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Professor makes students put on surprise dance performance after catching them bored in class

“It was perhaps the coolest, most kind-hearted thing I’ve ever seen a college instructor do.”

Photo credit: @redadhdventures/https://www.canva.com/photos

When you're burnt out, you just gotta dance!

A Tumblr story from @redhdadventures is getting some attention after showcasing what learning in life is all about. In the post, she shares about when her Arabic college professor noticed the entire class was looking tired, restless, and overall rundown. Usually, a teacher would encourage their students to get a good night's rest after class, perhaps bring a coffee next time, or some other piece of advice before pushing forward with their lesson plan. This professor had a different solution: stop class and dance.


Seeing that his students were “dead inside,” he closed the textbooks and said, “That’s not healthy!” He then taught his students a dance he learned from Iraq, having them let loose and let the good vibes boost their energy. He didn’t go back to his lesson until he saw every student laugh and was able to confirm that each one was feeling better.

“It was perhaps the coolest, most kind-hearted thing I’ve ever seen a college instructor do,” remarked @redadhdadventures in the post.

The story made its way to Instagram in which commenters shared similar joyful, invigoration stories from their teachers:

“My high school German teacher used to do this. We'd be expecting a typical lesson/class, but she'd say, ‘Push all the desks to the back. Wir tanzen!’ 🕺😁”

“I had a linguistics professor like this. I remember one day it was beautiful and sunny. As class was about to start, he looked out the window and declared that it was too nice a day to stay indoors. We did our lesson in a circle on the lawn 😂”

“My ninth grade English teacher brought out jump ropes one day and had us go outside and jump rope for about half the class time and afterwards asked how we felt and everyone said that we felt like kids again. Core memories.”

Even fellow teachers shared their strategies when faced with depleted students:

“I used to dance with my 2nd graders during their 10 minute ‘brain breaks.’ They would tell me what Just Dance videos to play on YouTube and we would all follow along. 🕺🏾”

“I have given my high school students half an hour for nap time. They all said they didn’t need it but I turned down the lights and switched the music to soothing and one by one their heads dropped. I just let them wake up on their own time. About half an hour later they each woke up and started doing their work. I believe they were more productive after then if we persevered without a nap.”

College students dancingDancing can loosen the mood while improving your memory skills!Photo credit: Canva

Taking a break to boost students isn’t just good for the soul, science backs it up, too. A study by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke found that taking frequent, mindful short breaks while studying actually help the brain learn and retain new skills. It showed that the resting brain would repeatedly replay information while it rested, making it easier to retain and remember in the longer term.

Breaks are shown to be even more effective when they involve physical activity, especially dancing. Dancing can improve circulation and provide exercise without feeling like exercise, per a National Library of Medicine study. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that dancing can also strengthen neuron connections, improve memory, and even combat dementia in our brains! This is partially music involved in dancing invokes emotions and thoughts within our minds as we move, along with our brains being stimulated as we try to remember the dance moves as we execute them. All of this stimulates and improves the parts of the brain that are associated with executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition. Our brains are also rewarded with feel-good serotonin chemicals due to the physical activity and social interaction that dancing provides, too.

Woman doing yoga in front of her laptopDoing a physical activity during a break from studying, such as dancing or yoga, can be beneficial to your health.Photo credit: Canva

So if you feel like you’re in a rut, your brain is fried, or you’re just feeling down, try just dancing it out. It may feel silly, but that’s kind of the point. Even if you’re bad at it, you’ll be able to make yourself feel better by laughing at yourself and from your body rewarding itself for it, if alone. If with a group, you’ll be able to all laugh together and feel better before attacking the next task ahead.

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7 ways thinking like a tiger can help you start your week right.

It's the beginning of a new week and you may be feeling kind of bleh, but channeling your inner tiger can help you start off the right foot.

Today is not a day to whimper — today is a day to roar with delight! According to the World Wildlife Fun and the Global Tiger Forum, tiger populations are finallygoing up after over 100 years of decline.


This puts us at about 3,900 wild tigers — about 700 more than the 2010 estimate.

Seven tiger-inspired things to remember this week that'll help you succeed at work and in life:

1. Don't let others talk over you. Raise your voice and be heard!

Photo by China Photos/Getty Images.

