Recess Critical for Learning

Dear Melissa,
I have seen an article all over Facebook about a school in Texas that has increased recess time for their youngest students and has seen great results. What are your thoughts?

I love offering my perspective on recess in my role as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. My stance is an enthusiastic, YES! Schools need more recess time. Children need to move. In just a few short generations, we have changed the demands on our children from farm and factory work (moving) to sitting still in chairs for hours on end at the tender age of just 5 years old. NOT REALISTIC! Add to that the over use of “screen time” and less “outside play time”…don’t even get me started!

Recess Critical for Learning

So let me refocus my brain (as I sit here at my computer). I know that teachers and schools are under immense pressure to show better and better test scores each year. I get it. However, I contend that recess is actually critical for learning and that limiting recess is counterproductive to the learning process. But let’s, once again, look for the proof in the literature. We can all guess that more play time and less sitting time is important for a happier and healthier 5 year old, both mentally and physically, but where is the evidence?

Rising ADHD Diagnosis
Here is the proof that ADHD is on the rise

• Nation-wide there has been a rise in ADHD from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and 11% in 2011 (CDC).
• In Arkansas, over 11% of children are currently diagnosed with ADHD according to the CDC (2011-2012).

The Benefits of Exercise to Learning
While the studies below don’t directly address ADHD, they do offer evidence of the benefits of exercise. These benefits can impact learning and focus in the classroom. I contend that the benefits are so great that by increasing recess time we could decrease the rate of ADHD diagnosis in children.

• Mountain Elementary is one of 4 public schools in Fort Worth, TX that is boosting recess time by following a program created by Debbie Rhea, a Kinesiology professor at Texas Christian University. Rea created a school day structure modeled after the Finnish school system, which consistently scores at or near the top of international educational rankings. This program allows kindergarteners and first graders FOUR recess times of 15 minutes each per day. The teachers were skeptical at first but are now reporting that the children:
  1. Listen better
  2. Follow directions better
  3. Try to solve problems on their own instead of coming to the teacher
  4. Have fewer discipline issues
• The American Psychological Association (APA) offers the term “the exercise effect” to describe the fact that “usually within 5 minutes after moderate exercise, you get a mood-enhancement effect.”
• The APA reports on a study in which exercise was generally comparable to antidepressants for patients with major depression (Psychosomatic Medicine, 2007)
• The Journal of Preventing Chronic Disease (July 2010) detailed a study of five schools in the Independence Missouri School District. Three schools were assigned the ABC (Activity Bursts in the Classroom) for fitness program, and the other 2 schools served as controls. Students of the ABC program had several structured physical activity breaks which were led by teachers throughout the day. The results? In students who received the ABC intervention they found:
  1. Improved physical fitness
  2. Less medication used for asthma
  3. Less medication used for ADHD

But what does the pediatrician say?
In 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement which stated:

• For “optimal cognitive processing” a child requires a period of interruption (break) after each period of concentration. And no, switching from one cognitive task to another cognitive task does NOT count as a break. The doctors even say so!
• Multiple studies have demonstrated that recess, whether performed indoors or outdoors, made children more attentive and more productive in the classroom. This benefit was seen even if the children spent much of this recess time socializing rather than exercising.
• Through play at recess, children learn valuable communication skills, including negotiation, cooperation, sharing, problem solving, coping skills, as well as perseverance and self control.
• Teachers/staff should encourage physically-active recess through structured games and/or offering safe playground equipment to stimulate free play.
• Schools should consider having recess before lunch rather than after, due to studies that show that this practice reduces food waste and improves student behavior.
• American schools have recess ranging from 20-60 minutes depending on district. However, it is well known (to doctors at least) that attention spans wane after 40-50 minutes of instruction. Therefore, breaks should be scheduled at regular intervals instead of 1 longer session in the day.

And, as an aside, don’t even get me started on what a bad idea it is to take away recess as a punishment! Make the kiddo do laps (walking, running, skipping, whatever). That is generally acceptable in my book. But, never, ever, ever, ever take away recess as a punishment. Any teacher who does this is just shooting him/herself in the foot for an afternoon of even worse disruptive behavior! Who wants that?

Are you a teacher/school administrator? How do you think added/more frequent recess times would affect your students’ performance? Give your input! share@childrenstherapyteam.com

Resources
ADHD Resource Center. (2016, January). American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Retrieved from www.aacap.org.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2013). The Crucial Role of Recess in School. 131 (1) pp. 183-188. Retrieved www.pediatrics.aappublications.org.

Connolly, C. (Narrator). (2016, January 4). Turns out Monkey Bars and Kickball Might be Good for the Brain [Radio broadcast episode]. NPR Ed How Learning Happens. Washington, DC: National Public Radio, Retrieved from www.npr.org

Katz DL, Cushman D, Reynolds J, Njike V, Treu JA, Walker J, et al. (2010, July). Putting physical activity where it fits in the school day: preliminary results of the ABC (Activity Bursts in the Classroom) for Fitness Program. Preventing Chronic Disease, 7 (4), Retrieved from www.cdc.gov

Strauss, V. (2014, July 8). Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today. The Washington Post, Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com.

Want kids to listen more and fidget less? Try more recess…this school did. [Video file]. (2016, January 8). Retrieved from www.today.com.

Weir, K. (2011, December). The Exercise Effect. Monitor on Psychology, 42 (11), p 48. Retrieved from www.apa.org.