A recent study suggests that aerobic exercise in childhood can increase vocabulary. In the article, the research team describes one of the first studies of theEffects of exerciseon vocabulary learning in children. They taught children ages 6 to 12 new words while they participated in swimming or CrossFit exercises. The children who swam were 13% more accurate on follow-up vocabulary tests.
How sporting activities expand vocabulary
According to the study authors, this helpsmotor movement during encodingnew words. Exercise is known to increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This represents a series of proteins that are responsible for the growth and survival of neurons. However, there were differences in the sports performed. Swimming is an activity that children can do without much thought or guidance. In the study, this happened automatically, while the CrossFit exercises were brand new to the little ones.
The children had to learn the exact movements, but this required more mental energy from them. A total of 48 children took part in the study. The participants hadlearned new words, before doing any of the following three activities: swimming, CrossFit, and painting. As mentioned above, the results showed that the swimmers had 13% more accuracy on the vocabulary tracking tests.
These study results seem logical to the study's lead author, Maddy Pruitt, who was a swimmer in college and regularly does CrossFit sessions. The other author of the study was Giovanna Morini. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The scientist made it clear that most of the research is on...physical training in childrenfocused on a healthy lifestyle.
However, only a few exercises among sports can expand vocabulary. Another student is currently conducting a similar experiment with young children. The authors are fromthis studyso enthusiastic because it relates to clinicians, nurses and educators who can put such methods into practice. This would be a simple approach that could really help improve children's outcomes.
