Use Exercise to make your Tech Kiddies smarter

Robert Barker, aka Bakadesuyo has shared some interesting insights from John Medina's new book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. He provides one freebie that you can use now to make your child smarter.

Exercise Makes Our Brains Better

Simply put, exercise makes our brains perform better. Experiments showed that people who exercise improve their capacities for long term memory, reasoning, attention, problem solving and other tasks. In plain English, they improve abilities that will make them perform better in school and at work.

Proof: It Works For Kids, Too

2010 Evers Ding

Other research shows that this is just as true for kids as adults. Studies categorized children in terms of physical fitness (on a treadmill), put them through a series of cognitive tests and then scanned their brains. They confirmed that the children who performed better at the treadmill also did better at tests and appeared to have more highly developed brains. Other tests also show improved scores in sedentary kids taking similar tests after they start even the most basic aerobic activities. It should be noted that it is currently aerobic exercise that has been proven to increase brain function.

What Exercises Should Your Tech Kiddie Get Into?

How does this affect you and your tech kiddie? Simply put, your kid will be smarter and perform better in school if they do aerobic exercises. This covers wide a range of activities including running, skipping rope, swimming, cycling, etc. Walking is aerobic activity. Additionally, research shows that dancing video games, such as Dance Dance Revolution, are also good as aerobic exercise.

Table Tennis: The Best Brain Sport?

2007 Jasper Fields, Flickr

Surprisingly, Dr. Daniel Amen, in his book Making A Good Brain Great, claims that Table tennis is the best brain sport. It provides aerobic exercise, improves hand eye coordination, uses both your upper and lower body and makes you use different areas of your brain.

So, is your tech kiddie also a sporty kiddie? What kinds of sports are you getting him or her into? Share your stories and thoughts.