Exercising Your Mind and Body
Alyssa Johnson
Dr. Wendt
11/21/11
Exercising Your Mind and Body
By Alyssa Johnson
I. Physical Activity does not have an effect on academic performance
A. Straight A student without being physically active
B. Physical Education Classes are not beneficial
C. Gym Class in school does not help grades
II. Physical Activity has an effect on academic performance
A. Increases Brain Size
B. Increases Brain Function
C. Increases Grades in school
Alyssa Johnson
ENG 201
Dr. Wendt
21 November 2011
Exercising Your Mind and Body
Does physical activity improve academic performance? Some people have become less
physically active over time and are unaware of the affects being active or non-active can have on
their lives. Not many ponder on whether or not being active can improve other aspects of life
other than being well in the physically, maybe it can improve one’s environmental, spiritual, or
mental health as well. Even though many people who are not physically active still maintain high
academic scores and tend to think physical activity does not or would not have an effect on their
grades, physical activity can help in the processes of increasing academic scores. Many students
have been known to have increased test scores after being physically active. Other studies have
shown that physical activity can increase brain functions in the areas used for retaining memory
and new learning abilities. I have also tested this theory myself and I believe that physical
activity can indeed increase the academic performance of students.
There are not very many benefits that come out of physical education classes, or this is
what some may believe. An article written by Jen Mueller called, “Do P.E. classes really
matter?” shows studies that say P.E. classes are not as important in schools anymore and it’s not
necessarily a bad thing. The study showed that having P.E. class in school didn’t even help
students become more physically fit and only improved their physical activity by eight minutes
per week. Mueller says that kids move around enough already without P.E. class and students
that did not participate in gym class were just as healthy and academically inclined as the ones in
the physical education classes. Mueller thinks that P.E. classes should remain in schools so
students can find fun activities and hobbies they otherwise might not be exposed to but as for it
correlating with academics, she says that students being physically active and students who are
not, both can maintain high scores (Mueller 1).
Another article that was read was called “Gym Class Discourages Some Students,” by
Mandy Stussman in which Stussman tells how for some students gym class is not fun and can be
dreaded and embarrassing. To students that are shy, or self-conscious, being physically active is
not something they might enjoy and if they are being put on the spot to catch a dodge ball or run
a mile in seven minutes, it can lower their self-esteem and have a negative effect on their grades.
Stussman states that, “Not taking gym would help free up uninterested students’ schedules. With
colleges becoming more selective and getting more competitive each year, it’s important for
many to take the hardest classes possible, not requiring gym would allow students to focus on
what interests them” (Stussman 1). She believes that being active in school doesn’t necessarily
improve academic scores because in places of being physically active a student should be able to
choose to take any class they want and excel in it. To do good in school students need selfconfidence and pride in knowing and liking what classes they are taking she ends the article
with, “gym class can create a terror or hatred of exercise and lower students’ self-esteems”
(Stussman 1).
My sister Lindsay is one who also believes that physical activity does not correlate with
academic performance. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease four years ago, she could not
attend school for a year and a half but continued to keep up with her school work from home.
Her symptoms from Lyme disease were, severe headaches, feeling nauseous all the time, joint
pains, skin rashes, some days it was hard for her to breath, light and sound sensitivity, and
feeling so fatigued that she could not get off the couch to even eat food. I interviewed her and
asked her what she thought about physical activity related to academics because still maintains
high grades in school, and has not been physically active since being diagnosed. She believes
that although physical activity is beneficial, academics can stand on their own. She says, “I used
to be in cross country, went to school every day, and had straight A’s in class, but now I can
barely walk around the block without getting tired, go to school once a month, and I still have
maintained straight A’s with even harder classes than before.” (Johnson) My sister believes that
for some, physical activity might make them feel better so in turn they perform better at what
they do afterward, but that can work for anything not just physical activity. She ends with saying,
“Maybe eating cake makes someone feel better, so after that they should study and it will
improve their academic scores.” (Johnson)
Others believe that physical activity does correlate with academic performance. Physical
Activity can have an effect on the size of the brain. Studies have shown that being physically
active can increase the size of the brain by increasing a person’s oxygen intake and the
development of neurons in the brain. An article by Simon Evans, “Physical Fitness Improves
Brain Health” showed how physical fitness can increase the size of a person’s hippocampus, the
region of the brain that helps with memory and spatial tasks. Evans says “Exercise causes a rise
in several growth factors in the brain that are responsible for helping the brain cells survive and
divide into new brain cells, or neurons. Only a couple of brain regions can produce new neurons
and exercise increases the amount and rate of neuron production in these regions” (Evans 1). He
also believes that physical activity works like an anti-depressant and if some is depressed and has
a regular exercise routine; it can relieve them from their depression (Evans 1). Seeing how
physical activity can increase the functions of the brain and increase how many neurons are
being developed, it could be logical thinking that physical activity can relate to academic
performances.
