SHAPE America

05/03/2019

How Exercise Affects Our Memory

How Exercise Affects Our Memory

"A single, moderate workout may immediately change how our brains function and how well we recognize common names and similar information, according to a promising new study of exercise, memory and aging. The study adds to growing evidence that exercise can have rapid effects on brain function and also that these effects could accumulate and lead to long-term improvements in how our brains operate and we remember.

Until recently, scientists thought that by adulthood, human brains were relatively fixed in their structure and function, especially compared to malleable tissues, like muscle, that continually grow and shrivel in direct response to how we live our lives. But multiple, newer experiments have shown that adult brains, in fact, can be quite plastic, rewiring and reshaping themselves in various ways, depending on our lifestyles." via The New York Times

Read more: https://nyti.ms/2V1vDcR

Even a single workout may make our brain’s memory centers, like our muscles, more fit.

05/02/2019

If you build more activity into your day, you might be able to skip the workout

If you build more activity into your day, you might be able to skip the workout

"“We are moving away from the word ‘exercise,’ ” said Barbara Brown, a researcher at the University of Utah who studies physical activity. “Exercise is that thing you do where you have to wear funny clothes, and you have to go to the gym and buy a membership, and you have to sweat for an hour. Some people love that, but many don’t.” Instead, Brown said, she and her colleagues talk about “active living.”

Endocrinologist James Levine coined the term NEAT when he was the director of the Obesity Solutions initiative at Mayo clinic.

“Anybody can have a NEAT life,” he said. “Our research showed that you can take two adults of the same weight and one can burn an extra 350 kilocalories (per day) simply by getting rid of labor-saving devices and moving more throughout the day.”" via The Spokesman-Review special to the Washington Post

Read more: http://bit.ly/2USYyjj

“We are moving away from the word ‘exercise,’ ” said Barbara Brown, a researcher at the University of Utah who studies physical activity. “Exercise is that thing you do where you have to wear funny clothes, and you have to go to the gym and buy a membership, and you have to sweat for an ho...

05/01/2019

National PE and Sport Week

It is officially National Physical Education & Sport Week! We are excited to share free, exclusive calendars, lesson plans, activites, social media frames/badges and journal articles. Let us know how you will be celebrating! #healthmovesminds

Check out the resources
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http://bit.ly/2EbuUh2

Dive into our extensive job board to find opportunities in health education, physical education, activity, recreation, sports, and adapted physical education.

04/30/2019

Building a Kinder, Healthier Future

The health. moves. minds. program teaches young people how to take care of their mind and body while developing important character traits such as kindness and empathy. It includes skills-based and standards-based classroom and event resources for teachers as well as a fundraising component. After being piloted this spring by 21 schools, the program will kick off nationally in fall 2019.

Read more about the pilot schools and program: http://bit.ly/2ITbrIz

04/29/2019

Three Ways to Relieve Teen Anxiety Today - Growing Leaders

Three Ways to Relieve Teen Anxiety Today

"The rise in anxiety, depression and panic attacks in our students today should give every one of us pause. It is astoundingly high. Anxiety and depression in high school kids have been on the rise since the early 2000s after several years of plateau. It is a reality that crosses all demographics, urban, suburban and rural; and among adolescents who are college bound and among those who are not. Teens from different ethnicities and genders are all experiencing the issues associated with angst.

The Department of Health and Human Services reports that in 2015, some three million teens, ages 12-17, had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. More than two million report experiencing depression that impairs their daily functioning. Sadly, the Child Mind Institute informed us that one in five teens or young adults struggle with a mental illness or disorder and two thirds of that group are either undiagnosed or untreated. Most just live with it." via Growing Leaders

Read more: http://bit.ly/2L7SG67

50shares Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn The rise in anxiety, depression and panic attacks in our students today should give every one of us pause. It is astoundingly high. Anxiety and depression in high school kids have been on the rise since the early 2000s after several years of plate...

04/26/2019

Hillsborough Education Foundation

Hillsborough Education Foundation

Earlier this week, members of our team spent a morning delivering the PE equipment we received through SHAPE America and two principals shared their excitement for the new additions to their schools. 🌟

04/26/2019

Putting Down Your Phone May Help You Live Longer

Putting Down Your Phone May Help You Live Longer

"If you’re like many people, you may have decided that you want to spend less time staring at your phone.

It’s a good idea: an increasing body of evidence suggests that the time we spend on our smartphones is interfering with our sleep, self-esteem, relationships, memory, attention spans, creativity, productivity and problem-solving and decision-making skills.

But there is another reason for us to rethink our relationships with our devices. By chronically raising levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, our phones may be threatening our health and shortening our lives." via The New York Times

Read more: https://nyti.ms/2Dy4b0y

By raising levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol, our phone time may also be threatening our long-term health.

