The effects of exercise on one’s health are well documented and encouraged by health organizations. However, effects of exercise and types of exercise on cognition, reading and standardized testing are less known. Many research studies have examined exercise and its influence on the brain, but often conflicting data has resulted. Brisswalter, Collardeau and Rene, have tried to identify reliable influential factors in their research on acute exercise and cognitive performance. Factors such as increased arousal, metabolic factors, attention strategies and humoral functions have been identified as factors within research. However, the authors further examined dynamics of exercise intensity, duration, complexity and fitness level and their effect on experimental outcomes. Identifying and controlling the exercise type and the cognitive tasks studied is imperative when developing meaningful research. The diversity in either exercise type or cognitive test type can perhaps explain many of the conflicting results in otherwise similarly designed experiments.
Exercise intensity was examined and found that simple perceptual tasks decrease at all ranges of intensity, yet complex tasks improve with intensity of exercise. Defining complexity of the cognitive tasks and level of exercise intensity is inconsistent across studies. Research studies support exercise lasting 20 minutes will achieve 40 to 60% of VO2max is consistent with higher cognitive performance. The proposed research using jump rope skills will reach the required intensity level in a much shorter time.
Another factor is the initial baseline physical fitness of the subject. The researchers suggest that this factor alone may result in problematic results in many exper...
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...the predicted correlation between rope jumping, the internal rhythm of reading and the ability to comprehend that reading.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Many people have different opinions on the use of fitness testing, some being stronger than others, but there’s still some research out there to back up most opinions. While there is plenty of good and bad connected with fitness testing, I’m going to dig into ways I should use it in the classroom when I become a teacher. Knowing the negatives of fitness testing can help me create ideas to eliminate the negatives and keep testing as fun and relaxed as possible. By doing so, I’ll make sure everyone testing feels comfortable testing and ensure that results are accurate.
Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D, (2007). Foundation of sport and exercise psychology (4th ed.). Chapter21: Burnout and Overtraining (pp. 489-509). Champaign, IL: Human
When setting a physical fitness program to complement our physical state of health, scrutiny should also be given to the definitive outcome this can, and in most cases will have a mental fitness level as well.
area of focus and remembering (Asp 2). Not all exercise affects the brain in the same way. Studies have been done that link certain exercises to increase brain activity. An example of this is high intensity training is linked to great immediate mental performance (Asp 3). Slow aerobic exercise is linked to retaining information over time (Asp 4).
In this research article relating to cognitive training, it provides solid evidence reassuring the effects of cognitive training on the brain. Cognitive loss is believed to decrease with the aging process. Plasticity is also believed to decrease as one ages. According to the research, both thinking exercises as well as physical training improves the neural pathway connections. Specifically spatial training improved significantly over perceptual training.
Physical inactivity can lead to chronic diseases such as cancer, obesity, hypertension, depression, and an increased risk in premature death. In a study with middle-aged men and women, exercise reduced the risk of premature death by about 20-35%. Being active, in general, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 50%. Even minimum training intensity reduced the risk by 45% in heart disease patients. At first, health care professionals recommended rest and physical activity for patients with heart disease. With constant advances in medicine, professionals have learned that the benefits of physical activity outweigh the risks. In type two diabetes patients, physical activity improves the glucose homeostasis, meaning it balances insulin and glucagon in maintain a healthy blood glucose. Even small improvements in physical activity significantly reduce health risks caused by inactivity. And especially in postmenopausal women, activity prevents the loss of bone mineral density. In a study conducted on rate, physical inactivity over the course of 2 weeks showed a significant change in the shape of the brain’s neurons. Although this study was done with rats, health care professionals think that there are very similar effects in the human brain. For older people, physical activity can be worrisome because of some of the risks, such as injury. However, the benefits prolong life, even if the physical activity is just taking the stairs more
Creative new training methods, developed by coaches, athletes and sport scientists, are aimed to help improve the quality and quantity of athletic training ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). However, these methods have encountered a consistent set of barriers including overtraining ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). Due to these barriers, the need for physical and mental recovery in athletics brought an increasing attention in practice and in research ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1).
There are many benefits of exercise on the human body, not only physical, but mental. Research has proved that exercise can benefit your mental health and your ability to learn. Exercise has many positive effects on patients suffering from a mental health disorder, such as depression or anxiety. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain called serotonin, which is a mood booster. The chemical can combat depression and help alleviate some of the symptoms that come with it. Exercise is shown to alleviate 25 different medical conditions, whether through secondary or direct benefits, such as Alzheimer’s. People who exercise are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than ones who don’t because exercise releases chemicals in the brain that support the healthy growth of neurons. Exercise can also serve as a mental “buffer” against problems such as stress, which prevents further problems like depression. This creates a mental resistance to outside forces, which aid in day to day life. Exercise can also help in education. Studies show that schools with academic programs that lack physical education perform worse than ones that have a more robust system. Majority of research indicates that replacing some academic periods with physical education results in higher academic achievement for students and improved concentration and focus. Exercise is shown to increase circulation and blood flow to the brain which increases cognitive function and the efficiency of the brain, having a profound impact on the human body and its ability to function efficiently. Exercise also engages the prefrontal cortex and stimulates it, which is responsible for complex thought and problem solving. This is proven to increase creativity, concentration and test scores. Stu...
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Wise (2014), discusses that within the twenty first century in which the efficient completion of tasks is essential, speed reading is extremely advantageous. Not only does speed reading allow for the quicker acquisition of knowledge, it has shown to influence the brains functionality. Thus, one displays enhanced memory abilities, a higher level of attention and focus as well as a heightened problem solving ability (Wise, 2014). Despite the advantages of an increased reading speed, there is a large and significant disadvantage (Bell, 2001). The danger of developing a rapid reading rate, is that one’s level of comprehension is severely compromised. Therefore, a speed reader would not acquire an adequate amount of information when reading swiftly. It is possible that this disadvantage will have a detrimental effect on the precise completion of various academic and recreational tasks (Bell,