Taking Control of Your Kids Energy

I am taking psychology 101 in college right now and am learning an incredible amount. There is one thing I have learned about that I think you will be very interested in. There are some tools we can use to control (to a certain extent) your kids energy without yelling at them, talking to them, begging or pleading.
In fact my professor told us he was using these techniques on us (and they were working), but we didn't even know it.
The actual details behind it are little complicated to explain, but I'll outline the basics in this post. This might sound a little confusing for a moment, but I'll explain it all.

Located in the base of our Brain is our Pineal Gland, as lights begin to fade this gland is told to secrete a hormone called melatonin (you've probably heard of this hormone before).
As melatonin levels build up we begin to feel sleepy, however if more light starts coming into our eyes our melatonin levels will go back down and we will become more awake.
Ok.

.

.
that is confusing, so how does it apply? Basically, the dimmer the lights are the more tired we will feel and if they get brighter we will feel less tired.
I get it! Tell me how it applies to my ministry? - When transitioning from a high energy time (like games, or praise) to a calmer time (like teaching or more intimate worship) you can dim the lights and the kids energy will dim a little also.
- If the kids are starting to get sleepy during the lessons, or look like they've gone into their own little world you can help wake them up and give them enough energy to listen to your teaching by increasing the light levels.

- Make Game time and praise times have even more energy by increasing the light levels in the room.
I think you get the point.
Lighting has a HUGE control over the energy of our kids (it's not the only factor, but it is the main one). Be sure that all your lights are adjustable so you have more control over their energy.

This is an awesome way to help guide the children in your ministry.
One of my Role Models, Pastor Mike from Shepherd of the Hills, confirmed this for me.

He told me that in every room he has a lot of adjustable lighting.

Also, in my Podcast with Randy Triplett from Creative For Kids, Randy told me that often we don't have enough lighting in our Children's Ministry.

So don't take it from me, take from those two experts, this is extremely important. Understanding how the Brain works defiantly can empower you as a Children's Ministry Leader.
Here is what you should do: Explore this idea, see how lighting effects your kids.