Research conducted by experts reveals that children who exercise regularly are far more likely to do better in the academic field. It’s important to recognize how crucial exercise is is for both the mental and physical health of children.
Exercise is known to elevate confidence levels in children. As a parent, you must allow your children to explore the benefits that can be derived from daily exercise routines.
To a large extent, the cognitive effects of exercise are extrapolated from experiments done on rodents – and not humans. However, certain studies conducted on kids suggest that exercise – especially aerobics – can help children become more focused on academics as well as lessen their impulsivity.
When kids are challenged with tasks that require high cognitive abilities, concentration, and control on their attention, it has been reported that children that have higher fitness turn out to perform with greater accuracy and even have faster reflex actions.
Both our brain and our body are in control of our motor coordination. Essentially, exercises like the ones mentioned below are known to promote integration between brain functions as well as motor coordination which thus leads to overall better performance.
- Toe Wiggling. This is an exercise that is known to greatly help in strengthening coordination. Children of all ages can learn to do this very easily. before getting out of bed you can have your child slowly move their toes feet up, then down, and then move on to both big toes.
- Your Other Hand. Encourage your kids to perform their tasks using their non-dominant hand. They can use it for activities such as writing, eating as well as getting dressed.
- Get Moving. Encourage your kids to stay active by making them touch their left elbow to their right knee while they are sitting down.
This can be done five times on alternate sides. Try to repeat it as often as you can.
- Tickle the Ivories. Learning to play an instrument is one of the best-known ways to improve cognitive function. a simple search on the Internet will show you several videos that instruct you to learn the instrument of your choice right from the comfort of your home.
Boost Your Child’s Concentration with Exercise
Every single day students have to deal with a large variety of obstacles. They require certain mental and emotional clarity to successfully be able to tackle such challenges.
To prevent stress and tension getting the better of your kids, encourage them to exercise regularly. This will promote the improvement of both their mental and physical health. You will notice that this will enable them to perform better in all spheres of life including the academic.
Exercise after learning improves retention
A particular study suggested that Those who regularly exercise for more than 3 hours after taking part in a memory retention test were able to perform better than those who did not exercise. This is a clear indicator that exercise positively affects the processes by which memories are converted from short-term to long-term.
Exercise Minimizes Anxiety in Your Kids
Experts worldwide suggest that exercising regularly can help release chemicals in the brain that are responsible for the reduction of stress and anxiety in our body.
Be stress-free allows children to better handle situations that can potentially trigger anxiety and thus prevent them from performing well in their studies.
Often, parents are not even aware that their children might be going through an anxiety attack. It then becomes essential to strengthen kids and empower them so that they can deal with it. Exercising is one of the best ways to do this.
Set Your Little Ones Up for a Healthy Future with Exercise
Meditating and practicing mindfulness has been proven to produce long-term health benefits for both children and adults alike. Meditation helps children improve their concentration as well as boosts their emotional health which thus prepares them for a better future.
Additionally, maintaining a regular workout routine can help maintain your child’s metabolism rate, regulate blood sugar levels, and keep obesity at bay.
Build Strength in Your Kids with Exercise
Today’s children spend a lot of time working with screens across various devices. It’s important to realize that not moving enough may negatively affect their concentration as well as cognitive abilities.
Incorporating movement and encouraging daily exercise can help keep your kids be on the move. Exercising can also help increase flexibility in those who have trouble moving their joints.
Help Your Children Control Their Thoughts
Being mindful can help children become aware of the connection between mind, emotions, and bodies. This can also help them become aware of their thoughts and feelings and keep their reactional emotions in check.
It can also prevent them from becoming upset over poor grades and potentially considering themselves as not up to the mark. They may even compare themselves to their peers and fall into a state of despair.
Practicing mindfulness and exercising helps to instill a sense of awareness in children. This can help shape their thoughts in a more positive manner and also help in developing perseverance and indomitable spirit. It can help boost self-esteem and also bolster their performance in the future.
Let your Kids Understand the Importance of Staying Fit
If you are able to instill in your children a sense of responsibility to take care of their own bodies, it will only benefit them in the long run. If children are taught to constantly pay attention to their health they will be able to realize that they are able to perform better in academics only when their health is good.
Enabling them to use self-care as an instrument can ensure that they grow up with confidence and reap benefits of such activities throughout their lives. As the old saying goes, “Health is the ultimate wealth”.
Get Started with Basic Exercises for Your Children
if you are able to get your children to perform basic exercises daily such as running, jumping, walking, squats, cycling, skipping, swimming, jogging on the spot, etc – they will begin to understand the essentiality of exercise for the maintenance of good health.
You may even reward them with incentives if they complete these exercises on time by, for example, driving them to their favorite picnic spot or treating them to an extra bedtime story.
Regardless of how well your children are doing in academics, make them understand the importance of practicing mindfulness and exercising regularly.
They will begin to notice that their concentration levels are improving and also so that their thoughts are becoming clearer.
Be rest assured that they themselves will come up to you and thank you one day in the future for your efforts.
Author Bio:
Mary Jones is the co-founder and editor-in-chief at TopMyGrades, which focuses on career counselling for university students in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Mary also provides help with assignments for University students as an online service to guide them in with a range of University courses and certifications. When free, she loves to read inspirational novels and biographies.
