News in Physical education
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Physical Education Articles
The relationship between physical activity and brain function
Dorothy L. Tengler
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-relationship-between-physical-activity-and-brain-function/sports-fitness
We have all heard and read the advice about feeling, thinking and performing better overall — drink more water, exercise, eat more fruits and vegetables, meditate and get enough sleep. While we all have good intentions, how many of us really follow this advice on a regular basis?
Our executive functions are those higher-level cognitive skills we use to control and coordinate our other cognitive skills and behaviors, and our executive system guides how we organize our lives and how we plan and execute those plans.
As we age, our lifestyles and health-enhancing behaviors help preserve our executive function. Research has suggested that executive functions facilitate participation in a broad range of healthy behaviors that include physical activity, a healthy diet low in fatty foods and the avoidance of tobacco and alcohol.
In addition to these healthy behaviors, executive function is also likely to be necessary for the initiation and maintenance of such behaviors. Studies document that the protective effect of exercise and of avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption bolsters cognitive functioning into our advanced years.
In fact, studies support altered patterns of brain activity in older versus younger adults performing cognitive function. Certainly, we have noted that older persons often drive more slowly, hold up that check-out line or take longer to complete a task at the office. So, how exactly can increased physical activity help?
In a novel study published by researchers at the University of Aberdeen, the University of Stirling and the University College Dublin, a synergistic or bidirectional relationship between executive function and physical activity showed that they improve one another. Using data from 4,555 adults through the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers analyzed the relationship between physical activity and executive function.
First, they examined the cross-sectional association between physical activity and executive functioning for individuals across four study waves, using multilevel modeling adjusting for age, sex, education, wealth and long-standing illness. The researchers then examined how changes in physical activity related to simultaneous changes in executive functioning by conducting a fixed effects analysis.
These analyses showed that physical activity and executive functioning were closely linked, and that dynamic within-person changes in executive functioning corresponded with parallel changes in physical activity. Importantly, the researchers noted the relationship between physical activity and executive functioning is bidirectional: Individuals with poor executive functioning had decreases in their rates of participation in physical activity, and older adults who engaged in sports and other activities retained high levels of executive functioning over time.
According to the researchers, physical activity may influence cognitive function via brain angiogensis, which is thought to be stimulated by increased blood flow to the brain during exercise, thereby facilitating increased growth and functioning of many of the brain structures and processes responsible for cognition, processes promoted by physical activity.
In a rapidly aging population, behaviors that slow or improve cognitive decline are important and will ultimately help older people continue to live independently. Health-enhancing behaviors — including physical activity and a healthy diet -- will help us sustain efficient executive functions and good health, especially over time.
Could Physical Education Hold the Key to Success in the Classroom?
http://www.educationandcareernews.com/learning-tools/could-physical-education-hold-the-key-to-success-in-the-classroom
In many high schools, students choose activities that interest them. When kids experience the joy and benefits of personalized training, rock climbing, hiking, yoga, dance, and other non-traditional sports, they become empowered to take control of their own fitness, igniting an interest in being physically active for life.
At Tahoma High School in Washington, students can opt in to an outdoor academy where physical education, literature, and environmental science are taught as an integrated unit, which might include reading the novel “A River Runs Through It” while trout fishing and studying the biology of water systems.
In Washington, D.C. public schools, all second-graders learn to ride a bicycle in PE class, and Austin, Texas elementary students get recesses throughout the day to focus more, and fidget less.
Brain and social benefits
Here’s more good news: kids who participate in daily PE class learn better in other classes. They’re less likely to wander off-task, or zone-out completely, and that improved attention and discipline yields higher test scores. Research shows that exercise boosts the body’s production of a substance called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that encourages neurons to grow and remain vigorous, and strengthens the synapses that connect them.
“‘...adding more time for physical activity can radically transform students’ academic performance and test scores.’”
“For years, schools have cut down on breaks to squeeze in more classroom time, believing it improves academic performance. We’ve learned that the opposite is true—adding more time for physical activity can radically transform students’ academic performance and test scores,” explains Paul Roetert, Ph.D., CEO of SHAPE America, the association of health and physical educators that sets the national standards for K-12 physical education.
In fact, your child’s health and PE teacher might be one of the most influential educators in their school career, contributing to their physical, mental and social development in ways that are too often underappreciated.
When PE and health classes incorporate character-building exercises, schools see less bullying behavior and improved self-esteem and peer interactions. And in Milwaukee, a community-wide, United Way-health education collaboration cut teen pregnancies by more than half in just six years.
The fitness-health connection
We know that physical activity can help regulate weight and prevent many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke. And to stay fit, young people need 60 minutes of exercise a day – ideally in activities that build strength, endurance, coordination and motor skills.
