Higher levels of aerobic fitness can bolster a child’s ability to learn and remember information, according to a study published last week in the online journal PLOS ONE.
Forty-eight 9- and 10-year-olds were asked to learn the names of regions on two separate maps.
Participants used two different study methods: either strictly studying the map or interlacing studying with testing on the regions and locations.
The researchers discovered that, overall, the interspersed-studying-and-testing method helped children of all fitness levels retain information better than studying only; both groups performed about as well that way. But the more-fit children outperformed the less fit in the study-only condition.