Physical Exercise and Cognitive Functioning in Children

A study conducted by Harvard Medical School regarding on how could exercise help your brain and what kind of exercise will help your brain to have a better result. In this article, we learn that exercises can help your brain and can also help your memory. The researchers examined different people to try to understand what exercises could help your brain using 30 minutes section. In this study, the researchers randomly evaluate people doing exercises like cardio and compared their memory and their productivity with those that didn’t any type of exercises.

Physical activity has not only physical benefits. It also has a very big impact on social-emotional and cognitive aspects of child’s live. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “The development of a physically active lifestyle is a goal for all children. Traditional team and competitive sports may promote healthy activity for selected youth. Individual sports, noncompetitive sports, lifetime sports, and recreational activities expand the opportunity for activity to everyone. The opportunity to be active on a regular basis, as well as the enjoyment and competence gained from activity, may increase the chances that a physically active lifestyle will be adopted.”

This will impact on a child or young person’s intellectual development as they will be more alert and ready to learn, physical activity is also likely to encourage social and emotional development as schools will provide sports clubs and after school activities, giving children and young people the opportunity to socialise and progress in self-esteem.

Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.

Sub-Point a:According to CDC.gov in there June, 2015 issue on physical activity, Regular physical activity can help you keep your thinking and judge mental skills sharp. Research shows that doing aerobic exercises can give you great mental benefits. Some scientific evidence also have shown even if you were to do lower levels of exercise it still will be beneficial to you.

Research has proven that physical activity improves cognitive function and can also improve brain function throughout a lifespan. Moreover, staying physically active has so many benefits as well. For example, doing exercise and fitness activities help build cells and natural pathways to help reduce changes in memory loss or dementia. Also, it has so many health benefits including long-term improvements to the cognitive function as the young adult reaching mid

Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2015) state that there is research showing how brain plasticity can be enhanced through aerobic exercise (p.51). It is important that adults be active in their lives. A 30-minute walk or some type of physical activity will benefit them as the age. The text mentions a study done by Erickson and his colleagues in 2009 where they studied the effect of aerobic exercise on the hippocampus. They found that due to aerobic exercise it produced greater volume in the hippocampus. This is significant because the hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for memory, emotions, and spatial functioning. The body does not only need physical activities to produce healthier cognitive functioning but also nutrients. The text identifies three nutrient biomarker patterns that are significant on the aging brain. These nutrients are vitamin B, C,D, and E, omega-3, and trans fat. the foods that belong to these nutrients are beneficial to the brain. Older adults should make an effort to include these nutrients into their diets. positive impacts these nutrients make are better cognitive functioning and greater brain

Not only does it help lower the likelihood of becoming afflicted with serious health problems. It has also been proven to improve the academic skills, especially in students. The usefulness of having a daily exercise routine, in terms of physical attributes, mainly at a young age, benefits the child with the development of healthier and stronger bones, muscles and ligaments. The benefits can also extend to an academic level, improving their memory, concentration and cognitive thinking skills. There are benefits that don’t only affect children, but also those of various ages, which are the improvement of blood and oxygen flow, thus lowering the risk of these numerous issues.

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that through the normal ageing process alterations to the brain in structure and function are directly related to cognitive changes (Glisky, 2007). With an increasing ageing population strategies for prevention of disease and age related cognitive decline are necessary to improve quality of life and reduce the associated healthcare costs (Australian Government Productivity Commission [AGPC], 2013). Physical exercise is known to be crucial in maintaining physiological health; it can also be used as a means of neuroprotection and assist in modifiable risk factors for improved brain health and subsequent cognitive function. This review will critically analyse current research into the effects of exercise

The human brain is constantly changing where many new neurons are formed while others neurons die and new synapses are created while other synapses are removed (Spalding et al., 2013). Some dendrites will withdraw while other dendrites continue branching (Killgore et al., 2013). The processes driving the reshaping of the brain are neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s lifelong ability to rewire neural connections to compensate for diseases and injuries or in response to changes in the environment, whereas neurogenesis is the ability to create new neurons and neural connections. This dynamic process of remodeling gray matter is determined mainly by a person’s genetics and can slow down due to age (Denes, 2016). However, recent scientific evidence demonstrates other non-genetic factors that can significantly improve the development of the brain and slow down neurodegeneration (Kays et al., 2012). Physical exercise has always been linked to a person’s physical health, but many recent scientific studies shows physical exercise can also keep a person’s brain sharp. Exercise affects the brain in numerous ways by creating a flourishing environment for brain growth, aiding the release of numerous hormones, and fighting against depression, stress, and anxiety.

It is now recognized that physical activity can be associated with the maintenance of cognitive function in older adults and offers some protection against Alzheimer's disease. Cognitive dysfunctions in older adults is becoming an urgent public health problem. However, there is a positive association between physical activity in young children that impacts cognitive health later in adults. The article states that a positive influence of physical activity on the cognitive functions of children is important for at least two reasons. One reason a potential argument for increasing PE without risk of decreasing academic progress. The other reason is that physical activity in school, like physical education class at an early age offers a way to reduce disruptive behavior and later will decrease the dropout rate. Furthermore, another important factor of increased physical education would be an enhanced level of physical

Physical development through exercise, combine with strength training, improves various cognitive components, with the strongest of the effects on the executive function (Stint-Morrow & Chui, 2012). Health and fitness is another important factor of physical development during early adulthood. Economically advantaged, well-educated individuals usually have good health over most of their lives, but lower-income individuals with limited education do not have good health mainly due to their living conditions and habits (Stint-Morrow & Chui, 2012).

The review article by Jackson et al. discusses how engaging in physical activity, cognitive activity, and following a healthy diet can promote brain health. These lifestyle factors contribute to increasing reserve - the capacity of the brain to maintain function in the face of acute injury, degenerative impairment etc. Studies in both humans and animal models have demonstrated that physical activity has direct effects on brain health. For example, physical exercise in rodents increases neurogenesis in hippocampal dentate gyrus and induces angiogenesis in the cortex and other brain regions. Consistent with the studies using rodents, higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels in adults were linked to better performance in hippocampal mediated tasks

It is because of this high level of cognitive function that physical activity and nutrition are extremely important (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010). They affect the child’s physical wellbeing in terms of energy levels, growth and the ability to concentrate (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

The articles by Erikson et al., Gatz, Korol et al., and Draganski et al. explore the concept of increased physical activity and/or mental activity having effects on the cognitive function and development or deterioration of the brain as we age. Although I agree that physical exercise is critical in increasing cognitive function because of the health benefits it provides, as well as the increased blood flow and circulation throughout the body, I ultimately believe that a healthy brain is not achieved solely by physical exercise or mental exercise, but both. I think there is a link between physical and mental exercise, and that the combination of these two activities creates higher cognitive functioning of the mind as well as the body. The mind and body come together and meet to make an overall healthy individual.