PIP Research: How Teamwork and Exercise Impacts Mental Health

Relevant Quotes:

“Cognitive skills are crucial for school readiness and academic performance and are
supported by a variety of brain regions, which continue to mature throughout
adolescence. This developmental window poses a great opportunity for experience-
dependent plasticity, as the structural and functional organization of the brain can be
positively influenced through enriched environmental conditions like, for example,
physical activity” (Singh 2019)
● Applying academic performance with physical activity

“Donnelly and colleagues found improved academic performance on all reported

outcome measures (ie, the composite score of reading, spelling, and mathematics),
when comparing children who received daily bouts of moderate to vigorous [physical
activity] during academic lessons for 3 years (up to 90 min/week) with children who
followed the regular curriculum” (Singh 2019).
● Results for applying academic performance with physical activity

“Some of these proposed psychological benefits are improved confidence, well-being,

sexual satisfaction, anxiety reduction, and positive effects on depressed mood and
intellectual functioning. Such effects of vigorous physical activity could have important
primary preventive benefits by making people less susceptible to other factors that
might produce mental illness and could also have secondary preventive effects in
improving functioning in people with mental illness.” (Taylor 1985)
● Other benefits with physical activity- confidence, wellbeing, reduce anxiety
and depression

“Exercise and physical activity may help improve mental health and even prevent
mental disorders by improving self-confidence, self-concept, cognition, or other
psychological variables.” (Taylor 1985)
● Physical activity improves mental health and other benefits like self-
confidence

“Indeed, chronic stress at work is recognized by: overwhelming exhaustion, lack of

commitment, negative attitudes, dissatisfaction with performance. Self-care can help,
but it needs to be planned, acted upon, and practiced.” (Sutton 2020)
● Self-care needs to be planned, acted upon, and practiced. Make physical
activity a routine and a desire.
“The Wheel of Wellness [was created] to help achieve a life defined by optimal health
and wellbeing, “in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live
more fully within the human and natural community. [...] Each spoke [of the wellness
wheel] depicts an interrelated set of tasks, that interact with the life forces affecting your
life, including: family, community, religion, education, government, media, business and
industry.” (Sutton 2020)
● Wheel of Wellness balances mind, body, and spirit.

“Students are asked to consider how they manage their health in each of the following
areas of their lives: emotional health- managing stress, sufficient sleep, keeping on top
of work, seeking therapy, intellectual health- staying curious, learning new things,
reading, joining clubs, and enhancing intellectual interests, physical health- sufficient
exercise, balanced nutrition, preventative medical care, social health- robust social
network offering guidance and reducing stress, environmental health- caring for
surroundings, avoiding clutter, recycling and volunteering for environmental initiatives,
financial health- living with financial means, creating a budget, spiritual health-
understanding the beliefs and values that shape who you are and guide your life.”
(Sutton 2020)
●

“Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology [...] Needs lower

down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher
up. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological [food, water,
warmth, rest], safety [security, safety], love and belonging [intimate relationships,
friends], esteem [prestige and feeling of accomplishment], and self-actualization
[achieving one’s full potential, including creative activities].”(McLeod 2020)

School Counselor: Self-care wheel (based on FNMI- mental air, physical fire, emotional
water, phsyical earth)- physical activity (positive relationship with the exercise you do)
Lowering cortisol levels through physical activity, helps to reduce stress.
July 27-31 horizon wellness: Weekly Wellness Update: July 27-31 Exercise and Mental
Health
“Exercise is also considered vital for maintaining mental fitness, and it can reduce
stress. Studies show that it is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and
concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive functioning.”
Teamwork creates social atmosphere- emotional and mental. Feeling of belonging
(needs wheel- Maslow hierarchy) esteem- self- esteem, respect and confidence

Applying Exercise/Movement in the Classroom

Bibliography

McLeod, S. (2020). “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.”

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#:~:text=Maslow's%20hierarchy%20of
%20needs%20is,hierarchical%20levels%20within%20a%20pyramid.&text=From%20the
%20bottom%20of%20the,esteem%2C%20and%20self%2Dactualization.
 ● The school counselor, Justin Tams, recommended I look into Maslow’s “needs
triangle.” He explained that teamwork creates a social atmosphere that supports
the emotional and mental aspects of the “self-care wheel” and promotes a feeling
of belonging that is included in the Maslow Hierarchy “needs triangle.”

Singh, A. S., et. (2019). Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive and
academic performance in children and adolescents: A novel combination of a
systematic review and recommendations from an expert panel. British Journal of Sports
Medicine, 53(10), 640. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uleth.ca/10.1136/bjsports-2017-
098136
● The source demonstrated the study and results of physical activity in children
and teenagers based on academic performance. It showed how important
cognitive skills are for academic performance and the areas of the brain that are
developing in adolescents. They discovered an improvement in mathematics and
numeracy skills. This source suggests that physical activity is important within a
school day and physical education classes should not be omitted in the school
curriculum.

Sutton, J. (2020). “A Look at the Self-Care Wheel: Templates, Worksheets, and

Activities.” https://positivepsychology.com/self-care-wheel/
● This source explains what is a self-care wheel and wellness, why they are
important and how to teach about self-care. I was directed to sources such as
these through the school counselor, Justin Tams. Tams also mentioned that the
“self-care wheel” and the idea of balance in one’s life is based on FNMI beliefs.
He mentioned the importance of lowering cortisol levels to reduce stress and an
effective way to do this is through physical activity.

Taylor, C. B., Sallis, J. F., & Needle, R. (1985). The relation of physical activity and
exercise to mental health. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 100(2), 195–
202.
● This source describes how physical activity and exercise benefit mental health. It
describes evidence that suggests that symptoms associated with mild and
moderate depression are alleviated by exercise. It also suggests the benefit of
exercise for improving self-image, social skills, cognitive functioning, and
reducing symptoms of anxiety.

Biddle, S. et. (2019). “Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents:
An Updated Review of Reviews and an Analysis of Causality.” Physical of Sport and
Exercise. Volume 42, 146-155.
● This source also discusses how physical activity and exercise benefit mental
health, however, it tests the results in children and adolescents in particular. The
conclusion of the results suggests that an increase in physical activity improves
depression and cognitive functioning in young people, however, there is a lack of
support for self-esteem.