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Exercise is key to getting smarter, creative

Since ancient times, there has been a strong belief that vigorous exercise and physical activity are essential for the development of intellectual vigour and abilities. To quote Thomas Jefferson: “A strong body makes the mind strong. If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise.”

The results of a 2004 California Department of Education study showed that physical activity in scores of children was strongly correlated with measures of academic achievement. TODAY file photo

The results of a 2004 California Department of Education study showed that physical activity in scores of children was strongly correlated with measures of academic achievement. TODAY file photo

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Since ancient times, there has been a strong belief that vigorous exercise and physical activity are essential for the development of intellectual vigour and abilities. To quote Thomas Jefferson: “A strong body makes the mind strong. If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise.”

Indeed, most schools and some universities have emphasised physical education. Though the physical requirement has waxed and waned over the years, there are some interesting carry-overs — one of which is the swimming test as a requirement for graduation at a few elite American schools such as Columbia University.

In the last few decades, there has been a marked decline in physical activity, which has led to a notable increase in obesity in children. Among United States high school students in 2010, only 10 per cent met guidelines for physical activity. Thirteen per cent were obese and almost half did not attend physical education classes.

Almost a third were watching television or playing with computers for more than three hours a day. In Singapore, the percentage of obese children is also about 12 per cent.

The consequences of being obese are well known. They include emotional and social adversity. Obesity in childhood leads to obese adults; what’s more, it is associated with heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Reducing obesity, which is reaching epidemic proportions, has become a high priority in most Western countries.

FITTER BODIES, BETTER LEARNERS

What is less well known is that lower physical activity is not good for school performance. Numerous studies have shown poor physical function is linked to poor school performance, while physically fit children perform various tasks more rapidly and efficiently than do the less fit.

Studies have also shown that exercise can improve learning not only among humans but in animals as well. Through exercise, rats seem to even increase the generation of new neurons.

What about children? There has been a wealth of evidence over the past few years that exercise in childhood improves cognitive functioning.

In 2004, the California Department of Education studied one million children, using a standardised physical fitness test and the California Standards Test, which measures proficiency in language, arts and mathematics. The results showed that physical activity in scores of children was strongly correlated with measures of academic achievement.

In a study of almost 8,000 Australian children aged between seven and 15, small but significant positive associations were found between their physical fitness, cardio-respiratory efficiency and general activity level and their scholastic achievement ratings.

BETTER IN MATHsAFTER EXERCISE

Another rigorous study, involving 170 students from Georgia aged between seven and 11, examined whether exercise by sedentary, overweight children improved their performance in reading and maths. They were assigned randomly to one of three treatments: A low-dose, a high-dose or no-exercise programme.

Those assigned to the low-dose programme underwent 20 minutes of exercise per day for approximately 13 weeks. Those subjected to the high-dose programme had to go through 40 minutes’ exercise per day over the same period.

The high-dose programme consisted of two 20-minute exercise periods and one 20-minute rest period, while those in the low-dose programme did one 20-minute exercise and one 20-minute rest period.

Students in the high-dose programme had significantly higher maths achievement and were more goal-oriented than those not in the exercise programme — in effect, the former moved from the 50th to the 62nd percentile in maths. However, reading achievement was not different between both groups.

In other words, children showed they improve in performing goal-directed actions and handling complex situations in environments that are constantly changing. These are the very type of processes important for children’s adaptive functioning.

STIMULATING CREATIVITY

In another study, 85 middle-school children were randomly picked to do either an eight-week aerobic running programme five times a week or a standard physical education class. Those who exercised aerobically performed better on a Test of Creative Thinking.

Several large-scale experiments suggest that exercise training exerts specific effects on children’s cognitive function, especially those related to creativity and goal-directed actions. All these have led to national guidelines for exercise in children: Those aged between six and 17 should have one hour or more of physical activity each day.

Exercise training programmes may prove to be a simple method of enhancing aspects of children’s creative functioning that are central to their doing well in today’s world. The research seems to support the ancient belief that exercise that leads to a fit body also benefits learning.

As the late US President John F Kennedy once said: “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

K Ranga Krishnan is Dean of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. A clinician-scientist and psychiatrist, he chaired the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University Medical Centre from 1998 to 2009.

*This is part of a series on the way we learn. To read the other articles, visit tdy.sg/comkrishnan.

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