The brain evolves during our childhood years as it continues to develop and is affected by lifestyle habits such as physical activity, cognitive activity, nutrition and sleep. Although there is growing scientific evidence that exercise is associated with improved cognitive function, academic performance, and overall health in children, the limited amount of time generally dedicated to physical activity during the school day continues to decline in many schools. The activity requirements for healthy brain and cognitive function are really relatively modest. For children, moderate aerobic activity of about 60 minutes a day can make a big difference, especially in children that are currently low-performers. There is work to be done in the United States and other countries to meet these activity goals as only about 30% of high school students achieve them. This presentation provides a current summary of the human research on aerobic exercise and cognitive function in children and teens. Mark Dreher PhD

1. January 2014
Cognitive Benefits of Exercise for
Children and Teens
Mark Dreher PhD (January 2014)

2. Brain Facts that Need to be Respected Every Day!
Fact # 1:
Although the human brain is only 2% of the body weight, it
receives about:
- 15% of the cardiac output
- 20% of total body oxygen consumption
- 25% of total body glucose utilization
The brain is the most metabolically active organ and
therefore prone to oxidative and inflammatory stress
damage, which may deteriorate cognitive function.
Fact # 2:
The human brain is in a constant state of change such that:
- During the lifespan new neurons may be formed while
others will die and new synapses are created while others are
eliminated.
-Brain cerebral systems are not purely hard-wired and can be
significantly influenced by many non-genetic factors such as
physical activity, cognitive activity, sleep and nutrition.

3. How Much Aerobic Activity is Recommended?
Children (6-17 years old) *
Aerobic activity should make up most of a child's 60 or
more minutes of physical activity each day. This can include
either moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk
walking, or vigorous-intensity activity, like running. Be sure
to include vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week.
*150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but it's not. That's 2 hours
and 30 minutes. You can even break it up into smaller chunks of time during
the day as it's about what works best for you, as long as you're doing physical
activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/index.html (March 2011)

4. United States Physical Activity Report Card: Children
In a nationally representative survey, 77% of children age
9-13 years reported participating in free-time physical
activity during the previous 7 days.
In 2011, 29% of high school students surveyed had
participated in at least 60 minutes per day of physical
activity on all 7 days before the survey, and only 31%
attended physical education class daily.
 Participation in physical activity declines as young
people age.
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/facts.htm (February 19, 2013)

5. Regular Physical Activity Health Benefits in Children
Helps build healthy bones and muscles.
 Helps reduce the risk of developing obesity and chronic
diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
 Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety and
promotes psychological well-being.
Can help improve students’ academic performance,
including: (1) academic achievement and grades,
(2)academic behavior, such as time on task, and (3) factors
that influence academic achievement, such as
concentration and attentiveness in the classroom.
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/facts.htm (February 19, 2013)

6. Proposed Benefits of Aerobic Fitness on Cognitive Function Based on Current Research
=
Proposed Biological Mechanisms Affected by
Exercise
Examples of Potential Benefits of Exercise
for Children and Teens
Cerebral blood flow increases to
deliver more oxygen and nutrients
and remove waste products from
brain regions responsible for
learning and memory.
Neurogenesis spurs the growth
of new nerve cells in an
important brain memory center
called the hippocampus.
Helps to enhances scholastic performance, and brain
development and improve brain activation, especially in
low-academic performers, compared to low-fit children
Angiogenesis creates new brain
blood vessels to help maintain and
expand volume in key regions such
as the hippocampus that are
associated with cognitive function.
Neuroplasticity develops new
brain connections by promoting
changes in neural pathways and
synapses for healthy
development, learning, memory,
and recovery from brain damage.
Helps to develop frontal cortex and medial temporal
lobe (hippocampus) brain function for better memory
forming, organizing and storing, cognitive control, and
improved attention, accuracy and focus.
Neuroprotection associated with
increases in the body’s natural
antioxidant defense system and
other functions to defend brain
health.
Healthy brain signals increase
levels of (1) brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a
chemical that improves brain
synapses and (2) endorphins that
promote a feeling of well-being.
Helps to improve executive function mental processes
that helps connect past experience with present action.
It helps to support functions such as planning,
organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and
remembering details, and managing time and space.
Kirk-Sanchez and McGough. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2014;4(9):51-62; Portugal et al. Neuropsychobiology. 2013; 68:1-4; Mind, Mood & Memory, Combating Memory Loss. Massachusetts
General Hospital. 2012 ; Verburgh et al. Br. Sports Med. 2013;Epub Ahead of Print; Lee et al; et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014; 39:214-224; Drollette et al. Develop Cognitive Neuroscience.
2014;7:53-64

