Being a Student Essay: Importance of Exercise and a Refreshed Mindset

High school has many components, some society recognizes more than others. Maybe studying the night before an exam, learning equations in math, or even on graduation day when students receive their diploma. All of which are clearly part of American high schools that relate to a common theme. Stress. Decreasing stress levels can be tricky, and every student's mind is different. But one common ground that is sure target this issue is adding physical education back into every year of high school. In this being a student essay I will try to reveal the urgent issue - the high level of stress in the life of nowadays student.

It is self evident that students in America have extremely stressful school lives, with the stress increased exponentially as time goes on. By reintegrating P.E. classes throughout the entirety of high school, American school systems can combat this critical issue. A recent study done by the Scientific American proves that standing up to walk around increases blood flow in the brain tremendously, which in turn allows students to be more attentive in class. This leads to a positive uptake in cognition, increasing the quality of education students are receiving. If it only takes a few seconds to stand up and increase blood flow, imagine what results may be if students have over an hour daily of exercise in their school day. Lower stress levels, higher academic performance, and the high possibility of a large decrease of depression and suicide rates in adolescenets. The hour of P.E. class time also establishes a set time where students can have a much needed mental break from their other classes. Students spend hours writing essays, studying for tests, and completely assignments for their other classes, which can be extremely overwhelming. For instance, Robert L. Leahy (Ph.D) states the anxiety levels for that of the average high school student is the same as that of a psychiatric patient in the 1950s. Showing that the anxiety and stress that comes with being a student is immense and extremely difficult to cope with. By allowing students to focus on a class that is not founded on essays, tests, and exams, students have the ability to take a ‘brain break’ from their stressful lives and exercise their bodies. Rather than continue to increase anxiety and stress levels, which harm the overall well being of the student. As a high school student, I am extremely aware of the effects exercise can have on my mental well being. For instance, while in the middle of a long afternoon of homework, stopping to take my dog out for a ten minute walk allows my brain to feel refreshed and finish my next set of assignments to the best of my ability, without any form of compromise. In addition to this, studies have actually proven that ample exercise can effectively treat those with mild to moderate depression. Depression, anxiety, and stress all coincide with each other, and by increasing exercise in students’ lives, we can help combat this issue in the 80% of children living with depression and anxiety disorders.

However, some students, teachers, and even parents may claim that this takes away from the students academic experience. While adding physical education into every high schoolers’ bell schedule does take away a class like marketing, or engineering, or even art. The benefits of physical education outweigh the loss of those classes. For example, the student that has the ability to attend their physical education class each day has lower anxiety and stress levels than that of a student that is unable to attend a physical education each day. These lower levels of stress and anxiety actually help increase grades and academic performance and stamina, which adds to a students’ academic experience, refuting their claim entirely.

Not only does science show the benefits of exercise in relation to stress, but those increasing their exercise actually notice a difference in their behavior and mood. In a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 53% of teens felt better about themselves after participating in any form of exercise. When one is in a good mood and has a positive mindset towards themselves, it is difficult to be filled with stress and anxiety. Although 40% may not appear to be a staggering statistic, it is in fact a large portion of the teenage population. A population that is filled with stressful and anxious people. In addition to this, 62% of adults “that use exercise to help manage stress say the technique is very or extremely effective”. With just short of ¾ of the population in agreeance that exercise is an adequate stress reliever, it is clear that people notice a large difference in themselves and their mindset after exercising. By integrating physical education back into the classroom, it is highly expected that students will experience a relief of stress and anxiety, and an overall increase in happiness and positivity.

In addition to an increase in positive mindsets among young adults, integrating physical education back into all levels of school can also help control the rampant obesity epidemic that present in the United States. The State of Obesity states that in the US from ages ten to seventeen, 15.8% are considered obese. With approximately 11.723 million of 74.2 million children being obese. These staggering numbers show just how large the scale the issue of obesity truly is. The epidemic of obesity can be solved in a number of different ways, all of which include receiving ample exercise on a day to day basis. Weight loss is attributed to burning more calories than consumed per day, which can be achieved by running, skipping, and even walking. All of which are activities in the day to day P.E. class.The CDC states that children ages 10 to 17 should have 60 minutes of exercise each day, however the average high school student is shy of this goal by nearly 30%, with reaching just 43 minutes per day. If American school systems were required to reimplement physical education classes into students’ school days, the average minutes of exercise per day would increase drastically, which can help go towards burning more calories than consumed per day. Leading to weight loss, and helping solve the obesity epidemic.

Overall we all know that high schoolers in today’s society have a lot on their plate. Between extracurriculars, schooling, home life, friendships, jobs, sports, and every other component of their lives, adolescents have a difficult time balancing everything. This leads to stressed out and anxious teenagers. But there is a way to combat this critical issue. Reimplementing physical education classes into all schools, private and public.