Importance of Recess, Play, and Active Classrooms

Research has shown that physical activity opportunities throughout the school day can improve: attendance, student motivation, classroom behaviors, social and emotional learning, and cognitive performance. Not only does time spent being active not hinder student learning, it enhances it. You can even incorporate physical activity into various content areas!​
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Guidelines for Students
  • Adult caregivers of preschool-aged children should encourage active play that includes a variety of activity types.​
  • Preschool-aged children (ages 3 through 5 years) should be physically active throughout the day to enhance growth and development
  • Children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years should do 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily (Aerobic, Bone Strengthening, and Muscle Strengthening).​
  • It is important to provide young people opportunities and encouragement to participate in physical activities that are appropriate for their age, that are enjoyable, and that offer variety.​
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (CDC)​
COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM
​Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP): "Schools play a vital role in ensuring children and adolescents get the nationally recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day...A CSPAP is a multi-component approach by which school districts and schools use all opportunities for students to be physically active, meet the nationally-recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day, and develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. A CSPAP reflects strong coordination and synergy across all of the components: physical education as the foundation; physical activity before, during, and after school; staff involvement; and family and community engagement."
CAMPAIGNS TO INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
GUIDELINES FOR RECESS
Strategies for ​​Recess in Schools
  • Schools should provide all students in grades K-12 with at least one daily period of recess of at least 20 minutes in length.​
Additional Resources
ADDING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO OTHER CONTENT AREAS
​Below is a collection of active Reading and Writing tasks from Twitter. Check our Cross Disciplinary Activities page for more examples from other content areas.
using LIBRARIES to lend Active equipment
Libraries can be a great resource for physical activity in the community. Check out the resources below and ​​​Let's Move in Libraries​ to help start a program in your area!​ Thank you Barbara Longair and Lisa Weekes for helping us create this section.
Let's Get Moving at the Library
Let's Move in Libraries Webinar
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, fitness, & ACADEMICS - ​RESEARCH
  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 Whole Brain Volumetric Approach in Overweight/Obese Children: Examining the Association with Different Physical Fitness Components and Academic Performance
  5. Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
  6. Aerobic Fitness and Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis​
  7. An Investigation of the Effects of Daily Physical Activity on the Health of Primary School Students in South Australia
  8. Associations of Physical Fitness and Academic Performance Among Schoolchildren
  9. ​Be Smart, Exercise Your Heart: Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognition
  10. Beneficial Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function in Adolescents
  11. 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
  12. Brief Aerobic Exercise Immediately Enhances Visual Attentional Control and Perceptual Speed
  13. Cardiovascular Risk Factor Trajectories Since Childhood and Cognitive Performance in Midlife​
  14. ​​Effect of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Academic and Physical Activity Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  15. Effect of High- Intensity Interval Training on Hippocampal Metabolism in Older Adolescents
  16. Effects of an Exercise Program on Brain Health Outcomes for Children With Overweight or Obesity
  17. Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
  18. Effects of Acute Physical Activity on NIH Toolbox-measured Cognitive Functions Among Children in Authentic Education Settings
  19. ​Exercise Intervention for Academic Achievement Among Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
  20. Give Your Ideas Some Legs - The Positive Effect of Walking
  21. Health and Academic Achievement (CDC)
  22. ​​Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015 (CDC)
  23. ​High-Intensity Training Enhances Executive Function in Children in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
  24. Independent and Combined Influence of the Components of Physical Fitness on Academic Performance in Youth
  25. ​​Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results from Public School Children in the Northeastern United States
  26. Longitudinal Associations of Physical Fitness and Body Mass Index with Academic Performance
  27. Multimodal Imaging Brain Markers in Early Adolescence Are Linked with a Physically Active Lifestyle
  28. Muscular and Aerobic Fitness, Working Memory, and Academic Achievement in Children
  29. Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment
  30. ​Physical Activity Promotes Academic Achievement and a Healthy Lifestyle when Incorporated into Early Childhood Education
  31. ​​Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review
  32. Physical Activity, Health-Related Fitness, and Classroom Behavior in Children: A Discriminant Function Analysis
  33. ​Physical Education, School Physical Activity, School Sports and Academic Performance
  34. ​Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in Third- and Fifth-Grade Students
  35. Physically Active Lessons in School and their Impact on Physical Activity, Educational, Health and Cognitive Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  36. Relationship Between Academic Achievement And Healthy School Transformations In Urban Elementary Schools In The United States
  37. ​Relationships of Physical Activity to Brain Health and the Academic Performance of Schoolchildren
  38. ​The Association Between Aerobic Fitness and Language Processing in Children: Implications for Academic Achievement
  39. The Effect of Low-Intensity Exercise on Emotional and Cognitive Engagement in the Classroom
  40. ​The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Children's Cognition and Metacognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  41. ​​The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality, Well-Being, and Affect in Academic Stress Periods
  42. The Indirect Role of Executive Functions on the Relationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and School Grades
  43. The Influence of Daily Structured Physical Activity on Academic Progress of Elementary Students with Intellectual Disabilities
  44. The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities
  45. White Matter Microstructure Mediates the Association Between Physical Fitness and Cognition in Healthy, Young Adults
  46. Widespread Positive Direct and Indirect Effects of Regular Physical Activity on the Developing Functional Connectome in Early Adolescence
  47. Additional Research Lists: Action Based Learning, Advancing Ideas for Health, CDC, and ​​SPARK.
Physical Activity, fitness, & Academics - Multimedia
The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise
How Exercise Can Transform Our Schools
PE + Health = Student Success
​PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, fitness, & ACADEMICS - SPARK
​SPARK: "A groundbreaking exploration of the connection between exercise and the brain’s performance that shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more."
Spark Learning and Creativity
The Neuroscience of Movement with Dr. John Ratey
FITNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH - RESEARCH
  1. ​A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Children's Physical Activity and Mental Health
  2. Associations Between Physical Activity and Mental Health and Behaviour in Early Adolescence
  3. Association Between Physical Activity and Risk of Depression
  4. Association Between Physical Exercise and Mental Health in 1.2 Million Individuals in the USA Between 2011 and 2015: A Cross-Sectional Study
  5. Depressive Symptoms and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour throughout Adolescence: A Prospective Cohort Study
  6. Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Depression, Anxiety and Distress: an Overview of Systematic Reviews
  7. Exercise as a Potential Treatment for Drug Abuse: Evidence from Preclinical Studies
  8. Exercise Therapy Improves Both Mental and Physical Health in Patients with Major Depression
  9. ​Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
  10. Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: An Updated Review of Reviews and an Analysis of Causality
  11. ​Physical Activity Improves Mental Health Through Resilience in Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents
  12. Physical Activity in European Adolescents and Associations with Anxiety, Depression and Well-Being
  13. Physical Activity Interventions and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  14. Physical Activity Interventions to Alleviate Depressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
  15. Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Health-Related Quality of Life in School-Aged Children
  16. ​The Effect of Acute Exercise for Reducing Cognitive Alterations Associated With Individuals High in Anxiety
  17. The Role of Exercise in Preventing and Treating Depression
  18. Volume and Social Context of Physical Activity in Association with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression Among Youth