Sport activities improve the learning ability of children

Sport after learning has a positive effect on the memory of children
Many parents are probably familiar with the following problem: children have great difficulty remembering knowledge learned at school. This raises the question of whether there are ways to improve the ability to learn or remember what children have learned. Researchers have now found that after exercise, physical activity helps to improve children's memory.

The researchers from the Center for Team Sports and Health at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, found out in their research that after learning to play with children, exercise leads to improved memory performance. The doctors published a press release on the results of their study.

How does the learning ability of children improve? Physicians found that children better remember learned knowledge when they are doing sports activities right after learning. (Image: contrastwerkstatt / fotolia.com)

Physical activity can improve the memory of children
The current research has shown that children remember better when they play jogging or a round of hockey after learning, say the experts. Physical activity can improve children's memory if it is done immediately after a learning situation. The greatest impact is achieved immediately after class, combined with intense physical activity, says author Professor Jesper Lundbye-Jensen.

Also sport before learning has positive effects
Other studies have previously shown that when children perform sports activities prior to learning, they increase their willingness to learn, the experts explain. On the other hand, if physical activity is performed after class, researchers seem to improve the memory of what they have learned.

Scheduling physical activities can improve learning outcomes
The studies contribute to a better understanding of the effects of physical activity. Thus, physical activities can be scheduled to improve learning outcomes in children. The latest study examined the effects of physical activity after a single learning session, explain the researchers. A total of 77 third- and fourth-grade students from Denmark were examined. The scientists used a special computer program to test the ability to concentrate of the participating children.

How was the experiment set up??
The children were divided into three groups. One group played hockey, another group went jogging and the third group was just a control group. Each of the activities took 20 minutes. Prior to the activities, all children had the same learning task, a so-called computer-assisted precision assignment, which was previously unfamiliar to the subjects, explain the researchers. The goal of the assignment was to help students use a computer mouse to trace specific shapes on a computer as accurately as possible. The children were retested an hour after performing the task. These tests were performed the next day and one week later, the scientists explain.

After a week, the athletic children showed better results
One week later, it was found that the physically active children performed their tests ten percent better than the average of the children from the control group. Basically, the learning session rather than the physical activity is crucial for children learning successfully or not, explain the researchers. The observed improvement of ten percent is a small icing, so to speak, which can further improve the learning outcomes, says Professor Lundbye-Jensen.

It takes partial hours until learned knowledge is stored as a reminder
Learning does not end when the learning session ends. It can take hours for the nervous system to build and deepen memory, the doctors explain. During this time, the memory can be subjected to positive and / or negative influences, the researchers add. Ten and eleven-year-old children have been found to have a positive influence on memory through physical activity.

Sporting activity should be done immediately after learning
Previous studies with adult subjects have already shown that the observed effect is most positive when physical activity raises the heart rate and occurs immediately after a learning session, the researchers say. Already one hour after learning, the positive effects of physical activity are less. Two hours after learning, the benefits disappear completely, adds Professor Lundbye-Jensen. (As)