2758: Kids Brains Need Exercise to Be Able to Learn by Dr. Jenny Brockis on Parenting & Raising Healthy Children

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[00:01:08] Kids' brains need exercise to be able to learn.

[00:01:11] By Dr. Jenny Brockes of drjennybrockes.com

[00:01:14] And I'm Dr. Neil.

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[00:01:31] So, with that, let's hear this one from Greg as we optimize your life.

[00:01:40] Kids' brains need exercise to be able to learn.

[00:01:43] By Dr. Jenny Brockes of drjennybrockes.com

[00:01:47] I had heard through the grapevine that our daughter's school was introducing some changes for those girls entering year 11, 15 and 16 years old.

[00:01:56] The amount of physical education, or recreation time allocated on the timetable, is to be reduced from five periods over six days, to just two.

[00:02:06] Roughly this equates to two lots of 40 minutes.

[00:02:09] Because it's a six-day cycle, then some weeks the girls may actually get only one period of activity.

[00:02:15] I telephoned the school to seek clarification on whether what I had heard was correct.

[00:02:19] I was informed that yes it was.

[00:02:21] That it has been a difficult decision and not undertaken lightly.

[00:02:26] What was the reason for this?

[00:02:28] A decision has been taken to allocate more classwork time to teachers.

[00:02:32] All girls will now be studying six subjects, and this will enable the school to fall into line with other educational establishments.

[00:02:40] I was reminded that all parents of the school had an expectation for their daughters to perform well academically, and that this initiative would help the girls achieve that desired outcome.

[00:02:49] It would appear that these educators are going down the track of thinking that more classroom time will equate to a couple of extra marks in the TEE.

[00:02:59] Worse still, this school is not isolated in its way of thinking, as other schools have apparently, for similar curricular and administrative reasons, have chosen to abandon or reduce the amount of physical exercise in the weekly timetable for their students.

[00:03:13] I was informed that the girls would have the opportunity to participate in physical exercise after school.

[00:03:19] Yeah, right.

[00:03:20] That might work for those girls who are sufficiently motivated to do so.

[00:03:24] But what of the others who may have other after-school commitments, whether it's music, drama, a part-time job, or just sheer large volume of homework?

[00:03:34] What about those girls who don't particularly like exercise and are more than happy to have a very valid reason not to have to do it?

[00:03:41] Our society is becoming increasingly sedentary.

[00:03:45] Our society is becoming increasingly obese.

[00:03:48] Both these factors are contributing to a rise in early death.

[00:03:51] In the States, one in three people are expected to develop type 2 diabetes, which will shorten their lifespan by 10 to 15 years.

[00:03:59] Girls, particularly those in their young teens, are easily turned off exercise.

[00:04:05] Once that habit is lost, it's highly unlikely they will return to sport and exercise after they've left school.

[00:04:12] Importantly, there is also an abundance of research available which has revealed the importance of exercise for learning and memory, and for young brains especially.

[00:04:21] In the 1990s, Dr. Fred Gage and colleagues at the Salk Institute San Diego showed that human and animal brains could produce new brain cells.

[00:04:30] This process is called neurogenesis.

[00:04:33] They then demonstrated that exercise increases this.

[00:04:37] Exercise fundamentally changes the structure of the brain and affects thinking.

[00:04:41] Doing more exercise will not turn you into a genius, but even a modest increase in physical activity will help to increase new brain cell production.

[00:04:50] It needs to be aerobic exercise as well.

[00:04:53] This stimulates an increase in the blood flow to the brain and encourages new capillary networks to form.

[00:04:59] This will also allow more oxygen and essential nutrients to reach the brain, but it also allows growth factors to affect the brain, creating new neurons and new brain connections.

[00:05:09] Exercise has now been shown to stimulate the production of a number of brain proteins, one of which is appropriately called Noggin.

[00:05:16] This works as an antagonist to another brain protein called BMP, which dampens down new brain cell formation.

[00:05:24] More Noggin, more brain cell production.

[00:05:27] Exercise also raises the amount of BDNF, the factor which assists new brain cells to survive, mature, and integrate into existing neural pathways.

[00:05:36] A recent study in Illinois looked at the brains of 9 and 10-year-old children.

[00:05:41] They found that those who were the fittest, based on treadmill tests, scored better on cognitive tests.

[00:05:47] All the kids were from the same demographics, socioeconomic background, body mass index, etc.

[00:05:54] MRI scans of their brains showed that the fitter the child, the larger the area of their brain involved in their ability to maintain attention and executive control.

[00:06:03] A second study, again in Illinois, using a similar age group of children, used MRI brain scans as well, to look at the size of their hippocampi, the area of the brain associated with memory and learning.

[00:06:16] This study showed that the fittest children had heavier hippocampi, the area of the brain associated with this type of thinking.

[00:06:23] The most physically fit children did better on memory tests, in particular on tests of relational memory, where they had to remember and integrate various types of information.

[00:06:32] Interestingly, Professor C. Hillman from Illinois has reported results indicating that undertaking 20 minutes of walking before a test raised the results of the scores, even if the child was otherwise unfit or overweight.

[00:06:46] Somehow, as parents, we have to get the message through to our schools that their current path of just adding more class time will actually work against our children's ability to learn, unless it's paired with aerobic exercise.

[00:06:59] It looks as if it will be up to us parents to stand up to the school establishments and tell them that, in this instance, they're just plain wrong.

[00:07:06] Let's get our kids back in a learning environment that will not only assist their ability to do well academically, but also keep them mentally and physically healthy.

[00:07:19] You just listened to the post titled, Kids' Brains Need Exercise to Be Able to Learn by Dr. Jenny Brockes of drjennybrockes.com

[00:07:28] And a highly important read from Dr. Jenny today, which we do thank her for.

[00:07:32] Now, I really appreciate her calling to influence the school system and how exercise is approached in that setting.

[00:07:39] But of course, remember that in the meantime, there is a lot we can do to encourage our kids to exercise outside of school.

[00:07:47] And frankly, that's how their motivation to stay fit is more likely to form, from the messages they receive from family and friends rather than in school.

[00:07:55] So, know that while it's great to stand up for more exercise in school, it's a larger part of the parent's job to cultivate a sense of wanting to exercise or stay healthy.

[00:08:07] Parents have more power than what they would talk to the school about.

[00:08:10] So, while you might consider reaching out to the school system that your kids are in, know that the more important work to do,

[00:08:17] and frankly, the work you have a lot more control of is how to instill a desire to exercise while in the home.

[00:08:25] So, I'll leave it there for today, parents.

[00:08:28] It's time to wrap up.

[00:08:29] And I hope this episode got you thinking about your children's health.

[00:08:32] Have a great rest of your day.

[00:08:33] Enjoy the night.

[00:08:34] And I'll see you again tomorrow for the Saturday show, where your optimal life awaits.