Brain
Resilience and Physical Exercise
By Michael Dabney
Animal
studies have long suggested that aerobic exercise boosts cellular and
molecular components of the brain and improves problem solving and other
cognitive abilities. However, in what is believed to be the first human
study to show that aerobic exercise actually slows the decline of brain
density in white and gray matter areas of the brain as we age, Colcombe and
colleagues (2003) are helping to establish a clinical link between exercise
and brain resilience. Such findings have important implications for children
and adolescent learners as well as aging adults.
The
Colcombe study found that among older adults, aerobic exercise (activities
such as walking, jogging, running in place and jumping jacks) helps preserve
white and gray matter density in the brains frontal, temporal and parietal
cortexesareas vital to higher-order thinking. (Gray matter consists of
neurons and support cells that are important to learning and memory; white
matter is the myelin sheath containing the nerve fibers that transmit
signals throughout the brain). Density in gray and white matter areas tends
to begin shrinking after age 30, with an average loss estimated at 15
percent of the cerebral cortex and 25 percent of the cerebral white matter
from the age of 30 to the age of 90 (Columbe et al., 2003).
What does
this mean to youngsters in your classroom? It could mean that the exercise
regimens they begin today can help assure that their brains remain vital and
healthy well into adulthood, research by Thompson and colleagues (2003)
suggests. In a longitudinal study spanning 25 years, Thompson found that the
attitudes we develop as children about exercise and the level of physical
exercise we engage in as children are strong predictors of the levels of
exercise we will engage in as adults.
Other
research linking physical activity to brain function include:
 |
A study by Beurden and colleagues (2003) suggests that
quality school physical education classes are ideal for improving
childrens fundamental motor skills and enhancing overall health. |
|
Research by MacMahon (1990) documents that aerobic
exercise reduces anxiety, tension and depression and contributes to
increased self-esteem, even among adolescents with behavior problems. |
|
A study by Vermorel and associates (2003) found that
children and adolescents gain the optimal mental and physical benefits
from aerobic exercise when they follow a healthful diet regimen. On days
when they have physical education class in the morning, the study
recommends that students consume a hearty breakfast before leaving home
to fuel the body and brain for the physical activity ahead. Following P.
E. class, students should eat a carbohydrate-rich snack to enhance
attention and memory for classroom work. |
|
Nader (2003) found that, although national health
recommendations call for pre-adolescent children to have daily physical
education classes that engage children in moderate to vigorous physical
activity at least fifty percent of P. E. class time, many schools fall
short of the mark. In a study of P. E. activity that involved more than
800 children at 684 elementary schools, Nader found that only 5.9
percent of the children had daily P. E. activity, with the majority of
children receiving 2.1 P. E. classes per week (each class consisting of
an average of 25 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise). |
Action
Steps
|
Realize the important role that physical activity,
particularly aerobic exercise, plays in brain function and brain
vitality. |
|
Inquire about your schools physical education program.
Is it providing proper time and schedules for moderate-to-vigorous
exercise for students on a regular basis? If not, ask the school
administration to investigate the matter. |
|
If your school does not have a formal physical
education program, consider what you can do in your own class to assure
that children get at least some aerobic activity during the day. Some
suggestions: At the beginning of class each day, engage your students in
a series of easy-to-do exercises for five minutes, such as jumping
jacks, running in place or knee bends. These exercises are known to wake
up the brain and prepare it for the task at hand. |
|
Encourage your students to participate regularly in
physical activity outside of class, such as playing organized sports,
and establish a personal exercise regimen of their own, such as jogging
or power walking before and after school. |
Beurden,
E., Barnett, L. M., Zask, A., Dietrich, U. C., Brooks, L. O., & Beard,
J. (2003). Can we skill and activate children through primary school
physical education lessons? Move it, groove ituA collaborative health
promotion intervention. Preventive Medicine, 36(4), 493501.
Colcombe,
Stanley J., Erickson, Kirk I., Raz, Naftali; Webb, Andrew G., Cohen, Neal
J., McAuley, Edward, & Kramer, Arthur F. (2003). Aerobic fitness reduces
brain tissue loss in aging humans. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences,
58A(2), 17680.
MacMahon,
J. R. (1990, June). The psychological benefits of exercise and the treatment
of delinquent adolescents. Sports Medicine, 9(6), 34451.
Nader, P.
R. (2003). Frequency and intensity of activity of third-grade children in
physical education. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 157(2),
18590.
Thompson,
A. M., Humbert, M. L., Mirwold, R. L. (2003). A longitudinal study of the
impact of childhood and adolescent physical activity experiences on adult
physical activity perception and behaviors. Qualitative Health Research,
13(3), 35877.
Vermorel,
M., Bitar, A., Vernet, J., Verdier, E., & Coudert, J. (2003). The extent
to which breakfast covers the morning energy expenditure of adolescents with
varying levels of physical activity. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
57(2), 3105.
This
article appeared in The Learning Brain Newsletter, May 2003 at
www.thelearningbrain.com