Does Physical Activity Affect Your Grades?

As a Physical Education teacher I like to stay on top of research in my field and pass the outcomes  of that research on to my colleagues and students.  Research has very strongly indicated that Physical Education is as important to student learning as the core classes the students take themselves.  Not only does help you to maintain a healthy body that works at its optimum level for all of your daily needs throughout your life but there is more benefit than you think.  Physical Education class has far reaching benefits for you or your child's education.  Specifically the grades that they achieve and scores on standardized tests.

In 2010 the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, CDC (Center for Disease Control) division published a research report "The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance" in which they detail the benefits of Physical Education and every day activity.  The link is below:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf

The research shows that being active can help improve academic performance.

The CDC recommends the following:

• Increasing the amount of time students spend in Physical Education.
• Increasing the amount of recess or activity time students have out of the classroom.
• Having meaningful professional development for Physical Educators so they can improve their instruction.

Upon doing further research for my Masters degree I found only articles that conclude that Physical Activity can only benefit students learning outcomes.  Looking at different research studies that span the United States and internationally school aged children perform better in class and on on tests when they have been physically active.

Next time you have a test make sure you do some physical activity immediately prior tot he exam to increase blood flow to the brain and alertness.  You will feel energized for your tests and the likelihood of scoring higher, than without activity, increases.