Does Physical Activity Improve Memory More Than Brain Games?
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Parents are always looking for ways to help their children learn more easily. They create homework routines, sign them up for reading clubs, buy learning apps, and keep regular contact with teachers. While these can all be effective methods that help students get better grades, children who spend all of their time at a desk are at a disadvantage.
Apart from using your brain, many ask, does exercise improve memory, and the answer is yes. Research shows that physical activity plays a big part in how students learn. Movement supports key brain functions tied to memory, focus, and cognitive performance. This article walks you through what the science says and how it applies to your child.
How Physical Activity Supports Memory, Focus, and Learning
Many parents already know that physical activity is important for their children. Regular exercise increases oxygen-rich blood flow throughout the body, supporting heart and muscle strength. It keeps their children’s weight under control and supports long-term physical health. What they may not realize is that physical activity also plays a significant role in brain health.
Harvard Health Publishing notes that regular exercise supports restful sleep and gives children better emotional balance. This alone reduces stress and anxiety, making it easier for children to focus and learn. Studies also suggest that those who are physically active on a regular basis increase volume in certain brain regions, specifically the parts that control thinking, memory, and executive function. It also supports synaptic plasticity, meaning the brain becomes better at forming and strengthening connections, so students can learn and retain information more effectively.
Physical activity balances the body’s cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone. When someone increases their heart rate, cortisol levels spike due to the physically challenging demand and then return to normal levels afterward. If this happens consistently, the body understands to save the stress hormone for times of physical activity. This means that those levels are less likely to jump at other times, and students will feel less stressed in class. This has a similar effect as mindfulness activities, which help regulate stress, improve mental health, and stay present while learning.
Brain Games vs. Exercise: What Each Actually Helps With
Brain games are another popular tool parents turn to for cognitive development. These can include Sudoku, chess, jigsaw puzzles, and Scrabble. Children can play these games on the computer, at a table, or on their phone. They make you think and can help you hone certain cognitive skills. The goal of most brain training games is to help students:
- Improve their memory
- Focus better
- Hold onto information
- Process things faster
- Shift attention more easily
Brain games are effective for strengthening working memory or improving the specific skill being practiced. For example, memory exercises where cards are flipped face down, and the child can flip pairs right side up until they match, require them to remember which cards are where. This improves working memory performance and visual patterns. A crossword puzzle asks children to think of a word from the clue given and fit it into a larger pattern. Crosswords get children to recall and understand words faster, improving their vocabulary.
Compared with physical exercise, brain games have limitations. While they are great for improving specific tasks and skills, they don’t improve academic skills overall. Physical activity affects your entire brain system. It improves motivation, sleep quality, and focus while reducing stress and mental fatigue.
What Research Suggests About Memory and Learning
Both physical activity and brain exercises can help children academically, but in different ways. Research shows that regular physical activity supports overall cognitive functions, including:
- Brain-body connection
- Processing information
- Concentration and attention
- Social skills
- Confidence
- Stress
On the other hand, brain games train a student’s mind to improve in specific ways related to the game instead of as a whole. Certain games that focus on reaction time, hand-eye coordination, or logic can help students gain ground in those areas.
While both brain games and exercise can be useful, parents shouldn’t lean on either as a quick fix for their children. Improving learning and cognitive performance requires a well-rounded approach rather than a standalone solution. Neither approach teaches subject-specific knowledge as effectively as guided, personalized instruction.
Age-Appropriate Benefits of Movement for Students
Aerobic exercise benefits people of all ages, especially students. Physical activity directly impacts brain development and correlates with success in the classroom. Here's how physical activity can help at each stage of school:
- Elementary school: Young children get antsy and can get bored quickly in a classroom. When students have daily opportunities for physical exercises, their bodies become more used to when it’s time for activity and when it’s time to focus. Their ability to pay attention in class also improves.
- Middle school: As students begin to grow up, they face mounting social pressures and stresses. In middle school, students who regularly exercise can better regulate their emotions and stress. This allows them to engage more fully with lessons.
- High school: High school students must take on more complicated topics and prepare for the next step in their lives. Keeping active allows students to get better sleep, which gives them energy to tackle the demands of each day. Their memory also improves from the exercise, making it easier to learn topics faster.
Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), anxiety issues, or high energy also benefit from exercise. Exercise directly correlates to stress management and acts as an outlet for excess energy, allowing students to pay better attention in class.
Why Movement Complements—but Can’t Replace—Academic Practice
Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Regular physical activity improves memory, focus, sleep, and emotional balance. However, exercise alone can’t teach you how to solve problems, understand complex words, or get better at math during the summer. It’s a great way to prepare your child to learn, but mastering new skills requires guided instruction.
Taking advantage of a highly-skilled tutor can help your child learn difficult topics faster and get the grades they want. Alexander Tutoring provides expert tutors who make a noticeable difference in how students learn, and how confident they feel doing it. They can identify weak points and struggles in challenging subjects, such as Algebra or Physics, and present information effectively. These tutors combine practice, learning techniques, and personalized support to bring out the best in your child. Get in touch with Alexander Tutoring today and see how guided instruction, paired with a ready-to-learn brain, can help your child thrive.
