Shrinking Recess Part 4: Physical Health & Ability |
posted by: Melissa | September 25, 2019, 06:22 PM |
Today we present the fourth installment in our blog series, Shrinking Recess. In today’s installment, we list the ways that recess can affect the physical health of our students. For each effect that we list, there will also be a key paper that you can read if you wish to learn more. As always, you can read the entire series at Muddy Smiles. Read on below to see the effects that recess has physical health. 1) ENCOURAGES DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY One of the most obvious and tremendous benefits provided by recess is the opportunity for daily physical activity. For some kids, physical games played at recess and time spent in P.E. class construe the majority of their physical activity. While this obviously isn’t ideal, it’s still a reality for some children, who really need this time to get moving outside. An accelerometer was used to monitor the activity of over 200 children between the ages of 5 and 10 with a near-equal gender ratio. This study, which tested children from 23 schools, demonstrated that the presence of recess in the school day increased the physical activity of both boys and girls by a significant 28%. (Source)
2) REDUCES NEARSIGHTEDNESS Difficulties with vision can make life tough in and out of the classroom for kids. When children are nearsighted, they may have no trouble picking out the finest details of objects in their hand, but the blackboard may be unreadable from only a few rows back when they’re in school. Far away objects look blurry to nearsighted kids, who may struggle with playing sports. Surprisingly, recess has been shown to have benefits in reducing the likelihood of myopia, the condition that causes nearsightedness.
3) LOWERS RISK OF OBESITY It’s common sense that regular physical activity is a big part of what prevents kids from becoming obese, but providing opportunities for them to get outside for some real heart-pumping active play can be hard. This is especially true during the school year, where busy, demanding schedules make trips to the park and time in the backyard less common. For many kids, recess is a major source of physical activity, which is one of the best ways for kids to lower their risk of obesity.
4) INCREASES SCHOOL-DAY STEP COUNT The concept of counting steps isn’t just beneficial for adults. There’s a certain threshold of physical activity kids should meet in a day in order to stay healthy, and a surprising amount of kids aren’t quite getting there(in terms of steps, it’s between 12,000 and 16,000, for you’re curious). The popularity of sedentary hobbies like video games doesn’t help much, but cutting out recess can be a huge issue for kids who really need to be getting more movement out of their school day.
5) GIVES RISE TO ACTIVE ADULTS Establishing healthy habits can be tough for adults, which is why it’s especially important to start when they’re kids. Teaching kids to love getting outside and active helps them to develop a lifelong love of staying fit and being physical. It makes them less likely to become sedentary adults, benefits their lifelong cardiovascular health and helps to prevent childhood obesity. Recess is a time when kids learn to love to play hard. In a 1997 study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines to help schools and communities develop programs and activities which would promote a lifelong love of physical activity among kids. Among the stated benefits of these programs is the fact that when kids are active, they tend to become active adults. This results in a lower risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as many other avoidable causes of death. (Source)
This is a multipart series and we'll be releasing a new installment every week. You can read part three here and you can find part five here. Arthur is a writer, researcher, and father with a keen interest in the science behind play. As chief editor for Muddy Smiles, he advocates for (loads) more unstructured play within education and at home.
email to friend
Print
comment
Permalink
Comments (0)
|