as brain breaks or movement-based learning strategies, students can keep their brains alert and engaged.
How to teach students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
Teaching students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is all about blending structure with flexibility. Clear, consistent routines help reduce uncertainty and keep them on track, while short, purposeful movement breaks provide the stimulation their brains need to stay focused.
Incorporate hands-on, kinesthetic activities so that learning involves more than just listening or reading. Kinesthetic activities help students manage restless behavior while also boosting learning comprehension and memory retention.
Article Sources
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- Ratey, J. J., & Hagerman, E. (2008). Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. Little, Brown and Company.
- Quartz: The modern education system was designed to teach future factory workers to be “punctual, docile, and sober” – July 20, 2022
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- López-Bueno, R., Calatayud, J., Andersen, L. L., Casaña, J., Casajús, J. A., Smith, L., & López-Sánchez, G. F. (2021). Strength measures and pain symptoms in adults with fibromyalgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 22, 533. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04136-5
- Life Skills Advocate: Why Do I Fidget So Much? 11 Strategies For Managing ADHD Restlessness – May 3, 2025
- Valentini, V., Landolfi, A., Sorrentino, G., Di Matteo, R., & Carotenuto, A. (2025). Physical exercise-induced neuroplasticity: From molecular mechanisms to therapeutic opportunities. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 19, 1502417. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2025.1502417
- Donnelly, J. E., Greene, J. L., Gibson, C. A., Smith, B. K., Washburn, R. A., Sullivan, D. K., DuBose, K., Mayo, M. S., Schmelzle, K. H., Ryan, J. J., Jacobsen, D. J., & Williams, S. L. (2011). Physical Activity Across the Curriculum (PAAC): A randomized controlled trial to promote physical activity and diminish overweight and obesity in elementary school children. Preventive Medicine, 52(S1), S13–S19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.07.022
- Hanno, E. C., Wang, H., & Farnia, F. (2023). Executive functions and academic achievement: A meta‐analytic review. Child Development, 94(2), 360–378. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14014
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Suzy Koontz
Suzy Koontz, CEO and Founder of Math & Movement, has spent over 25 years helping students achieve academic success. She has created over 200 kinesthetic teaching tools adopted by schools nationwide and has authored over 20 books. As a sought-after national presenter, Suzy shares how movement can transform the way students learn.