Think to move or Move to think — why a moving during your day makes you smarter
Learning shouldn’t be confined to the idea of opening a book, reading and taking in the information. The brain is a muscle, and just like every other muscle needs to be stimulated. However, why should we limit it to stationary learning, surely the body is needed for full capacity learning?
Most people think of the body in individual parts; the brain, the heart, hands and feet — but it is a cognitive machine that is working together. So why not implement that in learning? Mental learning should be on the same equilibrium as physical learning. In schools, at most 1 hour a day is given to Physical Education lessons — compare that to the rest of the 6–7 hours of sitting behind a desk.
Studies have shown that physical activity leads to better memory retention. And for those who might disagree, think about sports. Take, baseball for example; your mind has to remember to tell your body to hit the ball, run to the base and attempt a home run. These are multiple thoughts happening all at once, but yet your mind is able to do it. It is giving instructions and your body is actively moving to it. That’s mental and physical symbiosis.
“A 2011 study by researchers at Duke University found that a student’s capacity to concentrate is one of the best predictors of success. The researchers studied more than 1,000 children in New Zealand over a period of eight years to track their ability to pay attention, and then followed up with them as adults to measure their health and financial stability. Those with more self-control were less likely to have difficulty with money or health problems.” (Abdelbary, 2017) This is a key idea into the realm of focus and understanding. Each sport has its own set of fixed rules, and once learnt, the mind remembers — but then can we not say the body does to? When you work out — does the muscle not increase and retain that? Therefore, when applying the mind to that, the body and mind work together to retain understanding.
The mind is powerful and to ask the mind to sit in a desk and listen to a repetition of knowledge seems like an easy task, but a tedious one. So why not challenge it? Add physical activity! Since the mind has to do multiple actions at once, it focuses the brain and allows for exponential growth. It is not just sitting and listening, but it is telling the arms or the feet or the eyes to do something and still retain that knowledge.
Marwa Abdelbary says; “Daily activity also helps boost balance, motor function, brain function, and cognition. According to a growing body of research, movement increases blood and oxygen flow, which positively affects cognitive development, physical health, and mental well-being.” (Abdelbary, 2017) This allows one to understand that to move is to learn and to learn is to be knowledgeable. Once you understand that the smallest action is a learning tool, it allows you to understand the benefits of mind-body congruency. Every person has learnt from kinesthetically, whether it is from learning to ride a bike to knowing how to perform surgery. We learn by doing. The body is designed to work with the mind and often that is forgotten in schooling environments. We think to preach is to teach. But surely this needs to change. Learn by doing
Marijke Mullender-Wijnsma says, “Children use sensory and motor activity to learn, which is enhanced through physical activity. Exercise has also been found to improve attention and the ability to remain on task. Over time, it may also trigger the development of new cells and blood vessels that lead to improved cognitive performance.” (Gordon, 2016) This allows one to understand that learning through activity is not only beneficial for the mind but for the body as well. New cells are being formed and the body is working hard to create new vessel, which might have been unexplored by someone sitting behind the desk. The body is able to sustain vast amounts of trauma, so why not turn the looking glass around and use that positively. Challenge the body to sustain multiple learning enhancements. This is active learning. Stimulate the body to stimulate the mind. These should not be independent tasks.
“The activation/stimulation of synapses and neurons occurs due to the execution of cognitive tasks and enables the functional integration of new neuronal structures in the respective brain circuits (Trachtenberg et al., 2002; Bruel-Jungerman et al., 2007; Bergami and Berninger, 2012; Bamidis et al., 2014). The integration in functional brain circuits seems to be crucial in order to stabilize the (by motor-cognitive training) induced neuroplastic changes.” (Fabian Herold, 2016) From this understanding, it is imperative to understand that learning and moving are mutually beneficial.
Muscles absorb what they are induced to — So why not activate the mind with mental and physical stimulation. There are definitely more studies that need to be done in this regard, but it is interesting to think that maybe we learn better if we do, not just what we’re told.