You know who ignores a tiger? You know who interrupts a tiger during a work meeting? No one, that's who! If you were a tiger, your roar would be heard nearly two miles away.

2. Don't be afraid to show off your stripes — the things that make you unique!

Image from J. Patrick Fischer/Wikimedia Commons.

Every tiger's stripes are unique — no two are alike! You shouldn't feel the need to hide your stripes either. Customize your workspace with pictures of your family or favorite hobby. Find cool wallpapers or desktop apps like Rainmeter to make your desktop your own.

3. If you've got a problem, jump right in and start swimming.

Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images.

Tigers aren't scared of water. In fact, they're basically at home in it and can swim for miles!

What does this mean for you? If you're got a job or assignment, don't procrastinate. If it feels too large, find a small part of it you can do now and try working on it for just 10 or 20 minutes. If you can keep doing that, no problem is too big (or too wet) for you.

4. Don't let others take advantage of you. Own your space.

Image via Paul Mannix/Wikimedia Commons.

Someone asking to borrow your stapler or eyeing your lunch again? Tigers can claim more than 200 square miles as territory. What's yours is yours. Don't be afraid to let people know it or be afraid to say no (politely, of course). If you do loan something out, set clear expectations of when you want it back.

5. Be social! But respect the space and time you need to chill out.

Image via Paul Mannix/Wikimedia Commons.

Tigers have their own territories and tend to live on their own but do often roam larger areas as well, which means they can keep track of what their neighbors are doing.

"Solitary tigers actually have a rich social life; they just prefer to socialize from a distance," says the National Zoo's website.

You can balance your private and social life as well. Set time limits for social media. Feel free to turn your Slack or Gchat status to away or busy (or invisible!). You'll be more productive, and it'll mean that when you do meet up with your friends, you can leave work at work and focus on them.

6. If you don't succeed at first, don't give up. Keep trying until you get it right.

Image from China's Tiger/Wikimedia Commons.

Even though tigers are powerful hunters, only about 1 in every 10 hunts is successful. That's OK, though, because does the tiger give up? No! So don't get discouraged. Take a break, relax, analyze what went wrong, and try again.

And when a tiger succeeds, they know how to make the most of a good thing, chowing down on up to 90 pounds of food in one sitting. You should savor your victories as well, after all, you've earned them!

7. Finally: Take your sleep seriously.

Image from Ltshears/Wikimedia Commons.

If you've been working like a tiger, you've also got to take care of yourself like one. After all, tigers can sleep over 16 hours a day.

Make sure you're getting a healthy amount of sleep each night, set specific bedtimes, don't drink caffeine in the evening, and — if you're feeling really wild — remove all screens from your bedroom. Your sleep is precious, and you need every minute of it.

So channel your inner tiger this week and spread the good news!

Tigers are still endangered and disappearing in some areas, but the increased numbers are a giant sign of how amazing tigers are and how much people want to keep them around!

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The world is stressful. These 25 items can make it less so.

For inner peace, outer peace, and all your other pieces.

The world can be a stressful place.

We're all trying to have it all and do it all — usually at the same time. And this endless pursuit of work-life-family-health-finance-love-spiritual enlightenment-Netflix balance can feel extremely hard to manage.

Clearly, there's a lot on our collective minds, and it's stressing us out.

Stress is insidious; it makes our body fight against itself. Stress releases hormones in our body that make us tense and edgy. We're restless and irritable, we can't sleep, we eat too much — or not at all. It's no secret that people who are better at managing stress lead happier lives. While not all of us can live our best lives 100% of the time, there are tools we can use to help ourselves get to healthier and calmer emotional places when life gets hard.

Here are a few tools and products to help you stay calm when things feel bananas:

1. Take a five-minute break with a meditation app.

Image via Heather Libby (screenshot).

Pause is a mobile app designed to make you, well, pause. Put your finger on the glowing orb of your mobile screen, focus on your breathing for up to 5 minutes and feel your stresses slip away. There are several apps like it out there; try any of them.

2. Collect data on your stress with wearable tech.

Image via Fitbit.com.

The newest wearable tech is so much more than a pedometer. The latest ones from Fitbit, Jawbone, and Apple (among others) also track your heart rate and sleep cycles so you can get intel on what kinds of situations stress you out. Then you can make a plan for how you'll handle them when they happen again.

