Washington D.C. [USA], June 30 : A new study sheds light on the importance of engaging in physical activities for children in school.
Keeping the body moving in school proves to be beneficial for kids as it improves their cognitive performance and they exhibit lesser behavioural issues. Physical activity also cuts down stress and anxiety levels in children, reported CNN.
"When you move, you stimulate all the nerve cells that we use to think with, and when you stimulate those nerve cells, it gets them ready to do stuff," said Dr John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dr Ratey added, "When you exercise, you turn on the attention systems, so that means you're (paying) better attention, you're able to deal with more frustration, you're able to stay with it longer."
"You're able to manipulate information by turning ... on the front part of our brain to make it work better, and that's really key and important in terms of taking in information as well as performing with it," he added.
The study published in the journal Pediatrics incorporated over 10,000 children between the ages 4-13 and the results indicated that physical activities improved the kids' classroom behaviour and also enhanced their academic achievements, especially maths and reading.
"The research shows that it leads to better cognitive function for kids so they're going to have better results, academically," said Susan Kamin, chief welfare officer for National Association of Physical Literacy.
Kamin added, "It's also going to help with behavioural issues in the classroom, because if kids are able to move, they're not going to have so much excess energy. They're going to be able to focus, and it's going to solve a lot of the sort of interpersonal issues that come up with kids as well, because they're going to have an opportunity to get that energy out."