Physically Fit Boys and Girls Score Higher on Reading and Math

 

By Dr. Mercola

If there were a way to make your child a better reader, or improve their performance in math – and it was free, natural and absolutely safe – would you do it?

Of course you would!

Virtually every parent hopes their child will excel academically, and for kids the boost to reading and math skills can be a tremendous lift to their self-esteem.

Fortunately, yet another study has found that getting physically fit has the wonderful "side effect" of boosting your child's cognitive abilities – no tutor required!

Healthy Heart and Lungs Boost Math and Reading Scores

According to a study done at the University of North Texas, having a healthy heart and lungs may be one of the most important factors for middle school students to excel in math and reading.1

Cardiorespiratory fitness was the only factor that was found to consistently impact grades on reading and math tests, which the researchers said should be a wake-up call to schools that have limited physical education classes. Of course, you needn't rely on gym class to get your child active, and in fact should strive to make physical fitness a regular part of your family's life outside of school hours as well.

The More Active Your Child, The Better They'll Do at School

This was the finding from a review of 14 studies involving children ages 6-18.2 According to the authors:

"There are several hypothesized mechanisms for why exercise is beneficial for cognition, including:

Increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain
Increased levels of norepinephrine and endorphins resulting in a reduction of stress and an improvement of mood
Increased growth factors that help to create new nerve cells and support synaptic plasticity"
To put this into perspective, Naperville Central High School in Illinois implemented a special program where students could take part in a dynamic gym class at the beginning of the day and had access to exercise bikes and balls throughout the day in their classrooms. The results were astounding. Those who participated nearly doubled their reading scores, and math scores increased 20-fold!3 >


More to read:-

• Motivation, Not IQ, Matters Most for Learning New Math Skills