3. Wake up gently to soft daylight, a cup of fresh-brewed coffee, or the scent of delicious crispy bacon.

Image via Phillips.ca.

Your morning alarm doesn't have to sound like a high school buzzer. Companies and designers are making alarms that rouse you gently from your sleep with calming light or comforting smells like coffee and bacon. Wouldn't you rather start your day with joy instead of mad panic?

4. Little things driving you crazy? Take out your frustrations on a stress ball.

Image via Amy McTigue/Flickr.

Some are squishy, others are hard and knobbly, but they all help you to release tension and stretch out tense muscles in your hands and wrists.

5. Be the most zen version of yourself with a mindfulness app.

Image via Headspace.com.

Headspace is one app for your smartphone that helps you learn the basics of meditation and mindfulness — no fancy guru necessary, and it's free. App stores have plenty of other offerings like this one for guiding you into the next realm of consciousness.

6. If you have fidgety fingers, kinetic sand may be the perfect desk toy for you.

Image via Thomas Duff/Flickr.

I like to fiddle with things when I'm thinking — it keeps my hands busy so my mind can work. For that, kinetic sand is a lifesaver. This "magic sand" is fun to play with and build into shapes, then to squish and start all over again. You're the supreme overlord in a circle of your own creation!

7. If you've got a cat, Feliway can calm your savage, couch-scratching beast and give you peace of mind.

My cat Fezzik, pre-Feliway. A bundle of pure spaz, covered in fur. Image via Heather Libby/Upworthy.

To anyone who’s ever looked down at the shredded remains of something they owned and then over to the unrepentant face of a cat they are reconsidering whether they love, these words will ring true: pet anxiety = human anxiety. And in 18 years of cat ownership, Feliway is the only product I’ve ever found that helped limit it. Feliway is a sprayable calming synthetic cat pheromone that mimics the natural one happy cats use to mark their territory as safe and familiar. It's available in a spray and a diffuser.

8. Tune out the crowd with noise-cancelling headphones and relaxing playlists.

Image via Philippe Put/Flickr.

If you work in a shared office space, you know how loud things can get — especially when all you need is quiet. A good set of noise-cancelling headphones and a playlist designed to help you concentrate will help you find your focus and get things done. Spotify has a great selection of instrumental playlists, or you can check out Focus @ Will, which promises "music scientifically optimized to boost concentration and focus."

9. Make your head tingle in a good way — hopefully — with a scalp massager.

Image via Yogesh Mhatre/Flickr.

Some people swear by these for stimulating tiny muscles on the scalp and around the face. Others say it feels like crawling spider feet on their head. Your personal mileage may vary.

10. Walk on sunshine in a pair of acupressure slippers.

Image via HealthandYoga.com.

Walking in these slippers stimulates pressure points on your feet, giving some of the relaxing benefits of a full-body massage.

11. Make anywhere smell like heaven with an aromatherapy diffuser.

Image via Takashi Hososhima/Flickr.

Aromatherapy diffusers use concentrated essential oils to gently fill your home or workspace with smells that soothe you, like lavender or vanilla. Breathe deeply.

12. Give your stiff shoulders a break with the Real-EaSE Neck Support.

Image via RelaxtheBack.com.

If your posture is less than perfect and you sit at a desk for long periods of time, you might be ending the day with a pretty stiff neck. Lying on the floor for 20 minutes with your head in the cradle of the Real-EaSE will help your muscles relax and your spine realign.

13. Get a quick fix from stressful surprises with Rescue Remedy.

Image via Joyce/Flickr.

Rescue Remedy is a little bottle packed full of flower botanicals known for their soothing qualities, like rock rose, cherry plum, and clematis. Keep it in your pocket or your purse for relief on the go.

14. Sing along as you soak with a waterproof bluetooth speaker.

Image via Achim Hepp/Flickr.

Anyone can feel like royalty in the right bath. Make yours extra-luxe with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, battery-operated candles, extra-large extra fluffy towels, and a memory foam bathmat.

15. Channel your inner kid with a grown-up coloring book.

Image via Ambography/Flickr.

