How important is physical activity on the brain and learning

Many educators are reducing physical activity time at schools because of time constraints owing to the overburden of curricula in schools. Physical activities are often marginalized to make way for valuable or academic subjects. It seems the intellectual and academic value of the physical activity is largely overlooked. A large group of recent studies has linked physical activities with cognition and reached to the conclusion of how physical experience affects the brain. A brain-based perspective strengthens the case for maintaining or even enhancing physical activities at school.

Exercise fuels the brain with oxygen, and triggers the release of neurotrophins, which enhance growth, impact mood, cement memory, and enhance connections between neurons. More importantly, the production of new brain cells (neurogenesis) is correlated with improved mood, memory, and learning. Given all the activities happening at once, physical performance probably uses 100 percent of the brain. There is no known cognitive activity that can claim this. Scholars like Van Pragg, Christie, Sejnowski, and Gage say that regular exercise may stimulate the growth of new brain cells and prolong the survival of existing cells.

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Irvine discovered that exercise triggers the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a natural substance that enhances cognition by boosting the ability of neurons to communicate with each other (Griesbach, Hovda, Molteni, Wu, & Gomez-Pinilla, 2004). When the Irvine researchers examined aging rats that had exercised daily on a running wheel, they found elevated BDNF levels in various areas of the brain, including the hippocampus, which is critical for memory processing.

Many researchers believe that sensorimotor integration is fundamental to school readiness. In one study in Seattle, Washington, third-grade students studied language arts concepts through dance activities that included regular spinning, crawling, rolling, rocking, tumbling, pointing, and matching. Although the district-wide reading scores showed an annual average decrease of 2 percent, the students involved in the dance activities exhibited an increase of 13 percent in six months.

Aerobic exercise improves thinking and learning because of its ability to trigger a fast adrenaline-noradrenaline response, which is critical to facing and coping with challenges. Experts say that even a brisk 20-minute walk can be enough to serve both the body and the mind. Cross-lateral movements can be the perfect, simple antidotes for engaging both sides of the brain to full advantage, and they are particularly effective for students who are sleepy, overwhelmed, frustrated, or experiencing a learning block.

There is a growing concern that some infants deprived of touch, movement, and /or interaction may grow up to have a violent disposition. Unable to experience pleasure through usual channels of pleasurable activity, their need for intense states, one of which is violence, may propel them toward antisocial responses.

Regular physical activity is not only important to the general health of students but it is a must for the mental health and academic productivity. Experts have made few suggestions to be implemented in schools.

·         Use more slow stretching and breathing exercises to increase circulation and oxygen flow to the brain.

·         Incorporate energizers every 20 minutes or so.

·         Make sure that some of your activities have a built-in component of physical movement (e.g., going outside to do a project, working on jigsaw puzzles).

·         Provide manipulatives; have students hold, mold, and manipulate day or other objects.

·         Give learners permission to get up and without permission to move around, stretch, or change postures so that they can monitor and manage their own energy levels.

·         Facilitate hand movements each day with clapping games, dancing, puzzles, and manipulatives.

An active body enhances an active mind. Learners who are active tend to be more alert. A short stretching session, a brisk walk, or some cross-lateral movements will all go a long way in activating learning.

         Asif Moazzam