Thanks to new federal legislation—the Every Student Succeeds Act—school health and physical education are now considered an important part of a well-rounded education, but funding for these programs is still not guaranteed. This is a critical time for parents to reach out to their school decision-makers and show their support for a robust health and PE program.
By making our voices heard, we can ensure that kids gain skills, knowledge and healthy habits that lead to a lifetime of success.
How Exercise Helps You Age Better
http://time.com/4508337/exercise-may-keep-elderly-independent-for-longer/
There’s even more reason to exercise, especially as you get older. While study after study confirms the benefits of physical activity for the heart, mind and body, many older adults do not follow a regular exercise regimen. The findings of a new study may compel them to change, though.
In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers led by Dr. Thomas Gill, a professor medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, followed more than 1,600 elderly adults who were mostly sedentary at the start of the study. Gill had half of them start a walking and strength and balance training regimen, and by the end of the study, the results were clear: people who exercised spent 25% less time disabled or injured than those who did not.
“The benefit wasn’t just limited to preventing initial onset of disability but was also effective in promoting recovery after a disability,” says Gill. “Then, once the recovery occurred, the intervention was effective in preventing subsequent episodes of disability.”
That’s important for seniors, he says, since most previous studies looking at exercise’s benefits only focused on whether physical activity could prevent disability. But since most elderly spend time cycling in and out of periods of immobility, the latest results show that exercise can also help them reduce the time spent with limited activity and independence.
“This demonstrates that a physical activity program really has continued, sustained benefit over an extended period of time,” says Gill. The exercise could be working to build up a reserve capacity that makes them fitter and stronger and therefore better able to bounce back after injuries like falls or illness. That means they might be able to recover more quickly if they do experience a blow to their health.
The results were especially encouraging since even though all of the participants had some limitations in their activity, including impairments in balance, their gait or muscle strength. Many also had chronic illnesses that required multiple medications and therefore represented about 50% of Americans in their age group.
“People can change their lifestyle to build in physical activity into their weekly schedule,” says Gill. “And then they can accrue those benefits. And even in the event of serious illness or injury that leaves them disabled, they still have a high likelihood of recovery. We hope that will provide additional incentives for older persons and their families, as well as physicians, to more aggressively recommend the benefits of physical activity in this population. It’s probably the single best mechanism for them to maintain their independence.”
Dorothy L. Tengler
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-relationship-between-physical-activity-and-brain-function/sports-fitness
We have all heard and read the advice about feeling, thinking and performing better overall — drink more water, exercise, eat more fruits and vegetables, meditate and get enough sleep. While we all have good intentions, how many of us really follow this advice on a regular basis?
Our executive functions are those higher-level cognitive skills we use to control and coordinate our other cognitive skills and behaviors, and our executive system guides how we organize our lives and how we plan and execute those plans.
As we age, our lifestyles and health-enhancing behaviors help preserve our executive function. Research has suggested that executive functions facilitate participation in a broad range of healthy behaviors that include physical activity, a healthy diet low in fatty foods and the avoidance of tobacco and alcohol.
In addition to these healthy behaviors, executive function is also likely to be necessary for the initiation and maintenance of such behaviors. Studies document that the protective effect of exercise and of avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption bolsters cognitive functioning into our advanced years.
In fact, studies support altered patterns of brain activity in older versus younger adults performing cognitive function. Certainly, we have noted that older persons often drive more slowly, hold up that check-out line or take longer to complete a task at the office. So, how exactly can increased physical activity help?
In a novel study published by researchers at the University of Aberdeen, the University of Stirling and the University College Dublin, a synergistic or bidirectional relationship between executive function and physical activity showed that they improve one another. Using data from 4,555 adults through the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers analyzed the relationship between physical activity and executive function.
First, they examined the cross-sectional association between physical activity and executive functioning for individuals across four study waves, using multilevel modeling adjusting for age, sex, education, wealth and long-standing illness. The researchers then examined how changes in physical activity related to simultaneous changes in executive functioning by conducting a fixed effects analysis.
These analyses showed that physical activity and executive functioning were closely linked, and that dynamic within-person changes in executive functioning corresponded with parallel changes in physical activity. Importantly, the researchers noted the relationship between physical activity and executive functioning is bidirectional: Individuals with poor executive functioning had decreases in their rates of participation in physical activity, and older adults who engaged in sports and other activities retained high levels of executive functioning over time.
According to the researchers, physical activity may influence cognitive function via brain angiogensis, which is thought to be stimulated by increased blood flow to the brain during exercise, thereby facilitating increased growth and functioning of many of the brain structures and processes responsible for cognition, processes promoted by physical activity.
