Physical Fitness in Childhood Linked to Higher Reading and Math
Scores
September 28 2012
By Dr. Mercola
If your child is struggling in school, you may want to evaluate
his level of physical activity and fitness.
Researchers have repeatedly found connections between fitness and
brain health, which naturally impacts all areas of brain function,
such as cognitive thinking skills and memory.
According to a study from the University of North Texas, which
was recently presented at the American Psychological Association's
annual convention, having a healthy heart and lungs may actually be
one of the most important factors for middle school
students to make good grades in math and reading.1
According to co-author Trent A. Petrie, PhD:
"Cardiorespiratory fitness was the only factor
that we consistently found to have an impact on both boys' and
girls' grades on reading and math tests... This
provides more evidence that schools need to re-examine any
policies that have limited students' involvement in physical
education classes."
Indeed, there's plenty of evidence attesting to the fact that if
you value your brainpower, and that of your children, you'll want to
make certain that exercise is a regular part of your and your
family's life. Previous research has also discovered links between
physical fitness and mental acuity in seniors, so it's equally
important for all age groups.
Physical Activity Could Equate to Higher Grades
A test program not too far from our Chicago-area office at
Naperville Central High School in Illinois illustrated the power of
exercise to boost school performance in a powerful way two years
ago. Students participated in a dynamic morning exercise program at
the beginning of the day, and had access to exercise bikes and balls
throughout the day in their classrooms. The results were astounding.
Those who participated nearly doubled their reading scores!2
Research has also shown that after 30 minutes on the treadmill,
students solve problems up to 10 percent more effectively.
Another more recent review of 14 studies,3
ranging in size from as few as 50 participants to as many as 12,000,
also demonstrated that the more physically active schoolchildren
are, the better they do academically. According to the authors:
"Physical activity and sports are generally promoted for
their positive effect on children's physical health; regular
participation in physical activity in childhood is associated
with a decreased cardiovascular risk in youth and adulthood.
There is also a growing body of literature suggesting that
physical activity has beneficial effects on several mental
health outcomes, including health-related quality of life and
better mood states.
In addition... there is a strong belief that regular
participation in physical activity is linked to enhancement of
brain function and cognition, thereby positively influencing
academic performance."
Clearly, the importance of encouraging your child to stay active
after school and on weekends in order to reap the wonderful
brain-boosting benefits that exercise has to offer cannot be
overstated. Even better, be a positive role model and stay active
together as a family.
Ideally, you'll want to incorporate a variety of activities, as
each type of exercise may offer unique benefits for your brain
health and may even help your brain to grow as you get
older, rather than shrink, which is the norm. A review of more than
100 studies, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology,4
revealed that both aerobic and resistance training are equally
important for maintaining brain and cognitive health.
For instance, aerobic exercise has been found to improve your
ability to coordinate multiple tasks – a skill needed for most
people in today's fast-paced world. It can also improve your ability
to stay on task for extended periods. Resistance training, on the
other hand, appears to improve your ability to focus amid
distractions. Overall, exercise tends to improve the ability of
different parts of your brain to work together. Effects such as
these are thought to be due to changes in the prefrontal and
temporal lobes, caused by exercise.
Your Brain "on Exercise"
Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by
causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their
interconnections and protecting them from damage. Animal tests have
illustrated that during exercise, their nerve cells release proteins
known as neurotrophic factors. One in particular, called
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), triggers numerous other
chemicals that promote neural health, and has a direct benefit on
brain functions, including learning. Further, exercise provides
protective effects to your brain through:
- Greater blood and oxygen flow to your brain
- The production of nerve-protecting compounds and growth
factors that help create new nerve cells and support synaptic
plasticity
- Improved development and survival of neurons
Increased levels of norepinephrine and endorphins resulting in a
reduction of stress and an improvement of mood
A 2010 study5
on primates published in the journal Neuroscience also
revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the
brain, but also helped the monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly
as non-exercising monkeys – a benefit the researchers believe would
hold true for people as well.
Kids Benefit From Exercise in Many Ways
There's absolutely no doubt that kids need exercise, and that
most aren't getting enough. Less than one-third of children aged 6
to 17 get at least 20 minutes of daily exercise in one form or
another. This is tragic, considering the multitude of short- and
long-term health benefits your child can gain from a regular
exercise regimen, including:
More:
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/09/28/physical-activity-improves-academic-performance.aspx?e_cid=20120928_DNL_art_1
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