*This is a collaborative post.
While it may have been your least favourite subject at school, sport plays a vital role in childhood development and instilling fundamental life skills. Aside from maintaining good health and wellbeing, what many don’t know is that the subject can help to boost grades in other subjects.
A prep school in East Yorkshire shares the benefits of sports in schools.
Improved Mental Health
PE takes children away from the bright lights of the classroom and into the outdoors where they can get lungs full of fresh air. While exercising, feel-good endorphin chemicals are also released by the body which helps to improve mood and mental wellbeing.
Improved Brain Function
There is research to suggest a positive link between aerobic exercise and the growth of the brain’s hippocampus. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for memory and can help with sharper thinking in other subjects.
Life Skills
Sport teaches children the essential life skills needed in the workplace such as team-working, how to deal with healthy competition, leadership and resilience. Playing games that require a joint effort teach children the importance of working together and how to respond to failure. In most games, a leader is needed that can identify roles for team members to make the most of their skills and guide them.
Maintaining Good Physical Health
PE teaches children how to look after their bodies by teaching the importance of exercise. Cardiovascular exercise helps to strengthen the heart muscles, maintain a healthy weight and offset obesity. Having this knowledge and a routine can help minimise the risk of developing health complications later in life such as type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer.
Perseverance
High-intensity sports can teach children endurance and shape children to be more optimistic. This creates confidence and the ability to overcome obstacles in other areas of life.
With so many gadgets in the home I rarely see kids playing out – sports is essential in schools