November 2012
Featured in this insight: Education, Sports & physical activity
A joint study by two Danish Universities has found that regular exercise could advance a student by up to half a year in their studies. Children who walked or cycled to school performed better in tests measuring concentration levels, as opposed to those who were driven or used public transport.
The results came as a shock to the researchers, as their hypothesis originally focused on the effects of eating breakfast and lunch on pupils' ability to concentrate.
19,527 pupils aged between 5–19 years old participated in the survey, and were quizzed about their exercise habits before taking a basic test to measure their concentration.
Previous research from the University of Montreal has found that regular exercise can help our brains make better use of oxygen, which may also reduce mental fatigue and sharpen your thinking between gym sessions.
The survey results come in conjunction with Swedish researchers' findings that boys who are muscular when young tend to live longer than their weaker friends. These results still applied even if they are overweight by the time they get to adulthood.
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