04/25/2019

Kick off National Physical Education and Sport week in health. moves. minds. style! Get a head start on incorporating themes from our health. moves. minds. program launching this August with our new mindfulness calendar. Share quick activities with your students daily or send home in their Friday folders to help remind them to take time for themselves and decompress #healthmovesminds

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https://www.shapeamerica.org/events/pesportweek/National-PE-and-Sport-Week.aspx

04/24/2019

Physical activity can reduce mortality risk caused by sitting for too long • Earth.com

Physical activity can reduce mortality risk caused by sitting for too long

"Previous research demonstrated that among less active adults, the amount of time spent sitting is associated with an increased risk of mortality. A new study published by the American College of Cardiology has found that the negative impacts of sedentary behavior can often be eliminated through physical activity.

The researchers set out to investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior or physical activity and mortality. The team analyzed the effects of replacing sitting with standing, physical activity, and sleep." via Earth.com

Read more: http://bit.ly/2UBxjtt

A new study published by the American College of Cardiology has found that the negative impacts of sedentary behavior can often be eliminated through physical activity.

04/23/2019

Preschool Is Prime Time to Teach Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Preschool Is Prime Time to Teach Healthy Lifestyle Habits

"Teaching preschoolers about healthy habits can reduce their risk of obesity and heart disease later in life, new research suggests.

The New York City study included 562 youngsters in 15 preschools in Harlem, which has a largely black and Hispanic population. The two groups are known to have an increased risk of heart disease.

At the study's start, the 3- to 5-year-olds answered a questionnaire to assess their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about diet, physical activity, emotions and how the body and heart work.

For example, they were asked to pick healthier foods from among vegetables, fruits and cheeseburgers/fries. They were also asked how often they run, jump and play." via HealthDay News

Read more: http://bit.ly/2IPugeZ

Teaching preschoolers about healthy habits can reduce their risk of obesity and heart disease later in life, new research suggests.

04/22/2019

Why Does Exercise Guard Against Cancer? Inflammation May Play a Role

Why Does Exercise Guard Against Cancer? Inflammation May Play a Role

"One of the most important benefits of exercise is in how it reduces our risk of developing a number of types of cancer — especially colorectal cancer, which according to some estimates is the malignancy most influenced by physical activity. But how workouts guard against colon cancer remains largely unknown. Physical activity speeds the movement of waste through the intestines, as anyone who has had to hunt for a bathroom during a workout knows. But this does not seem to fully account for the protective effects of exercise. Instead, a small study published in February in The Journal of Physiology suggests we should also look to changes in our bloodstream after exercise." via The New York Times

Read more: https://nyti.ms/2IyKIkw

How exercise guards against colon cancer and other types of cancer remains a mystery.

04/19/2019

Light Physical Activity Tied to Brain Volume
Potential benefits on brain aging may accrue at lower activity levels

"Incremental physical activity, even at a light intensity, was tied to larger brain volume, an analysis of middle-age adults in the Framingham Heart Study showed.

Each additional hour of light-intensity physical activity per day was associated with higher cerebral total brain volume, even among people not meeting national physical activity guidelines, reported Nicole Spartano, PhD, of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues in JAMA Network Open." via MedPage Today

Read more: http://bit.ly/2UKMc1r

04/17/2019

health.moves.minds rap video

The health.moves.minds rap video that premiered at #SHAPETampa. Gopher Sport

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http://healthmovesminds.org/

04/17/2019

Cambridge Board of Education goes to see new interactive playground

Cambridge Board of Education goes to see new interactive playground

"Rick Lambert, the CIS after school program coordinator and teacher at the school, was on hand to demonstrate the interactive playground named Lü. Board members tried out a few of the games and said they were pleasantly surprised by the physical activity required and the educational games that can be played.

Funding for the 21st Century after-school programs is all through grant money provided by the 21st Century Community Learning Center. " via DailyJeff Newspaper

Read more: http://bit.ly/2Uo6XuP

The Cambridge City School’s Board of Education took its regular meeting on the road and met at Cambridge Intermediate School (CIS) to see the latest

04/16/2019

Decline in physical activity often starts as early as age seven

Decline in physical activity often starts as early as age seven

"Overall physical activity often starts to decline around the age of school entry. While the proportion of physically inactive individuals rises with age, there still are groups of people who manage to increase their physical activity level in adulthood and old age.

While the level of physical activity varies between individuals, it can also vary within individuals during the life course. A recent study, carried out in collaboration between the University of Jyväskylä and LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, systematically reviewed scientific articles identifying distinct subgroups of physical activity and the factors related to these subgroups in the general population in different countries during different life phases." via Medical Xpress - Medical and Health News

Read more: http://bit.ly/2ZbPdqt

Overall physical activity often starts to decline around the age of school entry. While the proportion of physically inactive individuals rises with age, there still are groups of people who manage to increase their physical activity level in adulthood and old age.

