Dr. Charles Hillman and his colleagues had 20 nine-year-olds take tests in spelling, reading and math after they took a 20-minute rest, and then after they exercised for 20 minutes on a treadmill.
"What we found is that following the acute bout of walking, children performed better on the flanker tasks," Dr. Hillman said. "They had a higher rate of accuracy, especially when the task was more difficult."
Performance in reading comprehension was particularly better after exercising, Dr. Hillman said.
Dr. Hillman's co-author, Darla Castelli, recommended that each elementary school child have outdoor recess every day, and 150 minutes of physical education per week. High school students should get 225 minutes of physical education per week, she said.
This study appeared in the journal Neuroscience.
Labels: exercise, students, academics, studies
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
