Research on the Benefits of Physical Activity for Schools​

​Research on this page addresses the various benefits physical activity and fitness has for students and schools. All articles on this page are available to download as PDFs.
  • Absenteeism
  • Academic Performance
  • Classroom Behavior
  • Grief/Trauma
  • Immune System
  • Loneliness
  • Mental Health
  • Pain Tolerance
  • Self Esteem
  • Sleep
  • Social Behavior
  • Stress
  • Substance Abuse
  • Temperature Regulation
  • Vision
Benefits of physical education, Recess, and active classrooms
ACADEMIC performance
  1. A Better Cardiopulmonary Fitness Is Associated with Improved Concentration Level and Health-Related Quality of Life in Primary School Children
  2. A Longitudinal Examination of the Link Between Youth Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement
  3. A Review of Acute Physical Activity Effects on Brain and Cognition in Children
  4. A Systematic Review and Bayesian Meta Analysis Provide Evidence for an Effect of Acute Physical Activity on Cognition in Young Adults
  5. ​​A Whole Brain Volumetric Approach in Overweight/Obese Children: Examining the Association with Different Physical Fitness Components and Academic Performance
  6. Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
  7. Aerobic Fitness and Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis​
  8. An Investigation of the Effects of Daily Physical Activity on the Health of Primary School Students in South Australia
  9. An Umbrella Review of Randomized Control Trials on the Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognition
  10. Associations of Physical Fitness and Academic Performance Among Schoolchildren
  11. ​Be Smart, Exercise Your Heart: Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognition
  12. Beneficial Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function in Adolescents
  13. Boost your Brain, While Having a Break! The Effects of Long-Term Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity Breaks on Children’s Executive Functions and Academic Achievement
  14. Brief Aerobic Exercise Immediately Enhances Visual Attentional Control and Perceptual Speed
  15. Cardiovascular Risk Factor Trajectories Since Childhood and Cognitive Performance in Midlife​
  16. ​​Effect of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Academic and Physical Activity Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  17. Effect of Extracurricular After-School Physical Activities on Academic Performance of Schoolchildren: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
  18. Effect of High- Intensity Interval Training on Hippocampal Metabolism in Older Adolescents
  19. ​Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
  20. Effects of Acute Physical Activity on NIH Toolbox-measured Cognitive Functions Among Children in Authentic Education Settings
  21. Effects of an Exercise Program on Brain Health Outcomes for Children With Overweight or Obesity
  22. Effects of Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity Interventions on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  23. Effects of Physical Activity in the High School Curriculum on Cardiovascular Health, Cognitive and Physical Performance
  24. Effects of Physical Activity Interventions on Cognition and Academic Performance Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Novel Combination of a Systematic Review and Recommendations from an Expert Panel
  25. Effects of Resistance Training on Academic Outcomes in School‑Aged Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis
  26. Effects of Two Years of Physically Active Lessons on Cognitive Indicators in Children
  27. ​Exercise Intervention for Academic Achievement Among Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
  28. Give Your Ideas Some Legs - The Positive Effect of Walking
  29. Health and Academic Achievement (CDC)
  30. ​​Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015 (CDC)
  31. ​High-Intensity Training Enhances Executive Function in Children in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
  32. Independent and Combined Influence of the Components of Physical Fitness on Academic Performance in Youth​
  33. Is Adherence to 24-hour Movement Guidelines Associated with a Higher Academic Achievement Among Adolescent Males and Females?
