Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Did you know? Academic Perfomance

Did you know that many studies have been done to study the connections between physical activity and academic performance? Not surprising, our children are better students when they have time for physical activity, especially if it occurs before lunch. Here are two factoids from recent research.

"A positive relationship of physical activity and academic performance has been explored through several studies conducted in the USA by the California Department of Education; Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard, Lazarus, & Dean (2001); Dwyer et al. (1983); Linder (1999); Linder (2002); Shephard (1997); Tremblay et al. (2000); and others. These studies support one another in suggesting that when a substantial amount of school time is dedicated to physical activity, academic performance meets and may even exceed that of students not receiving additional physical activity (Shephard, 1997)."

And this one:

" Studies done in California and Canada concluded that moderate to vigorous physical activity affects academic performance and skill development. Children are better able to tackle the academic day. They have improved concentration, enhanced memory and learning, enhanced creativity, and better problem solving ability. Aerobic activity not only increases blood flow to the brain, but also speeds recall and reasoning skills. (Etnier,et al. 1999) (Van Boxtel, et al. 1996)"

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