7. Recent Aerobic Fitness and Cognition Research Highlights: Children & Teens
Study found that aerobic
fitness facilitated cognitive
performance in lowerperformers who demonstrated
the most improvements in
response accuracy and focus
measures following the end of
exercise. (Drollette et al.
Develop Cognitive
Neuroscience. 2014; 7:53-64).
Research provides evidence
supporting the beneficial effects
of regular exercise in improving
memory and accuracy in teens.
The beneficial effects were
region-specific and associated
with the serum levels of some
neurotrophic factors. (Lee, et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
2014; 39:214-224).
Research suggests that
aerobic fitness can
enhance brain connectivity
and microstructure during
neurodevelopment in fit
children compared to their
low fit peers (Herting et al.
Develop Cog Neurosci.
2014; 7:65-75).
Research finds that aerobic
fitness during childhood
enhances specific fMRI activation
of brain frontal cortex function
involved in cognitive control
related to improved attention
and focus. (Chaddock-Heyman et
al. Frontiers in Human
Neuroscience. 2013; 7(72):1-13).
Study found no differences in
performance at initial
learning between higher fit
and lower fit participants.
However, during the retention
session higher fit children
outperformed lower fit
children. (Raine et al. PLOS
ONE. 2013; 8(9): e72666).
Study suggests that daily
moderate intensity walking
is helpful for maintaining
cognitive performance,
with implication in
scholastic performance.
(Drollette et al. Med & Sci
Sports & Exercise.
2012;44(10):2017-2024).
Study shows that students in a
moderately physical activity
program improved overall
performance on standard
academic tests by 6% compared
to a decrease of 1% for
sedentary controls. (Donnelly
and Lambourne et al. Preventive
Medicine. 2011; 52:536-542).
Research reveals that exercise
appears to improve the
activation of brain neural
circuitry supporting improved
cognitive function in
overweight children. (Krafft et
al. Obesity. 2013; doi:10.1002/
oby.20518).
Research and a literature review
suggest that aerobic fitness may
influence brain health and cognition
leading to enhanced scholastic
performance and more effective
cognitive function, which is important
for adaptive behavior and cognitive
development. (Hillman et al. Prev
Med. 2011; 52S:S21-S28; Davis et al.
Health Psychol. 2011; 30(10):91-98)
Study shows that compared to
less fit children, highly fit children
have larger sub-cortical brain
structures, more efficient brain
activation and neuro-processing
during cognitive tasks, better
working memory, attention and
improved academic performance.
(Haapala. J Human Kinetics.2013;
36:55-68).
Findings show that a single bout
of aerobic physical activity in the
form of exergaming (active video
games) enhances children’s
executive decision making
function across a wide age range
compared to sedentary gaming.
(Best. Developmental Psychology.
2012; 48(5):1501-1510).
Findings show that higher-fit
children have greater brain
hippocampal volumes, efficiency
of neural networks and enhanced
relational memory performance
compared to lower-fit children.
(Chaddock et al. Brain Research.
2010;1358:172-183; Voss et al.
Neuroscience.2011; 199:166-176)

