What somatic research can teach us about behavior, learning and the environments we create for children

We spend a lot of time teaching children how to manage their behavior.

Sit still. Pay attention. Calm down. Use your words.

All of these instructions assume that the child is physiologically capable of doing what we are asking them to do.

Research on somatic interventions and self-regulation suggests we may have the sequence backward. A somewhat new term, somatic means having to do with the body, or "soma," the Greek word for body.

A 2021 review published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing examined research on somatic approaches to improving self-regulation in children and adolescents. The researchers looked at interventions including mindfulness, yoga and deep breathing. Their conclusion was straightforward: somatic interventions can improve children's ability to self-regulate.

That makes sense when we consider what regulation actually is. Self-regulation is often treated as a cognitive skill. We think children learn to regulate themselves by understanding expectations, developing coping strategies and making better choices. Those things are important. They also rely heavily on executive function, which becomes less available when a child, or adult, has an underdeveloped or reactive nervous system.

Bottom line: self-regulation doesn't begin in the thinking brain. It begins in the body.

Our nervous systems are constantly gathering information from inside and outside of us. Whether it is heart rate, breathing, muscular tension or energy levels, the body responds before we can form a conscious thought about what is happening.

For a child experiencing chronic stress or trauma, that physiological system may be chronically on the alert for danger. Children who are highly sensitive to sensory input may experience chronic stress when their environments repeatedly overwhelm their capacity to regulate. Asking that child to "calm down" in that moment is like asking someone to calmly reason their way out of being chased by a lion. When a child cannot override their stress response as requested, it can affect their sense of agency or self-worth. Over time this can become internalized, literally adding insult to injury.

Movement, breathing, mindfulness and other somatic practices offer another pathway. Instead of trying to reason the body into a different state, they work through the body.

The Body Is Part of the Learning System

This is where established research intersects with what I call Physical Intelligence, or PQ. PQ is our ability to perceive, interpret and respond to information coming through the body. Long before children can explain what they are feeling, their bodies are experiencing and responding to the world around them. Movement is part of how they develop that capacity.

A child rocking, stretching, running, wiggling, or changing posture isn't necessarily taking a break from learning. Those physical experiences may help organize the physiological state that makes learning possible. More importantly, when we help kids notice how movement changes the way they feel, we help them build awareness of the connection between their physical and emotional states. That awareness gives them another tool for self-regulation.

Self-regulation matters academically because attention, working memory, impulse control and emotional regulation all depend, to some degree, on our ability to recognize and manage our internal state. Research has repeatedly linked self-regulation with academic success and resilience. Yet many of the environments we create for children restrict the very behaviors that may help them regulate.

Maybe the Intervention Isn't the Intervention

One of the principles behind my work at Divergent Ideas is that when a problem persists despite considerable efforts to resolve it, it is worth asking whether we are solving the right problem.

If children are struggling with attention, emotional regulation and behavior, our instinct is often to add another program, curriculum or cognitive intervention. Some children absolutely need specialized support. But before adding another layer, we might also examine the environments they are in and whether we are helping children understand how their bodies respond within those environments.

Do children have enough opportunities to move? Do classrooms provide ways to regulate through the body? Are we teaching children to notice physiological signals before those signals become overwhelming? Are we treating movement as a disruption to learning when it may actually be part of the infrastructure that supports it?

The 2021 review also makes clear that we don't yet know everything. Researchers called for more study to determine which somatic interventions work best and at which "dose." But the larger idea is worth paying attention to now. Building regular opportunities for movement and regulation into everyday learning environments doesn't require waiting for perfect evidence about an ideal dose.

We often try to change behavior by working from the outside in through commands, rules, expectations and consequences. Let’s ask ourselves, how is that working? The body gives us another place to begin. When children learn to recognize what is happening within their bodies and discover ways to influence their own internal state, they gain a greater degree of autonomy and freedom of choice in how they respond.

The pathway to better behavior, stronger emotional regulation and greater capacity to learn may very well begin from the inside out. Let's give kids the space to move in that direction.

Source: Neal, A. M. (2021). Somatic interventions to improve self-regulation in children and adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 34(3), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcap.12315