Sep 19: Schools across the country have steadily reduced recess during the past two decades, often to make more time for math and reading instruction. A growing body of research suggests that strategy may be backfiring.
In May, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first updated guidance on recess in 13 years, citing evidence that recess supports not only children’s physical and emotional well-being, but also their academic success.
Experts at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development say the science is clear: Giving students time to move, play and recharge helps them learn more effectively.
Associate professor Tanya Evans, a developmental neuroscientist, said brief breaks are known to improve learning.
“Even as adults, there’s only so long that we can attend to one task without needing a break,” she said. “When you give a break of any sort, it allows for a cognitive reset.”
Those pauses give the brain time to process and consolidate new information, Sara Rimm-Kaufman, a professor and child development expert at the Education School, said.
“You need a break from the thinking so that the brain can process the recently learned information, which then results in consolidation of that information into long-term memory,” she said.
The result isn’t just stronger memory. Mental breaks also improve attention, focus and mood, helping students stay engaged and better regulate their behavior when they return to class.
Recess offers another advantage: It gets children moving.
Jacob Resch, an associate professor of kinesiology who teaches a course on the neuroscience of exercise, said decades of research show regular physical activity supports learning by promoting healthy brain development.
During childhood, the brain is rapidly developing, including through myelination – the formation of a protective coating around nerve fibers that allows information to travel more efficiently. Exercise supports that process by increasing blood flow and delivering more oxygen and nutrients to the brain.
“If kids are sitting for eight hours a day, they’re limiting their full potential,” Resch said.
The benefits may be especially significant for children from lower-income communities, who may have fewer opportunities for after-school outdoor play, and for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, for whom exercise can improve attention and executive function.
The encouraging news, Resch said, is that it doesn’t take much. He recommends at least 20 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.
“Physical activity is going to improve behavior in the classroom, and you’re going to have better-performing students,” he said.
Not every child spends recess the same way. Younger students often run, climb and play games, while older students may talk with friends or simply relax.
The common denominator, Rimm-Kaufman said, is choice.
“Free time for kids to do things that are autonomous, unstructured, self-selected – that’s really different than what you would have in (physical education), which would be more structured games and activities,” she said.
Adults should supervise recess to ensure safety and prevent bullying, Rimm-Kaufman said, but children benefit from having space to make their own decisions, resolve conflicts and navigate social situations.
“When kids are outside playing, they’re practicing a whole set of social-emotional skills: interacting with others, turn-taking, negotiating, figuring out what to do when someone cheats, disagreeing and coming up with a compromise,” she said. “It’s a place where kids are developing the skills that they need to function in the adult world.”
Those same skills – collaboration, self-regulation and problem-solving – help students succeed academically once they return to the classroom.
The experts argue that reducing recess to improve test scores is often counterproductive.
“It’s backward,” Evans said. “The integration of movement and breaks in instructional time appears to actually support the same cognitive processes that underlie strong test performance.”
They also caution against withholding recess as punishment for behavioral issues, since students who struggle with attention or self-regulation may benefit most from movement and unstructured play.
“Kids are not heads on popsicle sticks going to school,” Rimm-Kaufman said. “These are full, developing humans. What happens socially interacts with their emotional lives, their cognitive lives, their physical lives.
“They need to have a rich set of experiences across these different domains of development.”