8. Case Study #3: Aerobic Fitness Facilitates Brain Cognitive Function in Children
Background:
To achieve high levels of cognitive control, children must be able to selectively attend to
relevant information, filter distractions, and inhibit inappropriate response tendencies.
Previous research shows that higher fit and physically active children have been found to
outperform their lower fit peers on tasks of cognitive control. Only a few studies with
children have used fMRI to examine how physical activity and aerobic fitness relate to
brain function during tasks engaging cognitive control.
Methods:
 23 8- to 9-year-old children, with pre-test and post-test fMRI data, were included in the
final analyses, with 14 children (7 female, 7 male) assigned to the physical activity
intervention group and nine children (6 female, 3 male) assigned to the control group.
 Children in the exercise group participated in a 60+ minute physical activity program,
5days per week, for 9 months and the control children did not participate in the program.
 All children completed structural and functional-MRI scans.
Results/Conclusions:
 This study shows that physical activity during childhood may enhance specific elements of the frontal cortex
function involved in cognitive development and focus compared to children assigned to the non-fitness
program (control) group.
 These data support the role of aerobic exercise in healthy brain development.
Chaddock–Heyman et al. frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2013;7(72):1-13

9. Case Study #1: Exercise Facilitates Brain Function and Cognition in Children
Who Need It the Most
Background:
Despite evidence that physical activity participation is associated with improved cognitive
function, academic performance, and overall health in children, there continues to be a
decline in the amount of time dedicated to physical activity during the school day. Studies
focusing on single bouts of physical activity indicate that increasing the amount of time
spent physically active may foster post-exercise cognitive benefits, which can help improve
scholastic performance.
Methods:
 40 healthy 8-10 year old children (27 females; 13 males) divided into two groups of 20
high performance and 20 low performance learners engaged in moderate-intensity aerobic
activity and were than evaluated for cognitive performance.
 These testing sessions were conducted following 20 minutes of either moderate intensity
treadmill walking at 60–70% of maximal heart rate, or at quiet rest while seated in a chair
that was safely placed on the same treadmill.
 Cognitive function was assessed by computer based cognitive testing and neuroelectric
assessments.
Results/Conclusions:
 Lower-performing students demonstrated an improvement in brain and cognitive function up to a level
similar to the high performers after the exercise bout .
 Higher-performing students maintained their cognitive performance levels after the exercise bout.
 The results suggested that short periods of physical activity during the school day are a means of regulating
attention in the classroom, especially among children who need it most.
Drollette et al. Develop Cognitive Neuroscience. 2014;7:53-64.

10. Case Study #2: Study Suggest that Exercise Helps to Improve Cognitive Function
in Teens
Background: The beneficial effect of aerobic exercise (exercise) on human cognitive
functioning and mental well-being has been well documented. Recent findings have
suggested that aerobic exercise may have a positive effect on teen brain functioning. Key
brain regions affected are the (1) frontal cortex - planning complex cognitive behavior,
personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior and (2) medialtemporal functions (hippocampus) - retention of sensory input processing, language
comprehension, new memory storage, and emotions.
Methods:
 A total of 91 healthy teens (45 regular exercisers and 46 matched sedentary controls)
participated in this study. The exercisers were recruited from the Hong Kong Sports Institute
where they received intensive training on rowing, swimming, running (>1000 m) or triathlon
for at least two months prior to this study. A study design was adopted to compare cognitive
functioning associated frontal and temporal brain regions and the serum levels of
neurotrophic factors, brain signals known to improve brain function between the two groups.
Results/Conclusions: This study reports preliminary evidence of the beneficial effects of regular aerobic exercise in
improving cognitive functions in teens. The exercising teens performed significantly better than the controls on
the frontal and temporal functioning parameters, which are associated with the serum levels of neurotrophic
factors. In associative learning . The exercisers had a higher memory score and accuracy than sedentary teens.
Specifically, adolescent exercisers showed improved memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. These
findings suggest that chronic exercise would be associated with better performance in associative memory, the
ability to learn and remember the relationship between unrelated items such as the name of someone they have
just met.
Lee et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014; 39:214-224

11. “To keep the body in
good health is a duty…
otherwise we shall not
be able to keep our mind
strong and clear.”
- Buddha
“If we could give every
individual the right
amount of nourishment
and exercise, not too
little and not too much,
we would have found
the safest way to
health.”
- Hippocrates