Exercising Better School Grades

In staying true to the back-to-school theme, I found this information.  Middle school students who perform more vigorous physical activity than more sedentary students tend to do better in school, according to a new study done by researchers from Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University.  Does this mean that P.E. class is the answer?  “Physical education and activity during the school day reduce boredom and help keep kids’ attention in the classroom,” said Dawn Podulka Coe, the study’s lead author, “but enrollment in PE alone did not influence grades.”

The researchers did find that students who took part in more vigorous physical activities – such as organized sports like soccer or football, or non-organized after-school activities such as skateboarding – did approximately 10 percent better in core classes such as math, science, English and social studies.  According to Coe, “The students who performed better academically in this study were the most active, meaning those who participated in a sport or other vigorous activity at least three times a week.”

The difference between vigorous activity and moderate activity is thought to be related to heart rate. Moderate activities, such as walking or raking leaves, don’t increase the heart enough. Vigorous activities, such as running or swimming for exercise, increase heart rate, causing the exerciser to breathe harder and increase oxygen to the brain.

With school about to start, I urge all parents to take this new study to heart. Get your kids out doing vigorous exercise.  And while this study was performed only on sixth graders, I’m confident the benefits will work for the parents as well!  Be the example for your kids and schedule time for exercise together.