The Health & Science of Fidget Spinners

More ubiquitous than motorcycles on a hot Sunday, fidget spinners are everywhere!!!

As parents unload the contents of their wallets into this latest promise for Peace and Quiet™, many wonder if fidget spinners really bring anything to the table. Let’s review some of the promises of this latest of wonder-cures for that itchy late-capitalism sensation…

Features

• Focus
• De-stress
• Curb anxiety

The packaging encourages the user to spin the device in a variety of settings, none of which would put the user in danger. If they suggested spinning while riding a hoverboard and vaping fruit-flavored nicotine juice we could check it off as another idiotic trend, but there is still some gleam of hope that these spinners really are all they are cut out to be.

According to science, the benefits of fidgeting are numerous. Fidgeting behavior burns an extra 350 calories a day, and one study has found that children allowed to fidget with their hands perform better with learning and memory tests.

The packaging gets a pass, but the marketing wizkids writing copy for these products are claiming the spinner is great for children with ADD, anxiety, and autism. The claim is that by quietly channeling nervous energy into these devices your little neuro-atypical angel can be like the other boys and girls. This is a high promise for parental units who don’t understand the competitive advantages of neurodiversity and just want their kid to be normal, but teachers have found the additional distraction disrupts focus for the rest of the class.

No matter how many times your kid spins a piece of plastic, they’re not going to become a master fidget spinner destined for fidget spinning greatness, even if fidget spinners could charge and transmit electricity to nearby batteries or something similarly useful. The humble doodler is a draftsperson, artist, and doctor in the making.

With the lowly pen and paper, any kid on the spectrum can doodle all day, and the benefits are well documented for their contribution to…

• memory
• concentration
• creativity
• engagement
• problem solving

All while developing a skill that can be used over a lifetime.

For a more therapeutic method of stress release, our HandGym Pure Gel Hand Exerciser Stress Balls are infused with Rose Hip Oil that moisturizes your skin.

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