While many schools are reducing physical activity because of time constraints created by the No Child Left Behind Act, a large group of studies has linked physical activity with cognition.
The researchers have come at the topic from a wide range of disciplines. Some are cognitive scientists or exercise physiologists. Other advocates are educational psychologists, neurobiologists, or physical educators. The applied research, which compares academic achievement between schools where kids have physical activity and those where they don’t, also supports the hypothesis.You’ve heard that exercise reduces discipline issues. Yes, it does. Harvard Professor John Ratey shows how it does this in his 2009 book Spark. You know that recess and physical education can promote cooperation, attentional skills, and social play. Now let’s add the neuroscience perspective. It reveals information that other disciplines cannot. For example, we know that exercise is highly correlated with neurogenesis, or the production of new brain cells. We know exercise upregulates a critical compound called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. We also know that neurogenesis is correlated with improved learning and memory. In addition, neurogenesis appears to be inversely correlated with depression. Read More...