  34. ​​Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results from Public School Children in the Northeastern United States
  35. Levels of Physical Activity at Age 10 Years and Brain Morphology Changes From Ages 10 to 14 Years
  36. Longitudinal Associations of Physical Fitness and Body Mass Index with Academic Performance
  37. ​Longitudinal Single-Subject Neuroimaging Study Reveals Effects of Daily Environmental, Physiological, and Lifestyle Factors on Functional Brain Connectivity
  38. Multimodal Imaging Brain Markers in Early Adolescence Are Linked with a Physically Active Lifestyle
  39. Muscular and Aerobic Fitness, Working Memory, and Academic Achievement in Children
  40. Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment
  41. ​Physical Activity Promotes Academic Achievement and a Healthy Lifestyle when Incorporated into Early Childhood Education
  42. ​​Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review
  43. ​​Physical Education, School Physical Activity, School Sports and Academic Performance
  44. ​Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in Third- and Fifth-Grade Students
  45. Physical Fitness is Related to Concentration Performance in Adolescents
  46. ​Physical Fitness Level is Related to Attention and Concentration in Adolescents
  47. Physically Active Lessons in School and their Impact on Physical Activity, Educational, Health and Cognitive Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  48. Relationship Between Academic Achievement And Healthy School Transformations In Urban Elementary Schools In The United States
  49. ​Relationships of Physical Activity to Brain Health and the Academic Performance of Schoolchildren
  50. Short, Frequent Physical Activity Breaks Improve Working Memory While Preserving Cerebral Blood Flow in Adolescents During Prolonged Sitting
  51. ​The Association Between Aerobic Fitness and Language Processing in Children: Implications for Academic Achievement
  52. The Association of Physical Activity and Academic Behavior: A Systematic Review
  53. The Effect of Low-Intensity Exercise on Emotional and Cognitive Engagement in the Classroom
  54. ​The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Children's Cognition and Metacognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  55. ​​The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality, Well-Being, and Affect in Academic Stress Periods
  56. The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review
  57. The Indirect Role of Executive Functions on the Relationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and School Grades
  58. The Influence of Daily Structured Physical Activity on Academic Progress of Elementary Students with Intellectual Disabilities
  59. The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities
  60. White Matter Microstructure Mediates the Association Between Physical Fitness and Cognition in Healthy, Young Adults
  61. Widespread Positive Direct and Indirect Effects of Regular Physical Activity on the Developing Functional Connectome in Early Adolescence
  62. Additional Research Lists: Action Based Learning, CDC, and ​​SPARK.
MENTAL HEALTH
  1. ​A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Children's Physical Activity and Mental Health
  2. ​A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Happiness
  3. Associations Between Physical Activity and Mental Health and Behaviour in Early Adolescence
  4. Association Between Physical Activity and Risk of Depression
  5. Association Between Physical Activity Duration and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents A Longitudinal Study in a Rural City in Japan
  6. Association Between Physical Exercise and Mental Health in 1.2 Million Individuals in the USA Between 2011 and 2015: A Cross-Sectional Study
  7. Association Between Physical Fitness and Anxiety in Children: A Moderated Mediation Model of Agility and Resilience
  8. Depressive Symptoms and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour throughout Adolescence: A Prospective Cohort Study
  9. ​Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Depression, Anxiety and Distress: an Overview of Systematic Reviews
  10. Effect of Exercise for Depression: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials
  11. Effects of Physical Activity on the Mood States of Young Students
  12. ​Exercise as a Potential Treatment for Drug Abuse: Evidence from Preclinical Studies
  13. Exercise Therapy Improves Both Mental and Physical Health in Patients with Major Depression
  14. Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Reactivity to Acute Psychosocial Stress in Preadolescent Children
  15. ​Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
  16. Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: An Updated Review of Reviews and an Analysis of Causality
  17. Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities: A Meta-analysis Using the Re-Aim Framework​
  18. ​Physical Activity and Psychological Adjustment in Adolescents​
  19. ​Physical Activity Improves Mental Health Through Resilience in Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents
  20. Physical Activity in European Adolescents and Associations with Anxiety, Depression and Well-Being
  21. Physical Activity Influences Adherence to Pharmacological Treatments in Patients With Severe Mental Disorders: Results From the Multicentric, Randomized Controlled Lifestyle Trial
  22. Physical Activity Interventions and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  23. Physical Activity Interventions to Alleviate Depressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
  24. Physical Fitness and Risk of Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents
  25. Role of Physical Activity on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Review
  26. ​School-Related Physical Activity Interventions and Mental Health Among Children: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis
  27. Seasonality in Mood Disorders Probing Association of Accelerometer-Derived Physical Activity with Daylength and Solar Insolation
  28. The Chain Mediating Effect of Psychological Inflexibility and Stress Between Physical Exercise and Adolescent Insomnia
  29. ​The Effect of Acute Exercise for Reducing Cognitive Alterations Associated With Individuals High in Anxiety
  30. The Role of Exercise in Preventing and Treating Depression
  31. The Role of Exercise in Reducing Childhood and Adolescent PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression
  32. Volume and Social Context of Physical Activity in Association with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression Among Youth
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