The Benefits of Fitness and a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Enhances an individual’s ability to concentrate and maintain focus:

Several studies show that performing physical activities helps in enlarging the basal ganglia of the brain. The Basal Ganglia is a part of the brain which is responsible to maintain an individual’s capability to focus. In this current era students have several diversions in the form of technologies (Television, tablets, PCs, cell phones), therefore, it is difficult for them to maintain focus. By promoting physical education, school teachers can help them improve their concentration. Schools often arrange physical games and exercises which require concentration. Thus, students are promoted to take part in such activities along with their school work, so this will help in maintaining their healthy body and minds.

2. Important for healthy growth and development:

In today’s world, many school children eat unhealthy foods. These may include the fries, soft drinks, pizzas and burgers. Consuming these on a regular basis can lead to childhood obesity.

Physical education at school helps in preventing obesity and high blood pressure. Physical exercise and activities will help them burn off their extra calories. If these calories are not burned off they will be stored as fat. By doing physical exercises individuals use their extra calories to gain energy.

Plus, such activities play an important role in the healthy growth and development of bones and cartilages. Bone strengthening exercises such as jumping are particularly important for school children as such activities produce a force onto the bone that helps enhance its strength and growth. While muscle strengthening exercises make muscles larger and stronger, they also help children carry more weight and aid in protecting joints against injuries.

Being physically active makes the students energetic and strong which motivates them to take interest in classroom activities. Exercises which help strengthen muscles include activities like climbing trees, using monkey bars, bike riding, doing pushups and even hula hooping.

A physically active student will also have a healthy heart. Any exercise which provides oxygen to the muscles is called as an aerobic exercise. Such exercises are essential for a healthy heart. Research shows that kids who perform aerobic exercises, two to three times a week for at least twenty minutes, have a healthier heart as compared to those who don’t take part in physical education. Some of the healthy aerobic exercises include activities like basketball, soccer, and jumping rope to name a few.

3. Prevents sleep deprivation:

A  complete night’s sleep is an essential component of a happy and healthy life. Those students who take part in physical activities and exercise regularly have a tired and exhausted body which craves a good night’s sleep.  Complete sleep makes kids more upright and attentive during lectures in classroom. Being attentive will help prevent them from performing careless mistakes and will provide them energy to be helpful towards teachers and their fellow students.

Being physically active makes the students energetic and strong which motivates them to take interest in classroom activities. Exercises which help strengthen muscles include activities like climbing trees, using monkey bars, bike riding, doing pushups and even hula hooping.

4. Helps in relieving stress and anxiety:

School life is hectic for every individual. Therefore, taking part in physical activities and education allows students to relieve their academic stress and anxiety. Stress might be due to a fight with a friend or a low grade despite of hard work. Stressed students are not able to concentrate and focus on their academic performance if they are not allowed time to de-stress.

Physical activities give them an environment to breathe out their stress. By exercising and breathing deeply, we provide extra air to our lungs which in turn provides more oxygen to the brain, this makes the brain feel relaxed and stress free.

A physically active individual is more likely to be happy and healthy, which makes them a better student in the classroom. They often feel proud and happy about themselves and are good towards their fellow students.

5. Fitness makes an individual flexible and happy:

Balancing, exercise and stretching help improve physical balance which decreases the chances of injuries. Those students who make physical education as important as their school work become more flexible in their routine life. Such activities make the body elastic and flexible. It allows an individual to manage both a physical and mental workload.  Scientific research reveals the fact that physical education in school helps in improving the connections between neurons of the brain. Healthy and well-connected neurons help improve the over-all thinking ability of students.  This will ultimately make them better students in classroom.

Many schools have made physical education an essential component of school curriculum and students are promoted to maintain a healthy balance between their education and exercise.  This is due to the fact that those students who take part in physical activities have proved to be happier and healthier than those students who spend all their time doing school education work.  Such activities help develop the blood circulation in an individual’s body.  This helps in providing more oxygen to the heart and brain and allows the body to maintain a balance between physical and mental health.