Home > Resources > Study > Benefits > School Performance

How Sports Help Improve School Performance

Physical activity is good for children's health and development. There are hardly any parents who don't know that. But how does sport affect a child's performance at school? Many believe that activities in sections, training, trips to competitions distract children from learning.

Physically active children achieve much more impressive school results

But the image of the athlete to whom teachers inflate grades is a stereotype. Active children learn more easily and do better than those who avoid physical activity.

The experts of writemyessay.me prepared an article about the impact of sports on children's academic performance.

How Physical Education Helps Children Start Learning 

Exercise and activity boost young children's self-esteem, giving them a sense of self-confidence. And this directly affects how the child communicates with classmates, how he or she feels without parents in the peer group, the ability to be interested in the material offered by the teacher, and much more.

A confident child is not distracted, not shy, not afraid of being laughed at or teased. Such children behave naturally, ask questions to the teacher, and try to answer first.

Thus, physical activity does not directly affect mental abilities, but it does affect academic performance and the results a child achieves.

Difference in grades 

Physically active children achieve much more impressive results in their first years of school than those who spend time playing computer games, drawing, reading, or other inactive classes.

Physically developed, mobile children who play sports get high grades in all subjects in junior high school. They learn with ease and excel in reading, math, writing, and other school subjects.

Scientists believe that this is a direct consequence of the psycho-emotional state and positive open-mindedness of children who do sports and physical education. In addition, physical activity, as well as sports in the sections, teaches children discipline, adherence to the regime, and the daily routine. A physically active child already knows what time is, knows how to distribute it, and understands the need to perform certain tasks.

Accordingly, it is much easier for children who are engaged in physical activity to change the way of life associated with the beginning of education.

Children who are prepared for school, but who do not do sports in the primary grades, have more problems not with the process of mastering knowledge, but with adaptation to school. Therefore, their achievements are much more modest than they could be. Such children rarely receive grades above average.

Of course, physically passive children can get the highest grades, but it is much more difficult for them than for those who are engaged in sports. For example, they usually do their homework for a long time and under parental control. Without checking or parental involvement in the process, these children tend to be sloppy, making blunders, mistakes made out of inattention.

What kind of activity are we talking about? 

However, research by scientists does not apply to children for whom sports activities are a priority, meaning of life. That means that if they raise a child to be a future champion, for example, in rhythmic gymnastics, then such sports will not contribute to school performance in any way. This is due to the fact that the life of such children is subordinated to the sports routine, and they have no time for anything else. That is, if you have to go to training, any studies are out of the question.

Studies conducted by scientists refer to children who do regular physical education every day, who attend sports clubs not to become world champions, but, as they say, "for themselves," "for general development," "for health.”

Exercise breaks help reduce stress, concentration, and motivation

If a child exercises or is regularly active, it automatically creates a healthy balance for schooling. Because exercise can affect various processes in the body in such a way that it helps to reduce stress. This effect also occurs if the child, for example, repeatedly inserts short breaks for movement during school. For example, includes jogging for half an hour or a brisk walk in the routine.

Even in such short breaks, the following happens:

• movement improves the supply of oxygen to the brain;
• the child's performance improves because the processing of information in memory has become more successful;
• running also gives way to the adolescent's natural urge to move.

If this need is not met, the child may become restless or tired, become more easily distracted, and have little desire to learn. The longer a sedentary lifestyle persists and the more a person suffers from it, the less he can concentrate on his current learning task. 
Conversely, this means that enough exercise can have a positive effect on a student's concentration and well-being. Both improved brain function and improved ability to concentrate contribute to a child learning better, that is, more motivated.

This relationship with sports applies not only to children and adolescents but also to adults. Because even in parents, physical well-being through sufficient exercise can lead to greater concentration, motivation, and performance.

What to do if the child does not want to play sports?

Then parents have only one thing to do: to be active themselves.

If no one in the family is involved in sports or is not particularly interested in them, it can be very difficult to get a child involved in regular physical activity during puberty. Parents are clearly being challenged here!

But it is up to them to show the child that exercise and physical activity are part of normal daily life. It goes without saying that children should know from an early age that:

• it is possible to use a bicycle instead of a car, and stairs instead of an elevator, etc., as often as possible;
• the family spends their free time actively, e.g. at the swimming pool, on the soccer field, in the forest, in the garden, on a bicycle, etc,
• the parents are regularly involved in sports.
• they are interested in the child's sports and other sports activities and learn more about them on the sports school website or in the media.

Related Pages

• The Benefits of Study and Sports
• Combining Study and Sports — It may be difficult to combine sport with study but playing sports at college brings a lot of benefits.
• Combining Sport and Study — A student's main aim is to study. Incorporating sports into your life can also make it less stressful. Here are tips to help you combine both of your aims.
• Exercise and the Brain — regular exercise positively impacts brain function and your mental health.
• Study Skills — resources to help you on your journey as a student into the world of sports and sport science.
• The Benefits of Sports Psychology for Athletes
• Study Resources

Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.