In a rapidly aging population, behaviors that slow or improve cognitive decline are important and will ultimately help older people continue to live independently. Health-enhancing behaviors — including physical activity and a healthy diet -- will help us sustain efficient executive functions and good health, especially over time.
Could Physical Education Hold the Key to Success in the Classroom?
http://www.educationandcareernews.com/learning-tools/could-physical-education-hold-the-key-to-success-in-the-classroom
In many high schools, students choose activities that interest them. When kids experience the joy and benefits of personalized training, rock climbing, hiking, yoga, dance, and other non-traditional sports, they become empowered to take control of their own fitness, igniting an interest in being physically active for life.
At Tahoma High School in Washington, students can opt in to an outdoor academy where physical education, literature, and environmental science are taught as an integrated unit, which might include reading the novel “A River Runs Through It” while trout fishing and studying the biology of water systems.
In Washington, D.C. public schools, all second-graders learn to ride a bicycle in PE class, and Austin, Texas elementary students get recesses throughout the day to focus more, and fidget less.
Brain and social benefits
Here’s more good news: kids who participate in daily PE class learn better in other classes. They’re less likely to wander off-task, or zone-out completely, and that improved attention and discipline yields higher test scores. Research shows that exercise boosts the body’s production of a substance called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that encourages neurons to grow and remain vigorous, and strengthens the synapses that connect them.
“‘...adding more time for physical activity can radically transform students’ academic performance and test scores.’”
“For years, schools have cut down on breaks to squeeze in more classroom time, believing it improves academic performance. We’ve learned that the opposite is true—adding more time for physical activity can radically transform students’ academic performance and test scores,” explains Paul Roetert, Ph.D., CEO of SHAPE America, the association of health and physical educators that sets the national standards for K-12 physical education.
In fact, your child’s health and PE teacher might be one of the most influential educators in their school career, contributing to their physical, mental and social development in ways that are too often underappreciated.
When PE and health classes incorporate character-building exercises, schools see less bullying behavior and improved self-esteem and peer interactions. And in Milwaukee, a community-wide, United Way-health education collaboration cut teen pregnancies by more than half in just six years.
The fitness-health connection
We know that physical activity can help regulate weight and prevent many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke. And to stay fit, young people need 60 minutes of exercise a day – ideally in activities that build strength, endurance, coordination and motor skills.
Thanks to new federal legislation—the Every Student Succeeds Act—school health and physical education are now considered an important part of a well-rounded education, but funding for these programs is still not guaranteed. This is a critical time for parents to reach out to their school decision-makers and show their support for a robust health and PE program.
By making our voices heard, we can ensure that kids gain skills, knowledge and healthy habits that lead to a lifetime of success.
How Exercise Helps You Age Better
http://time.com/4508337/exercise-may-keep-elderly-independent-for-longer/
There’s even more reason to exercise, especially as you get older. While study after study confirms the benefits of physical activity for the heart, mind and body, many older adults do not follow a regular exercise regimen. The findings of a new study may compel them to change, though.
In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers led by Dr. Thomas Gill, a professor medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, followed more than 1,600 elderly adults who were mostly sedentary at the start of the study. Gill had half of them start a walking and strength and balance training regimen, and by the end of the study, the results were clear: people who exercised spent 25% less time disabled or injured than those who did not.
“The benefit wasn’t just limited to preventing initial onset of disability but was also effective in promoting recovery after a disability,” says Gill. “Then, once the recovery occurred, the intervention was effective in preventing subsequent episodes of disability.”
That’s important for seniors, he says, since most previous studies looking at exercise’s benefits only focused on whether physical activity could prevent disability. But since most elderly spend time cycling in and out of periods of immobility, the latest results show that exercise can also help them reduce the time spent with limited activity and independence.
“This demonstrates that a physical activity program really has continued, sustained benefit over an extended period of time,” says Gill. The exercise could be working to build up a reserve capacity that makes them fitter and stronger and therefore better able to bounce back after injuries like falls or illness. That means they might be able to recover more quickly if they do experience a blow to their health.
The results were especially encouraging since even though all of the participants had some limitations in their activity, including impairments in balance, their gait or muscle strength. Many also had chronic illnesses that required multiple medications and therefore represented about 50% of Americans in their age group.
“People can change their lifestyle to build in physical activity into their weekly schedule,” says Gill. “And then they can accrue those benefits. And even in the event of serious illness or injury that leaves them disabled, they still have a high likelihood of recovery. We hope that will provide additional incentives for older persons and their families, as well as physicians, to more aggressively recommend the benefits of physical activity in this population. It’s probably the single best mechanism for them to maintain their independence.”