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Health News
Study shows students, especially those with ADHD, have improved academic performance after they exercise
Children do better in school when they aren't forced to sit still all day, especially those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Gretchen Reynolds reports in The New York Times.
Recent research, published last year in The Journal of Pediatrics, suggests that even small amounts of exercise enable children to improve their focus and academic performance.
The study looked at 40 boys and girls, age 8 to 10, half of whom had ADHD. Researchers gave the students a baseline academic test and also one that tested their attention. They then gave the same tests two more times, first after they had sat and read quietly for 20 minutes and the other after they had walked briskly or jogged 20 minutes on treadmills. Brain activity was recorded as they repeated the original tests.
Little difference was found in any of the students after quietly reading, but "they all showed marked improvements in their math and reading comprehension scores after the exercise," Reynolds writes. Students with ADHD showed significant increases on their scores and had brain-wave readings that showed them better able to regulate their behavior, which helped them pay attention.
"The results should make administrators question the wisdom of cutting P.E. classes," Reynolds writes.
This information is a valuable tool for educators, especially in Kentucky, which leads the nation with 19 percent of children ages 4 to 17, compared to 11 percent nationally, who have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The level of exercise needed to show academic and attentional improvement involves activities that can be done in the classroom throughout the day, like marching or hopping in place.
Recent research, published last year in The Journal of Pediatrics, suggests that even small amounts of exercise enable children to improve their focus and academic performance.
The study looked at 40 boys and girls, age 8 to 10, half of whom had ADHD. Researchers gave the students a baseline academic test and also one that tested their attention. They then gave the same tests two more times, first after they had sat and read quietly for 20 minutes and the other after they had walked briskly or jogged 20 minutes on treadmills. Brain activity was recorded as they repeated the original tests.
Little difference was found in any of the students after quietly reading, but "they all showed marked improvements in their math and reading comprehension scores after the exercise," Reynolds writes. Students with ADHD showed significant increases on their scores and had brain-wave readings that showed them better able to regulate their behavior, which helped them pay attention.
"The results should make administrators question the wisdom of cutting P.E. classes," Reynolds writes.
This information is a valuable tool for educators, especially in Kentucky, which leads the nation with 19 percent of children ages 4 to 17, compared to 11 percent nationally, who have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The level of exercise needed to show academic and attentional improvement involves activities that can be done in the classroom throughout the day, like marching or hopping in place.
- Researchers Discuss Physical Activity As A Way Of Maintaining Or Improving Health; Daily Walking Is Still The Best Exercise
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Obesity worsens the damage that arthritis does to joints, but simply telling patients to go home and diet and exercise is not working, and health care providers must proactively monitor their patients and help them...
- Study Finds Students With Heavy Fast-food Diets Have Test Scores About 20% Lower Than Those Who Don't East Fast Food
Eating fast food may cause lower test scores in school, says a recent study of U.S. school children. The study, published online in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, found that "The more frequently children reported eating fast food in fifth grade, the...
- Study Finds Adhd Treatment Might Discourage Smoking; Kentucky Ranks High In Both
Stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder might also reduce smoking risk, particularly if the medication is taken regularly, according to an analysis performed by Duke University. The study, online in the journal Pediatrics,...
- Kentucky Leads Nation In Percentage Of Children Who Have Been Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
Kentucky leads the nation in the percentage of children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, according to the latest available data, which "showed that ADHD levels have risen steeply in the past decade across the nation,"...
- Georgia Doctor Prescribes Pills To Help In School -- Whether Or Not The Adhd Shoe Fits -- To Level The Playing Field For The Poor
Amanda Rocafort and her son, Quintn, who takes Adderall for his ADHD. (NYT photo by Bryan Meltz)In light of last week's news that the number of poor children on Medicaid in Kentucky are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs at alarming rates for such...