Physical Education Is More Than Physical

In the article titled How Cutting Physical Education in Schools Could Hurt Grades by Alexandra Sifferlin, it delves into how certain exercises that fall into the aerobic fitness category can actually help your neurological processes. By that, I mean it can help you think and feel better which in return can bring your grades up and significantly improve your academics. This is because aerobic exercises can improve the blood flow going into your brain. When more blood flows into your brain, your neurons, a type of cell, become healthier and operate better. This can improve your memory and skills in certain academic activities such as reading.

According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, students that were in the top 30% of their age group for aerobic fitness often memorized completely made-up locations and names on a map. In comparison, students that were in the bottom 30% did not memorize those things as well. In addition, a report shown in The Journal of Pediatrics proved that in a study of over 12,000 Nebraska students, students that ran better and had a normal BMI did much better on standardized tests as compared to students that were less active.

These studies go a lot to show that schools should not consider limiting physical education or even cutting the class for its students. It is essential, not only for students’ physical well being but also for students’ academic well being. Schools cutting P.E. would only hurt themselves as their test averages begin to falter. If we continue to let students participate in physical activity, they will feel good and perform better on tests. Their brains will be getting more blood flow which can also make them less sluggish on top of memorizing and reading better. This means students will pay more attention in school as well. School is rather long, about six to seven hours. If students spend all that time sitting down on their desks without being active, it would be detrimental to their well being. In such a long day, it would only make sense to have students have a little time work a sweat and be active. Schools should not consider limiting physical education for these reasons, it would be a regretful choice that would put students’ futures in jeopardy.