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Last Updated2 June 2023
Managing Stress explores how stress and anxiety present physically and cognitively. Learning new things often makes people nervous. Understanding how students move through their window of tolerance will help develop an instructor’s ability to connect with their students and keep them safe.

Window of Tolerance

The window of tolerance concept was coined by Dan Siegel in his 1999 book The Developing Mind. Siegel proposes that everyone has a range of intensities of emotional experience which they can comfortably experience, process and integrate. This is their ‘window of tolerance’ or zone of ‘optimum arousal’ (Ogden et al, 2006). Some people’s window of tolerance is relatively wide: they can feel comfortable despite relatively high degrees of emotional intensity, and a broad range of emotions.

According to the window of tolerance theory, when you are within this zone, your brain is working effectively in that it is smoothly processing events, thoughts, and emotions, you feel safe and are open to understanding, communicating, learning, playfulness, enjoyment, playing games etc. However, moving above or below your window of tolerance results in feeling unsafe, survival mechanisms being activated, unbearable emotions and defensive behaviours.

If you’re within your optimal tolerance zone, you feel grounded and can manage your emotions effectively. According to a 2011 research review, your window of tolerance is a balance between the two states of hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal.

Hyperarousal
In this state, you may notice heightened agitation, anxiety or anger. You may also feel overwhelmed. You cannot think clearly and will have irrational thoughts. This is akin to the fight/flight response.
Hypoarousal
Moving into this state may result in feelings of numbness, disassociation or exhaustion. You may also experience feelings of depression or lack energy. This is akin to the freeze response; you may find it hard to think.

The Learning Edge

It is hard to listen and learn when you are out of your window of tolerance. Like the fight-flight-freeze zone, you are not calm enough to take things in; however, there is a fine line just on the edge of hyperarousal in the window of tolerance where you may be able to tolerate learning new skills.

Activities to help students calm their brain and stay in their window of tolerance should be:

  • Repetitive (patterned)
  • Rhythmical (periodic, moving to a drum beat)
  • Reciprocal (felt equally between student and teacher)
  • Relational (offered by a safe adult)
  • Relevant (developmentally-matched to the student, rather than matched to their age)
  • Rewarding (pleasurable)
  • Respectful (of the student)

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