Active kids manage stress better: A new study

The school year just started, and kids are already facing exams.

Researchers from the University of Basel found that when children get plenty of daily exercise, they handle stress better.

Let's find out why.

Stress and resilience

Adults often hear the advice "get some exercise" to effectively reduce stress in their lives.

But does this work for kids too? Do exercises help them handle the everyday pressures of tests and exams at school?

More about the research

Specialists tracked 110 kids aged 10 to 13 for a week using sensors to measure their daily movements.

Then, they brought the kids into the lab for two tasks: a stressful one and a non-stressful one.

They measured the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva.

The test results showed that children who got more than an hour of exercise a day typically produced less cortisol during the stress task compared to less active kids.

Even in the additional control task, where things were pretty much unsettling, there was still a difference in cortisol levels between more and less active kids.

When kids regularly run, swim, or play, their brains learn to associate cortisol increases with something nice and positive.

This positive connection helps prevent cortisol from rising way too high during stressful situations like exams.

The team of specialists aims to find out if physical activity also has an impact on these cognitive effects of everyday stress.
 

• Related news:
• research
• children
• stress
• activity
• 8 September 2023

---