Higiene do sono e atenção plena (Mindfulness) como objetos de conhecimento nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental

Abstract

Teaching about healthy life habits in school is crucial for the promotion of individual and collective health, as well as for the improvement of teaching-learning relationships. During the Covid-19 pandemic and its variants, it was observed, through the media and accounts made within the school community, an increase in cases of sleep disorders in adults and children, along with anxiety problems, lack of attention, and decreased stimulation to study. Research on sleep shows the importance of this behavior for health and how its deprivation can impair individuals’ physical, cognitive, and emotional performance. Sleep Hygiene (SH), developed by Sleep Medicine, appears as a manual with behavioral measures that may help people of all ages to have better sleep quality. One of these measures is the practice of Mindfulness, which not only helps with sleep, but also with issues related to concentration, anxiety, and mental and emotional stress. Although SH and Mindfulness are not widely disseminated in the educational field, the National Curricular Common Base recognizes their importance of promoting the health topic in the context of Science teaching. Therefore, this research investigates pedagogical possibilities in Science teaching, focusing on SH and Mindfulness, in the early years of Elementary education. It presents an educational guide (educational product) containing a didactic sequence with information for teachers and suggestions for activities that help carry out a survey of the students’ prior knowledge on the topics and verify the knowledge that they can acquire through the implementation of the educational guide. The didactic sequence was implemented in a third-grade class at a municipal public school with 27 students from eight to ten years old. The methodology used for data analysis was Discursive Textual Analysis, which allowed for interpretation after the categorization of ideas. It was found that the target audience had prior knowledge of the topics, some of which were misconceptions, and they acquired new information through the provided activities and discussions. Furthermore, we emphasized the importance of promoting health within the school environment and advocating for a preventive approach to education. We also encourage further research on these topics to be explored in Basic Education.