Practicing physical exercise improves academic performance

College years are demanding, so many students feel great pressure to get good gradesyes, sometimes leaving them exhausted. Important tests can cause anxiety and emotional instability, because when they approach, it is common for them to lock themselves in their rooms (or in libraries) for weeks, being able to adopt harmful habits such as: eating badly, not practicing exercise, etc.

Adopting this attitude may not be the best. Several studies, such as the one presented by the American College of Sports Medicine, have shown that physical exercise helps relieve anxiety and leads to better grades.

The psychological benefits of exercising

For several decades, experts have recommended us to practice physical exercise for its many benefits both physically and mentally. Regarding the latter, the regular practice of physical or sports activities can help us achieve greater well-being, but also to improve our cognitive functions, regardless of age or physical condition.

Psychiatrist John Ratey, professor at Harvard Medical School and author of the book

The New and Revolutionary Science of Exercise and the Brain, explains: "Regular physical exercise is good for improving our perception of ourselves, our mood, memory or learning." Therefore, exercising regularly helps us to obtain a higher academic performance, since, in addition to producing chemicals of happiness or improve our self-esteem, provides us with other benefits that can favor a better academic outcome: it reduces stress, improves memory and learning, increases brain capacity and improves productivity.

To know the results of different studies that explain the psychological benefits of practicing regular physical activity, I invite you to also visit my article:

“The 10 psychological benefits of practicing physical exercise”

Better grades for those who exercise

That physical exercise improves academic performance is not a new idea. Therefore, researchers from Saginaw Valley State University (United States) decided to put this theory to the test. After analyzing the exercise habits of 266 students, the researchers concluded that those individuals who exercised vigorously had higher scores on the GPA scale than those who didn't.

The GPA scale It is a grade point average that ranges from 0.0 to 4.0, and used by many academic institutions. The results of this research showed a higher average of 0.4 points for those who exercise regularly. Knowing this, you may want to schedule some gym sessions, yoga or running as part of your study hours, if only to disconnect.

Improvements in the academic performance of children and adolescents have also been documented.

Improvements in academic performance thanks to physical exercise not only affect college students, but also children and adolescents also see their grades improve thanks to the practice of physical activity.

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine states that those boys and girls who are more active perform better in school. For this study, a group of researchers from the United Kingdom, Scotland and the United States measured the level of physical activity of 5,000 11-year-old boys and girls. Their scores in math, English, and science were assessed when they were 11, 13, and 16 years old.

After analyzing the study results, the researchers concluded that the most physically active children at age 11 performed better in all three disciplines. What's more, 17 minutes of exercise a day is enough to improve academic performance in boys. For girls, 12 minutes a day is enough.

Studies on school performance in children

Another study, in this case carried out by a group of researchers from the Vrije University (Holland), relates the better cognitive performance of children with their level of physical activity.

But more studies corroborate the claim that physical activity influences children's school performance. According to the North Texas University, a healthy heart and lungs have a beneficial impact on children's reading and math levels. Which could indicate that cardiovascular exercise improves both school skills. That's why the studio's director, Trent A. Petrie, recommends that schools “review their physical education policies, as to include more hours per week of this subject could have a beneficial effect on the performance of your students".

On the other hand, an investigation by the Autonomous University of Madrid, led by Irene Esteban-Cornejo, analyzed data from 2,038 Spanish children aged 6 to 8 years. The results showed that cardiorespiratory capacity and motor ability positively correlated with academic performance, both independently and in combination.