physical activity
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Physical activity and learning

Originally published Nov. 7, 2018 in the Lethbridge Herald.

An Eye on Education Column by Cheryl Gilmore

It’s that time of year again when the beauty of fall begins to wane and cooler temperatures have a tendency to push us indoors characterized by a less active routine. Whether at school or at home, I encourage everyone to push beyond the boundaries of cooler weather and find ways to keep our children and youth active.

We all intuitively know there is a direct relationship between physical activity and overall wellness. There is also a direct relationship between being active and learning. Countless studies point to the positive impact that physical activity has on student achievement. Read More

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Even mild physical activity immediately improves memory function, UCI-led study finds

Originally published Sept. 24, 2018 by Eureka Alert and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

People who include a little yoga or tai chi in their day may be more likely to remember where they put their keys. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Japan’s University of Tsukuba found that even very light workouts can increase the connectivity between parts of the brain responsible for memory formation and storage.

In a study of 36 healthy young adults, the researchers discovered that a single 10-minute period of mild exertion can yield considerable cognitive benefits. Using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging, the team examined subjects’ brains shortly after exercise sessions and saw better connectivity between the hippocampal dentate gyrus and cortical areas linked to detailed memory processing. Read More

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Sports involvement builds character in young students

Originally published Aug. 1, 2018 in the Cleveland Jewish News.

By Becky Raspe

For young students, after-school holds many possibilities. Too young to get jobs, students opt for extracurricular activities, like sports.

According to Kelli Pastor, physical education teacher at the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School in Beachwood, and William Jones, director of physical education (K-8) at University School in Shaker Heights, students can learn important life lessons from sports involvement. Read More

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Move it, move it: how physical activity at school helps the mind (as well as the body)

Originally published July 22, 2018 in The Conversation.com.

By Brendon Hyndman

Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie recently unveiled plans to convince state education and sports ministers to ensure sport and physical education is compulsory in schools.

The physical benefits of getting kids moving have been well recognised to help prevent chronic disease and develop movement habits across their lifespan. Read More

physical fitness
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The benefits of physical fitness for personal development

Originally published April 7, 2018 in the New Zealand Herald.

Personal development can seem like a daunting task when you think about all the improvements you want to make in every area of your life: health, money, career, relationships, education, family, travel/leisure, sports, spiritual growth and so on. So often it seems like you succeed in one area only to see another one neglected. It’s not that you’re not achieving successes, you may be wildly successful in one area and it just seems so hard to succeed across the board.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if you could simply do one thing to improve yourself and there was a ripple effect? Imagine improving one area of your life, and every other area of your life was improved as a result – kind of like the “all ships rise with the tide” phenomenon. I believe there IS such a thing, and I believe that one thing is physical fitness.

We often think of our personal fitness as being all about “workouts and nutrition” – but TRUE FITNESS is much more about PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT…

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