When we are under duress, we experience significant physiological changes that interfere with our actions and decision-making. Our fine motor skills deteriorate, followed by our complex motor skills and cognitive processing ability. We begin to perceive things more narrowly and lose some of our problem-solving skills. When our heart rate reaches 220 beats per minute, irrational behavior begins to occur. Think about a time you may have heard of someone doing something that seems completely irrational, during a crisis. It is likely that the person was past the 220 bpm threshold and was not thinking or behaving rationally.

We have a much better likelihood of acting with purpose and in the appropriate ways when a crisis strikes if we have rehearsed our desired response beforehand. This is why we practice drills.

Drills are an exercise in conditioning our brains and bodies. They employ a form of cognitive conditioning and training through muscle memory. Because of this, it’s critical that we perform them just as we would respond in a real emergency. This means taking flip charts and emergency kits with us when exiting the building or moving into a lockdown space.

While you may not be the person in charge of scheduling drills and therefore unable to schedule one today, you can review your school's safety plan and walk yourself through the recommended response for various emergencies. Mental rehearsal will also serve as a valuable form of conditioning. Without this conditioning to fall back on, we are likely to find ourselves floundering and reacting much less efficiently and safely in a crisis.