Throughout the years of aging, being physically active can reduce the risk of losing
memories. Rick Nauert wrote a similar article as Evans called, “Physical Fitness Improves brain
Size and Function,” in which he tells how being active can positively affect the brain. The first
thing Nauert says is, “Scientists have known that the size of the brain region called the
hippocampus is linked to better performance on memory challenges. Now, Researchers discover
elderly adults who are more physically fit tend to have bigger hippocampi and better spatial
memory than those who are less fit” (Nauert 1). He says that many different activities can
increase the size of a humans brain like learning how to drive in a new city, studying for an
exam, and being physically active (Nauert 1).
Elementary students’ on-task classroom
behavior improves
with physical activity breaks (in Percents)
25
20
15
10
students
5
0
-5
Breaks with no physical
activity
physical activity breaks,
students overall
physical activity breaks, offtask students
This graph was taken from ““Physical Education, Physical Activity and Academic
Performance” by Steward Trost and it shows how much improvement there is in a classroom
setting with or without a break that includes physical activity. Although there is not a big change
in the behavior improvements, there is a slight change. Over all students with an activity break
can have an improved behavior by 8 percent, this is not a high percent and seems like it does not
matter if there is a break with physical activity involved or not.
As the graph shows, behavior can be slightly affected by physical activity, in some cases
grades can be affected as well. Steward G. Trost, unlike Nauert and Evans, did a study to see if
being active had any effect with student’s grades in the classroom. His article, “Physical
Education, Physical Activity and Academic Performance” tells how very few students actually
are physically active these days and that schools have been cutting physical education classes.
He says that schools have done this so they have more time to teach the students more core
classes like math and reading but findings have shown that by taking PE classes out, it has not
increased the academic scores. He goes on to show that kids who are more active seem to have a
better performance in academics. Trost believes that sometimes the more physically fit or active
a student is, the better their academic performance will be (Trost 5).
Since there is much controversy on whether or not physical activity can improve a
student’s academic scores, I have done my own test and gathered the results to prove whether or
not physical activity can help improve academic scores. First of all, I studied for my math exam
in my room without any physical activity before or after, the next day I took my exam and
received a 84%. For the next math exam, I studied for it while I was walking on the treadmill and
then put my notebook down and exercised a bit more. The next day when I went in to take my
exam I realized I knew all of the formulas that I had studied the night before thus receiving a
93% on this exam. I feel as though the physical activity helped my mind retain the information I
had studied the night before. I had studied the same amount of time for both exams, did the same
amount of homework, and neither test was at an easier level than the other. Evans wrote in his
article “Physical Fitness Improves Brain Health,” that exercise can increase the number of
neurons your brain can produce. The neurons create networks in the hippocampus region of your
brain where you can retain new information and memories. I believe while I was exercising, I
was increasing the amount of neurons being created, and was using them to memorize the
formulas for my math exam.
I decided that results from only my test scores would not be enough to prove that physical
activity can improve academic performances. I also remembered something that my sister had
not mentioned in her interview, although she gets straight A’s in all of her classes while coping
with Lyme disease, she spends substantially more time trying to learn the subjects for tests and
homework to keep her grades as high as they previously were then she ever had to before. I
asked her to try going for a walk before she studies to see if it would help her retain any
information at all or to see if it helps her remember subjects in a more timely matter. To her
surprise, the results proved that taking a walk before she studies helped her be able to focus and
concentrate more, getting her homework done faster as well as maintaining the high academic
scores she strives for.
Many people who are not physically active still maintain high academic scores and tend
to think physical activity does not or would not have an effect on their grades, physical activity
can help in the processes of increasing academic scores. Many students have been known to have
increased test scores after being physically active. Other studies have shown that physical
activity can increase brain functions in the areas used for retaining memory and new learning
abilities. I increased my exam scores by exercising, and my sister decreased the time it took her
to learn different subjects while maintaining her high academic scores. It seems as though
physical activity can have a positive effect on improving academic performances.
Works Cited
Evans Simon. “Physical Fitness Improves Brain Health.” Super Performance.com. Super
Performance, 2006. Tues. 04 Oct. 2011.
Johnson, Lindsay. Personal Interview. 25 Oct. 2011
Mueller, Jen. “Do P.E. Classes Really Matter?” Your Healthy Life Style Blog. Dailyspark.com.
22 May 2009. Web. 25 Oct. 2011
Nauert Rick. “Physical Fitness Improves Brain Size and Function.” Psych Central. Psych
Central, 10 Oct. 2011. 4 Oct. 2011.
Stussman, Mandy. “Gym Class Discourages Some Students.” The Warrior Online. n.d. Web. 25
Oct. 2011
Trost, Stewart.“Physical Education, Physical Activity and Academic Performance.” Active
Living Research. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.