It's wonderful to see coloring for grown-ups becoming a big thing. Take a few minutes with paints, markers, or pencil crayons to color inside — or outside — the lines, and rediscover how good it felt to as a kid to make art.

16. Train your brain with a brainwave sensing headband.

Image via Gaiam.com.

The Muse headband detects changes in your brainwaves to determine when you're experiencing stress. Together with a mobile app, it will help you train your brain to manage anxiety and find your calm.

17. Rest up in a $25,000 napping pod.

Image via Hammacher Schlemmer/Hammacher.com.

Enjoy a relaxing nap in this ergonomic napping pod, complete with memory foam mattress. Just don't think about the fact that it costs $25,000 yet, inexplicably, doesn't include a blanket or a pillow. Or how long the purchase of it will be accruing interest on your credit card as you slowly pay it off. Shhhh. Sleep. Sleeeeep.

GIF from "The Princess and the Frog."

If you'd rather de-stress in a way that doesn't involve buying things, there are many no-cost options, too:

18. Cut your browser clutter and open-tab stress with OneTab.

The OneTab icon in my browser window. Also recommended: the Momentum landing page plugin. Image via Heather Libby/Upworthy.

Take a quick look: How many tabs do you have open in your browser right now? How many of them actually need to be open? The OneTab browser extension for Chrome and Firefox helps you clear browser clutter (and free up extra memory) by collecting all your open tabs into a list that you can go back to later.

19. Do absolutely nothing for two minutes.

Image via Heather Libby/Upworthy.

One of the key elements of meditation is stillness and a clear, empty mind. The best way to get there? Click over to this website by Calm and do nothing, absolutely nothing for two whole minutes. Can you do it? Give it a try. We'll wait here.

20. Snack on stress-busting foods like blueberries, almonds, and dark chocolate.

Image via Sandra/Flickr.

Adding foods with calming effects like turkey breast, oatmeal, and avocado to your meals and snacks can help you feel better as you eat well.

21. Make your bed great again with new (or just freshly-cleaned) sheets.

Image via Alex Saunders/Flickr.

We spend a full one-third of our lives in bed, so it's important our sheets and coverlets are up to the task. Find a style of sheet you like — maybe that's unbleached organic or ultra-smooth 800-thread-count Egyptian cotton or fuzzy soft flannel or cooling silk. There's a perfect sheet for every sleep style — find yours and enjoy better ZZZZs, guaranteed.

22. Browse through comedy videos and find your next laugh.

Image via Francois Reiniche/Flickr.

There's a reason people say "laughter is the best medicine" — it's really true. If you're tensed up at your desk or on the go and need a chuckle, there are streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others, or you can find plenty of laugh-out-loud videos on YouTube. And if all else fails, there are always aww-worthy GIFs online to brighten up a dark day.

23. Snuggle up in the fuzziest fuzzy blanket in the history of fuzziness.

Image via Steve Voght/Flickr.

Only you can decide which fuzzy blanket has the right level of fuzziness for your taste. Once you find it, you'll never want to crawl out from under it. It's a great investment and the perfect way to de-stress after a long day.

24. Adopt a rescue pet and soothe your soul.

Sierra Nelson Hay is a very good rescue dog; yes, she is. Image via Heather Libby/Upworthy.

A number of studies suggest that getting a rescue pet can reduce your stress and help you live longer. Plus, you're giving another little being a second chance on life! Be sure to get in lots of daily cuddle sessions; just a few minutes of time spent snuggling a pet can cause your body to release the feel-good hormone oxytocin and lower your blood pressure.

25. Lounge in a hammock rocking gently on a white sand beach.

Image via Micky**/Flickr.

OK, so chances are you don't have this in or near your home right now — and if you do, I'd really love to find out why you're reading an article about stress instead of one about "having an awesome life." But hammocks are excellent places for naps, reading, or just relaxing in bliss, especially on a warm, sunny, beachy day.

See? Pure bliss.

A quick disclaimer: I’m not suggesting any of these products are the key to unlocking a stress-free you, and none of the products in this list have paid for their inclusion or received any special consideration to end up here. Anyone who promises miracle cures that work without effort would be misleading people. These products may help, but it’s the enthusiasm and commitment you put into them that will make all the difference. Good luck! Serenity now!

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