04/12/2019

Congratulations to our 2019 National Teachers of the Year! #SHAPETampa

04/12/2019

Introducing the new members of the SHAPE America Board of Directors! Congratulations to Roger Jackson, Sarah Benes and Clayton Ellis! #SHAPETampa

04/10/2019

Enjoyed Breakin’ It Down with Darryl DMC McDaniels, Marc Santa Maria and LaShawn Dance Fitness at #SHAPETampa? Join the movement with Hip Hop Public Health! Network with an innovative community transforming the lives of youth around the world and access all of their entertaining, educational resources for free when you become a Hip Hop Public Health MC. www.hhph.org/MC

04/09/2019

Welcome to #SHAPETampa! We are excited to kick off our programming today and cannot wait for everyone to arrive!

Check out the convention schedule: https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/ViewSessions.aspx

Info about the event:
https://convention.shapeamerica.org/

Finally, download our mobile app:
https://convention.shapeamerica.org/Convention/For-Attendees/Mobile_App.aspx

04/08/2019

Groundbreaking study examines effects of screen time on kids

Deep dive by 60 Minutes - Groundbreaking study examines effects of screen time on kids

"If you have kids and wonder if all that time they spend on their smartphones endlessly scrolling, snapping and texting is affecting their brains, you might want to put down your own phone and pay attention. The federal government, through the National Institutes of Health, has launched the most ambitious study of adolescent brain development ever attempted. In part, scientists are trying to understand what no one currently does: how all that screen time impacts the physical structure of your kids' brains, as well as their emotional development and mental health.

At 21 sites across the country scientists have begun interviewing nine and ten-year-olds and scanning their brains. They'll follow more than 11,000 kids for a decade, and spend $300 million doing it. Dr. Gaya Dowling of the National Institutes of Health gave us a glimpse of what they've learned so far." via 60 Minutes

Read more: https://cbsn.ws/2OYSogw

60 Minutes goes inside a landmark government study of young minds to see if phones, tablets and other screens are impacting adolescent brain development

04/05/2019

Personalized plans highlighted as comprehensive way to view student success

Personalized plans highlighted as comprehensive way to view student success

Harvard University paper released Wednesday says such plans pull together students' goals, strengths and needs, but are "largely underemployed in the field of education.”

"he report also comes as the majority of states are either requiring or encouraging districts to develop individualized learning plans for students that focus mostly on college and career readiness as part of their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

"ESSA allows states to deploy various strategies to redesign learning and strengthen student outcomes, including approaches such as personalized learning and integrated student support," Paul Reville, founding director of the Education Redesign Lab, noted in an email. "This flexibility could create opportunities for states to incorporate comprehensive personalized plans into their reform efforts that address both the academic and non-academic needs of students." via Education Dive: K12

Read more: http://bit.ly/2WMmIgL

A Harvard University paper released Wednesday says such plans pull together students' goals, strengths and needs, but are "largely underemployed in the field of education.”

04/04/2019

Save the date!

May 1-7 is National Physical Education and Sport Week. Join us in celebrating effective physical education and sport programs in schools around the nation. Mark your calendar and check back for new activities and opportunities! #healthmovesminds

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http://Shapeamerica.org/mayweek

04/04/2019

Exercise Officially Makes You Happier Than Money, According to Yale and Oxford Research

Exercise Officially Makes You Happier Than Money, According to Yale and Oxford Research

The team also noticed that certain sports that involve socializing can have more of a positive effect on your mental health than others.

"The scientists found that, while those who exercised regularly tended to feel bad for around 35 days a year, non-active participants felt bad for 18 days more on average.

In addition, the researchers found that physically active people feel just as good as those who don't do sports, but who earn around $25,000 more a year." via Entrenpreneur

Read more: http://bit.ly/2TVyZxx

The team also noticed that certain sports that involve socializing can have more of a positive effect on your mental health than others.

04/03/2019

An action plan for SEL

An action plan for SEL

"Picture this: You are an administrator at a mid-sized, suburban school district and have noticed an increase in problematic behavior among students. You are also hearing from teachers who say they feel ill-equipped to deal with these behaviors. What do you do?

This was the question we faced a few years ago in the Port Washington-Saukville School District in Wisconsin. We were seeing more instances of anxiety or aggressive behaviors among students -- and we were seeing it start at a younger age. We know that academic success and mental health are connected, so we knew we had to address students’ non-academic needs. We began this work by asking four questions:

What are we currently doing in each of our buildings to address student mental health needs?
What else should we be doing to address those needs?
How do we distinguish between normal adolescent development and mental health issues?
How can we give staff the tools to help and support students with mental health challenges?" via SmartBrief, Inc.

Read how these questions were answered: http://bit.ly/2UtcCE8

When anxiety, aggressive behavior spiked at a Wisconsin school district, administrators immediately created a plan to address it. See how.