Page 1259 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
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There is another reason why physical education is important in schools, and that is the benefit it provides to improved academic outcomes. A 2004 study, one of many on the subject undertaken by Professor Mark Mattson from Johns Hopkins University, showed that physical activity presents a physiological stress to the brain that, when balanced with recovery, promotes adaptation and growth, preserves brain function and enables the brain to respond to future challenges.
Other studies have shown that physical activity has enhanced learning and memory in animals and delayed or prevented cognitive decline in elderly humans. Many schools are now motivating students to maintain a balance between their school work and physical education.
Several studies show that performing physical activities helps in enlarging the basal ganglia of the brain. The basal ganglia is a part of the brain responsible for maintaining an individual’s capability to focus. In this current era, students have several distractions in the form of technologies, television, tablets, PCs and mobile phones, and it can be difficult for them to maintain focus on a single task.
The results of these studies suggest that vigorous physical activity out of school results in higher test scores and reading comprehension improvements. The studies also suggest that physical activity leads to significant improvements in children’s maths and that cognitive benefits are maintained over time.
I referred earlier to the increasing prevalence of obesity in children. Physical education at school helps in preventing obesity and high blood pressure. Physical exercise and activities will help them burn off their extra calories. If those calories are not burnt off they will be stored as fat. By doing physical exercise, individuals use their extra calories to gain energy. Plus, such activities play an important role in the healthy growth and development of bones and cartilages.
Bone strengthening exercises, such as jumping, are particularly important for school students, as such activities produce a force on the bone that helps to enhance its strength and growth. While muscle strengthening exercises make muscles larger and stronger, they also help children carry more weight and aid in protecting joints against injuries. Physical education at school will help with heart health. Research shows that kids who perform aerobic exercises, such as basketball, soccer or skipping rope two to three times a week for at least 20 minutes, have a healthier heart compared to those who do not take part in physical education.
Physical education at school prevents sleep deprivation. Those students who take part in regular physical activities and exercise have a tired and exhausted body that craves a good night’s sleep. Complete sleep makes kids more upright and attentive during lectures in classroom. Being attentive will give them a better start to be better learners and get the best out of their studies and their lessons.
Physical education in schools helps in relieving stress and anxiety. Anxiety is becoming a serious issue in schools across the world. Talking with school principals here in the ACT, it is of major concern. We know that for some students school life
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