|
Study highlights
importance of children exercising and relaxing
NIKI LAW
Updated 3.22pm: South
China Morning Post September 27th 2002.
“Children who exercise regularly
and relax will perform better academically, remember more
and interact better than those always studying, a study
revealed on Friday.
The study by the Chinese University of
Hong Kong’s psychiatry department concluded that
the stressful lifestyle of SAR people often affected their
children.
During a year-long experiment, the department
divided a group of more than 70 poorly performing primary
school students, aged between seven and eleven, into two
groups.
One group was asked to do relaxing exercises
twice a week and use their imaginations. The other group
only attended tutoring classes after school.
The students who relaxed and exercised
improved academically and their average scores increased
by four or more points. But the students attending tutorials
recorded no improvement.
Moreover, boys and girls in the group
of active students became less withdrawn due to less stress.
The girls in the group complained less.
“Following a special diet of attending
high-level courses does not heighten the capability of
the brain,” associate Professor Agnes Chan Sui-yin
said.
“Instead a simple routine... with
time allocated to relaxation, sufficient exercise, mental
exercise and a balanced diet... will help maintain or
even increase the brain’s abilities,” she
said.”
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE
|
I
