Your comments on the last blog were very thoughtful and I was pleased to share them.
I want to share with you part of a conversation I had today with a young man who is extremely bright. He is quite awesome with an IQ to match!!!
He and I have very different opinions on the benefits of exercise for better mental and physical health. He doesn't see the value of how both are beneficial or aide in working together with each other. His exact statement, "... I only exercise and watch what I eat so I won't be an obese kid and become an Obama statistic....... Exercise doesn't make me any smarter nor will it make me any dumber if I don't do it........." I immediately thought of all of you! We've been talking about physical and mental wellness for a while now.
How would you respond to this young man?How would you 'gently persuade' him to understand the benefits of exercise to our physical and mental wellness? Good Luck! I know I tried my best!
Exercise benefits our physical wellness because it allows our body to stay fit and healthy. It keeps our body systems running constantly and smoothly. Exercise also benefits our mental wellness because it helps us relax and be in a better mood. In fact, physical exercise is one of the best ways to relieve and manage stress. Exercise also gives you more energy and helps you concentrate at a higher level. If you can concentrate better, you will be able to studying better, making you smarter. Overall, exercise is one of the basic factors in maintaining good physical and mental wellness.
ReplyDeleteThough exercising may not make you smarter it definitely has benefits for your mental health. When you exercising the brain releases endorphins which can help with depression. Certain exercises like Yoga can make you feel relaxed and increase focus.
ReplyDeleteI get where you're coming from. And those are good reasons to stay fit physically and mentally, but it' only a part of the whole. Exercising and eating right is good for your body. It keeps you from being sick, and in the long run, you'll probably live longer with less health problems along the way. Sure, your IQ probably wont change if you exercise or not, but your mental health will. Your body needs to stay healthy to continue to function the way it should.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is true that exercise doesn't immediately make you smarter or the lack of exercise immediately make you dumber. On the other hand, it has been proven in studies that those who exercise regularly are able to think more clearly. In these studies, the subjects were given tests as if they were in school. The subjects were split by group: those who exercised regularly and those who did not. The first group scored much better on the tests than those who didn't. So, while exercise does not increase your intelligence per se, it allows you to better use the intelligence you already have.
ReplyDeleteI believe he is not correct. He does not understand how your brain needs to be conscious to have ones body in good function. Think about it, why do most of the straight A students excel in sports? They are both mentally and physically aware.
ReplyDeleteI believe our bodies are like a fine tuned machine, and our physical state is linked to our mental state. For example, our circulatory system helps to feed oxygen to the brain. This in turn helps our memory and brain function. So when we exercise this keeps everything functioning the way it should, including our brain. So when you are more pyhsically fit this helps maintain a persons mind and body.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this young man, I would tell him that I would have to disagree with his opinion because to me, his opinion is the wrong opinion to have. If you exercise and watch what you eat, the chances are that you most likely will not become obese. Although on the other hand, exercise will in fact make you smarter if you do it. Studies show that kids who exercise on a daily basis try harder in school. Kids that do not exercise and lack physical activity do not strive to do their best in school. This is because they are not as motivated to do well. Exercise makes you more aware of your health. When you exercise it helps you to want to be better because you become aware of what good can come from exercise.
ReplyDeleteExercise definitely benefits your mental health. It also wakes up the brain and allows a person to be more alert. It makes you feel physically better, which makes your mental health better.
ReplyDeleteI understand what he's saying, but wouldnt agree i think that both mental health and phycical health go hand in hand with each other. How ever im not sure how to make my point, i mean i dont have any fact but after i work out i feel like me brain was just turned on. Rather then if i dont work out in the morning i feel slow and off all day long.
ReplyDeleteWhile physical exercise doesn't make you immediately "smart", physical exercise on a regular basis helps keep your mind alert by increasing blood flow to the brain. After exercise, I find myself more alert and able to think clearer.
ReplyDeleteI would say to him that exercise gets your juices flowing as my mom would say. They make you more alert and more awake. I would also suggest to him that he should ask his parents how they felt about exercise at his age. I bet that they liked it for the reasons I just wrote.
ReplyDeleteYou've been misinformed if you believe that exercising is about increasing the capacity of your mental IQ. Being physically fit and exercising every day has many benefits - longevity, less chance of heart attacks, stress relief, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, exercising won't make you any less intelligent by doing it. But if don't think it doesn't work the other way around! If one exercises correctly, the knowledge gained may be invaluable; the experience allows the participant to grow with application. This isn't something you can pick up from books or teachers. Rather, it's something you have to do on a daily basis, and that allows you to learn.