Physical Activity & Your Performance in the Classroom

Hey Wildcats!

Do you want to know what would help you study for a test or perform better during your English presentation?

According to Action For Healthy Kids, children and adults who have an active lifestyle perform better in classrooms, have more energy to perform and behave better. These results increase when eating healthy is involved. By promoting a healthy diet and moderate exercise each day, performance in the classroom can increase.

As a UK Student, I don't really have much time to take health into account when running from class to class. So what can we do to make an easy transition to a healthy diet and easy exercise? Most of you are already doing it!

On average, it takes about 15-20 minutes for students to walk to class from their dorm or house. While the amount of calories you burn depends on your weight, you could burn as much as 80 calories just walking to class. Add in those 19 flights of stairs for you freshmen in the towers and you have burned at least 5 calories per flight. So for those of you taking the elevator and having a roommate drive you to class, think about the calories you could burn walking and taking the stairs. Not only will calories be burned, but your heart rate will rise. Most college students between the age of 18-20 having a resting heart rate of 70-78 beats per minute. The maximum heart rate target for our age is 200 beats per minute.

So what does this all mean?

Physical activity and being healthy contributes to brain activity and cognitive performance. Students who are doing more physical activity have an improved cognitive performance over their lifespan.

Things you could do to make the change:

1). Take the stairs/walk opposed to elevators/driving
2). Increase your heart rate (Netflix watching heart rate: 120 - Taking a run: 170-200)
3). Add a KHP class to your schedule to make time for exercising when you don't have free time.
4). Stop by the JC during a break for classes or in the morning to start your day with a boost of energy and healthy heart rate.
5). Exercise before you study - small physical activities will help your memory and cognitive thinking.