How just 15 minutes’ exercise a day ‘makes your child more clever’
SCHOOLS should run 15-minute daily activity sessions after a study found it makes pupils mentally and physically sharper, researchers say.
Primary school pupils who took part in a running or walking programme such as the Daily Mile were fitter, and those new to the scheme performed better in cognitive tests than those who did not take part.
The Daily Mile, which was established by a headteacher in Stirling, celebrates its tenth birthday today. More than three million pupils across the world participate in the programme, including more than half of Scotland’s primary schools.
It is not currently a compulsory part of the curriculum, but experts at the University of Edinburgh who carried out the research say policymakers should make it so.
The Daily Mile and similar initiatives involve teachers taking pupils outside for a 15-minute walk, jog or run at their own pace round the playground, during lesson time. They do not need to change into gym clothes, making it an easy activity to participate in.
Studies have shown it improves children’s fitness and strength and reduces their body fat.
For this latest study, researchers at the universities of Edinburgh, Stirling, and Highlands and Islands observed 6,000 pupils aged nine to 11 who undertook a series of cognitive function tests. The team worked with schools and the BBC’s Terrific Scientific educational initiative to collect the data.
Teachers guided pupils through a running test to measure their fitness levels and then pupils completed computerbased tasks to measure their attention and memory and reported their own wellbeing.
The findings showed a ‘small but detectable’ association with better memory and thinking skills in pupils who had taken part in the Daily Mile for less than two months.
Participating for longer than three months had a significant association with higher fitness levels, but no benefits for cognition and wellbeing were found in this group.
However, the researchers say this study shows the positive effects of school-based running programmes on fitness and mental abilities.
Dr Josie Booth, of the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport, said: ‘The health benefits of physical activity coupled with the immediate benefit, which supports learning, makes such physical activity breaks worthwhile and should be considered by school management, as well as education policymakers.’
Dr Colin Moran, from Stirling University, said: ‘It’s great to see the longer-term benefits of the Daily Mile for kids’ health coming through in our work.’
Rates of childhood obesity remain high in Scotland, with 29 per cent of primary one children overweight or obese.