Improve brainpower by getting children active in class

Calling all parents and teachers alike! Did you know that giving students a fun and physically active “brain break” in the classroom improves their learning? That’s right, kids need to move – even in class – and they need to move often.

With growing recognition of the power of physical activity to improve children’s brainpower, there is a rapidly advancing international movement towards a new approach to physical education and health and even the introduction of ‘brain breaks’ in the classroom.

So said Professor Ming-kai Chin, Founding President of the BRICS Council of Exercise and Sports Science and Vice President, Global Affairs and Research, HOPSports Inc, while delivering a keynote address during the biennial Life Through Movement International Conference, presented by the Biokinetics Association of Southern Africa (BASA).

The growing childhood obesity problem

According to Prof Ming-kai, there is a growing body of research indicating that more children are getting even fatter. An article in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet reported that in 2016, 13 percent of children are overweight.

Prof Ming-kai stressed that health-related issues, including the need for children to become more physically active, could not be dealt with in isolation. If children are to be encouraged to exercise more, it is important to look at the child holistically and not relegate movement and exercise to the periphery of the child’s daily experience.

Physical education should be promoted

This philosophy is being adopted wholeheartedly in countries that have the best educational systems in the world and which previously only focused on academic subjects. They are now integrating physical education as a core component of the curriculum.

A co-ordinated school health model which had been developed by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (based on the concept of Whole Child, Whole School, and Whole Community), included eight pillars that would need to be implemented if children were to be given the best possible opportunity for healthy, productive lives. Physical education was high on this list; along with comprehensive school health education; school health services; nutrition services; counselling, psychological and social services; a healthy school environment; school-site health promotion for staff; and – also extremely important – family and community involvement.

Make it fun

“While physical education is important, we have to change the way it is taught. We have to make it fun and ensure all the children not only participate but are kept moving all the time,” Prof Ming-Kai added.

Brain breaks: Short bursts of a fun physical activity

Brain breaks are coming into their own. These are short bursts of a fun physical activity of between two and five minutes which have been shown to actually stimulate the brain and promote concentration and learning. These brain breaks could range from dancing in the classroom alongside their desks, to having the children shoot some basketball hoops.