Being Healthy Leads To Academic Success
What are the keys to academic success? This is a question that parents, teachers, administrators, and education reformers have grappled with for a long time. Early childhood programs and quality teaching are two keys to academic success. But what about health? Does health impact academic success? Absolutely!
First, a healthy diet leads to academic success. Studies from the U.S. and other countries have shown that students who eat breakfast regularly have significantly better academic outcomes. In addition, schools that have breakfast programs have found that student attendance, behavior and academic achievement increased. Children who are hungry, cannot learn. Instead of focusing on learning academics, hungry children are focused on their empty stomachs. Further, science tells us that the brain needs food in order to function properly. According to the CDC students who skip breakfast have issues with alertness, attention, memory, and problem solving.
But it is not enough to just make sure that children are eating three meals a day. What they put into their stomachs impacts learning. A balanced diet is needed and children need to be taught. Healthy Kids, Healthy Future can help you get started on this journey. Without a proper diet, children cannot grow and are likely to get ill more frequently. Illness leads to school absences and a loss of instructional time in the classroom. Students with high absenteeism rates do not achieve as much as students that attend school regularly.
Beyond a healthy diet is the need for children to exercise daily. Childhood obesity is at an all-time high, while childhood exercise is at an all-time low. According to the CDC, 18.5% of children in the United States are obese. This can be attributed to an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise. Less than 24% of school-aged children participate in daily physical activity for 60 minutes.
The benefits of daily exercise cannot be overstated. Over half of students that have an A average in high school are physically active for an hour a day, at least five days a week. Further, studies have found that students who are physically active have a higher cognitive performance in the area of memory and concentration.
Finally, sleep also plays an important part of staying healthy and doing well academically. Studies show that students who get a good night’s sleep perform better in math and languages.
As students return to school this fall, caregivers should focus on providing a healthy lifestyle by doing the following:
● Get enough sleep based on the age of the child
● Eat three meals a day
● Provide a brain rich diet
● At least 60 minutes of physical exercise
Resources:
All in a good night’s sleep: How quality of sleep impacts academic performance in children. (2015, January 08). Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150108113521.htm
CDC. (n.d.). Health And Academic Achievement. Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/health-academic-achievement.pdf
CDC. (2019, June 24). Childhood Obesity Facts. Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
CDC. (2020, April 21). Physical Activity Facts. Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm
McCarthy, C. (2018, January 23). The crucial brain foods all children need. Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/brain-food-children-nutrition-2018012313168
Murphy, Michael. (2007). Breakfast and Learning: An Updated Review. Current Nutrition and Food Science. 3. 10.2174/1573401310703010003.
Prevent Childhood Obesity: Five Healthy Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://healthykidshealthyfuture.org/5-healthy-goals/
Research Brief: Breakfast For Dinner. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/breakfastforlearning-1.pdf
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