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Physical activity has long been a part of both preschool and elementary school days, be it through recess or gym class. By high school, these aspects are greatly diminished or outright disappear. Gym class may be offered as an elective, teens are not required to participate in after-school sports and recess officially ends.
A study recently published in Frontiers in Psychology found that physical activity has a positive effect on teens, resulting in greater concentration skills and a longer attention span.
Background for Research
Researchers built their study around the notion that physical activity increases oxygen flow to the brain, which improves one’s cognitive abilities, often right after exercising but also long-term. In fact, previous data indicates that greater physical activity is associated with more grey matter, the portion in the brain responsible for muscle control and sensory processing.
With this study, the researchers sought to determine if physical activity can have such an impact on the attention span and concentration of teens. A pool of 210 teens from Spain, between the ages of 11 and 15, were asked about their selective attention and concentration. All participants then had to do shuttle run and horizontal jump tests.
Data from both assessments indicated that subjects who were more physically fit tended to have better selective attention and concentration. This effect was observed to be stronger in physically fit boys, who had greater attention spans and concentration overall, although the pattern was observed in both genders.
Previous Research
Even if your teen does not participate in team sports, running and walking to school contribute to physical activity levels. The Frontiers in Psychology study adds to previous research illustrating a similar correlation.
A German study titled “Treadmill Walking During Vocabulary Encoding Improves Verbal Long-Term Memory” found that physical activity for learning new information aids in memory retention. Researchers had participants walk or cycle, while becoming familiar with new foreign language vocabulary words and found that subjects tended to remember the words better when they were engaging in a low-intensity motor activity. However, doing the activity ahead of time did not produce the same effect.
Not directly academic, a 2014 U.S. study titled “Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function” examined children who participated in afterschool sports over the course of a year. While regularly engaging in physical activity improved fitness, researchers noticed one attentional trend: Participants who were more physically active also tended to be more focused and adept at multitasking. Attesting to concentration, students involved in sports tended to retain and process information better than those not involved in similar activities.
Referencing this and other relevant studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that students who are more physically active are more likely to do better in school. Although these habits may be reflected in higher grades, these individuals also attend school more days, are more likely to stay on task in class and display stronger cognitive performance.
The effects also continue into adulthood. Researchers have observed a similar effect in adults who are more physically active, particularly those who engage in cardiovascular-boosting fitness.
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