The Importance of Exercise

I think that having someone at home going through their final exams before graduating from high school is a definite eye opener. Being a teacher for many years and advising students about preparation and planning is part of the drill we all do in the lead up time, but this year seems a little more personal (if you get my drift). The lad in question is a sport lover, particularly partial to basketball, and uses it as a personal stress relief.

A chat today saw me reminding him about the importance of exercise. He has been extremely focused about his studies of late, and that is a great comfort to us. But after seeing so many students "burn out" over the years, I again strongly suggested that he escapes for a bit to let his mind catch-up. I think that the advantages of having him exercise for an hour or two would be far greater than the continuous swatting that seems so prevalent in Hong Kong (and I'm sure other cities). A blog from the New York Times I recently read supported my thoughts (the link to the blog is found here). I was impressed with the strong links between healthy body and healthy mind - especially a new study that reveals "Japanese scientists found that the brains of fit older men were almost as efficient as the brains of younger people". If that does not give a great reason for engaging in exercise, then I don't know what will? While the blog itself was not directed at the general idea of exercise during study, I think that the links are still strong with the links between neuronal growth and exercise so strong.

I think that we also miss seeing the importance of exercise to mental health and well-being. Under stressful situations we tend to make some poor decisions and I know he is going through that now. The stress is much more easily managed if he can continue with his exercise during his exam preparation time. We all know that increased anxiety and stress is a bi-product of the exam cycle and students during this time can be emotionally and mentally fragile. Flips in behaviour and mood swings are an accepted part of the process it seems, but a program of study that integrates exercise will surely have a positive impact. I think that this is essentially the same advice I was given all those years ago, although then there was no real scientific supporting evidence or studies. But simply promoting these simple actions can have a long lasting effect on our charges.

We all know that if something works it is much more liable to be repeated in the future and become a habit that lasts throughout our lives. I really wonder why this does not seem to be part of the plan for many of the students I teach? Parents are concerned about the welfare of their child(ren) but at this time of their lives, they seem to push harder at academics, and by extension, less about their well-being. The really sad part is that we all know the benefits of exercise and yet seem reluctant to push it during these times. We are so caught up with the notion of perceived success that we ignore the big picture that a key parent role is to ensure wellbeing, both physical and mental.

Looking at a meme I recently saw that asked "Is your child's mental health worth more than their grades?" made me think about this very thing. Children tend to reach the goals they have for themselves, but if they achieve a little lower during this period of their life is that such a big thing? Is their life going to be measured against the grades they achieve during matriculation from high school? Is this the real and only measure of their worth?