As a former aspiring teacher and current kinesiology and psychology major, I hold physical education in a very high regard in life and in schools as well. There are a multitude of studies that vouch for physical activity being a mechanism to make people feel better. For example, the runner’s high is often experienced by many athletes as described by Boecker et al.(2008) as a feeling of euphoria after participating in a strenuous activity. This feeling has many positive effects on people as this study attempted to find the relationship between activity and our opioid system. Many other studies that say physical activity can help with depression and stress. This is common knowledge in the field of Kinesiology and as we all know, depression and stress are common occurrences in school. I truly believe that physical education is needed in schools to help children stay active and learn all the fundamental movement patterns to live a healthy life both mentally and physically.
As an avid physical activity participant, I am always interested in reading stuff about how Phys Ed can help people in as many ways as possible. This fact is why I was positively surprised when I read a study performed Gomez-Pinilla and Kesslak (1998) on physical activity and cognition. The study found that physical activity increases trophic factors in some specific brain regions related to cognition. These trophic factors help to enhance and build neuronal connections in these brain regions. With stronger brain connections, our brains become more efficient at processing and absorbing information. This research is crucial to keeping physical activity in our schools if it can help student’s cognition and learning. Reading this study really cemented my prior beliefs that physical education is important for not just a healthy lifestyle but also for playing a pretty important role in learning.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452297005769
Life Long Learning: Evidence Based Education 
Hi Koleton!
I am so glad you chose this as your topic – first, because it is very important for mental health and well-being and also, an undervalued area within this subject matter. Research suggests that even after fifteen minutes of physical activity, even low impact (i.e., walking) can reduce the effects of stress and anxiety. Moreover, physical activity is a natural way of improving the way one thinks and further benefits memory (Goodman, 2014). From my blog topic last week on how stress impacts learning, this definitely corresponds with the many points I made within my blog, additionally, in the comments portion. To further discuss the content in your blog, besides the physical benefits, there is an extensive amount of information on how being apart of the world of sport has influences on self determination. The components of the self determination theory (SDT) include three main part: autonomy, competence and relatedness, each of these are essential in motivating an individual (Ryan and Deci, 2000). To apply this theory within the topic of physical activity/sport is not just applicable to this discipline but also is linked to various aspects of an individual’s being. I definitely believe that there should be more awareness on this topic due to its influence on the human brain and the further implications that are present within learning.
Goodman, H. (2014). Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills. Harvard Health Publications. Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110
Ryan, R. M. &. Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychological Association, Vol 55(1), 68-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
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Great post, it really is important that physical activity is enforced through out school, in which it is through Phys Ed class, but what is really great about it is that children will learn how to part take in different kinds of physical activity. Once they are learning about different kinds of activity, and some that they find fun, they will continue to take part in those activities outside of school as well. You made great points about how physical activity helps with depression and stress, being physically active is good for your well-being overall, and especially for your mental health. I came across some research that touches on how physical activity benefits your cognitive ability and overall learning in certain areas, math and reading in particular. According to (Stevens, Yen To, Stevenson & Lochbaum, 2008) physical activity benefits cognitive functioning which will help to improve academic performance in the class room. It was also stated in the article that research showed children who are consistently involved in physical activity demonstrated enhanced cognitive functioning, compared to those who were unfit (Stevens, Yen To, Stevenson & Lochbaum, 2008).
Stevens, T. A., To, Y., Stevenson, S. J., & Lochbaum, M. R. (2008). The importance of physical activity and physical education in the prediction of academic achievement. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(4), 368+
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Love this Koleton,
I know you mentioned this topic after my talk on fine arts in school last week! I think the two are so closely related. Both fine arts and phys. ed are not considered “core classes” and therefore their importance is overlooked. I agree that exercise is essential to de-stressing and I think this will create an overall better learning experience for children. The research also shows that by “chunking” learning we retain more information, so in schools it is important to have breaks from sitting in a classroom during the day. I think structured gym classes really help students blow off some steam, gives them a break from classwork, and is also healthy mentally and physically. Having time for phys. ed. classes also helps some major problems with society today. It can help lower rates of obesity, stress, and heart disease, and also may help students with ADD or ADHD as they can have some time where they are not confined to their desks.
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LOVE THIS BLOG!
Physical education is so underrated! I was actually just thinking the other day about how I don’t really understand how physical activity is seen as secondary to other subjects in schools. Some of my biggest problems find solutions mid-run for me. It is a huge stress-reliever. Physical activity is proven to have positive effects on the mind, helping those who are battling anxiety and depression, as well as ADHD etc. Not to mention the actual physical benefits from being active, such as lower risk of high blood-pressure, heart disease, and obesity.
I think there are a lot of similarities between how physical education helps students and how the arts (like Alison had mentioned in her blog this past week) helps students. Learning when you have a positive outlook, and a strong, happy mind, allows for better consolidation. As Alison mentioned in her presentation, research shows that it is important to have breaks between the mundane stuff. To be able to get up and move at some point between sitting in a desk taking notes will help with retainment of information. Hopefully it will start to be seen how important these “secondary subjects” are to students and their learning.
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Many researchers say exactly what you posted in your comment to take breaks through mundane stuff. I found this article that endorses physical activity such as stretching and moving around as a break for studying which I agree with 100%. It doesn’t have to be something that gets your heart rate up really high as there are multiple facets of physical activity but as long as you take a break from reading material, the retention of the material will be that much better when you come back to it after a body break!
Click to access taking_breaks_from_studying.pdf
As far as secondary subjects go, these life skill subjects such as phys ed among many others should be considered core courses to life out of school. Many students are not familiar with efficient physical activity and this will affect them for their entire lives. The skills learned in these classes could take a huge amount of pressure off of our healthcare system (mental and physical) which would give our society more money to put towards our other social systems.
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Exactly! Physical activity is such an important factor for learning. You learn using your brain (which I hope most of you do) then you have to take care of it. Since your brain is a part of your body, you should probably take care of your body, thus taking care of the brain. Many researchers have come up with positive evidence supporting the relationship between cognitive function and working-out.
For example, a recent study “found that running enhances synaptic, dendritic and astrocytic measures in several brain regions involved in cognition but that changes in the latter measures were more specific to brain regions associated with cognitive improvements.” (Brockett). In other words running for exercise was shown to directly effect positive growth in learning areas of the brain.
Brockett, A. T., LaMarca, E. A., & Gould, E. (2015). Physical exercise enhances cognitive flexibility as well as astrocytic and synaptic markers in the medial prefrontal cortex. PloS one, 10(5), e0124859.
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Hello Koleton !
Fantastic blog! As I also find that physical activity is one of those things that we all need in order to maintain a healthy life/school or life/work balance, as our body and brain do receive significant benefits from higher conditions to the sense healthy and happiness when we proceed in these physical activities. As i also do value physical activities highly because, i grew up in a environment highly influenced by sports and i find that physical activities really helps me destress and focus on what ever i happen to be doing next. As searching around more on this topic i found an articles that focus on physical activity and memory recall among preadolescents individuals, and the results they found was that memory is indeed could be enhance and facilitated after participating in physical activity. As physical activities has all rounded benefits as a whole, i believe that our education system should encourage students to participate, and not just brush it off as a side or option class that one would take.
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as for reference for my comment : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755296609000052
take a read !
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Reblogged this on psychinedindex.
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