Tunnel Vision is Harmful

I was interested to see that in some cases physical activity helps academic achievement. However, from my viewpoint there are more important reasons to keep physical activity in all grade levels.

There is a history of depression and suicide in my family, so I have done much reading on the subject. Regarding physical activity, one thing is clear: it is instrumental in emotional well-being. Because of our increasingly competitive and stressful world, the importance of physical activity as a mental health "vitamin" trumps its importance to academics. This is especially important in the pre-teen and teen years when children's hormones are kicking in and peer pressure increases to fit in a certain category (jock, prep, goth, emo, gangsta, etc.). Exercise can be a route to peak mental health and, therefore, high self esteem. In that regard, it can also affect academics because who can perform well academically if he/she is feeling depressed? This is especially important for overweight or obese kids who already suffer from low self esteem and lack of physical activity. In fact, it could be that the reason some children perform better academically is that they feel better emotionally. Either way and from any perspective, it is important to incorporate non-competitive physical activity at all grade levels and to impress upon our youth that exercise is a life-long need which, once fulfilled, will help them in all aspects of their lives.