Kids’ academic test scores might improve if they boost their brain power with some high-intensity exercise before picking up a pen, a new pilot study says. Children had significantly higher test scores after they spent nine minutes performing high-knee walking, jumping jacks, lunges and squats, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise. “Physical education and physical activity are good for our rising generation,” said lead researcher Eric Drollette, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “It’s good for mental health. It’s good for brain health. It’s good for academic achievement.” These better test results might arise because children who exercised were more capable of focusing and shrugging off mistakes, researchers said. In the study, researchers had 25 kids between 9 and  12 years of age take an academic test after performing high-intensity exercises or taking a seated rest break. “In the classroom, you have teachers that say, ‘Let’s take a movement break to get you focused again,’ ” Drollette said in a news release. “We know that’s the case anecdotally in the classroom, but we hadn’t put the science to it.” The high-intensity exercises were specifically geared to classrooms, with the kids performing each activity for 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of rest. “With earlier studies, we did 20 minutes of exercise on a treadmill…  read on >  read on >

Kids’ academic test scores might improve if they boost their brain power with some high-intensity exercise before picking up a pen, a new pilot study says. Children had significantly higher test scores after they spent nine minutes performing high-knee walking, jumping jacks, lunges and squats, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise. “Physical education and physical activity are good for our rising generation,” said lead researcher Eric Drollette, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “It’s good for mental health. It’s good for brain health. It’s good for academic achievement.” These better test results might arise because children who exercised were more capable of focusing and shrugging off mistakes, researchers said. In the study, researchers had 25 kids between 9 and  12 years of age take an academic test after performing high-intensity exercises or taking a seated rest break. “In the classroom, you have teachers that say, ‘Let’s take a movement break to get you focused again,’ ” Drollette said in a news release. “We know that’s the case anecdotally in the classroom, but we hadn’t put the science to it.” The high-intensity exercises were specifically geared to classrooms, with the kids performing each activity for 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of rest. “With earlier studies, we did 20 minutes of exercise on a treadmill…  read on >  read on >

A mobile smartphone app can help reduce the risk of death among people at high risk for suicide, a new study says. The app, called OTX-202, reduced suicide attempts by 58% among a large group of recently discharged psychiatric patients who had previously attempted suicide, researchers reported Aug. 8 in JAMA Network Open. App users also experienced sustained reductions in their suicidal thoughts for close to six months after their psychiatric hospitalization, researchers said. The app could potentially help fill the gap left by a shortage of therapists available to help troubled individuals manage suicidal thoughts, researchers said. This is particularly important during the high-risk period after a psychiatric patient has been discharged from the hospital, said co-lead researcher Craig Bryan, director of the Suicide Prevention Program at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Although suicide-specific therapy is highly effective for reducing suicidal thoughts and urges, finding therapists who know how to do this life-saving therapy after leaving the hospital can be challenging,” Bryan said in a news release. “OTX-202 provides a possible solution to that problem.” OTX-202 offers a series of 12 lessons each 10 to 15 minutes long providing specific cognitive-behavioral therapy for suicide prevention. For example, the first lesson teaches how to restrict access to potentially lethal means of suicide and how to identify suicidal thoughts and behaviors, the study says. Later lessons…  read on >  read on >

A mobile smartphone app can help reduce the risk of death among people at high risk for suicide, a new study says. The app, called OTX-202, reduced suicide attempts by 58% among a large group of recently discharged psychiatric patients who had previously attempted suicide, researchers reported Aug. 8 in JAMA Network Open. App users also experienced sustained reductions in their suicidal thoughts for close to six months after their psychiatric hospitalization, researchers said. The app could potentially help fill the gap left by a shortage of therapists available to help troubled individuals manage suicidal thoughts, researchers said. This is particularly important during the high-risk period after a psychiatric patient has been discharged from the hospital, said co-lead researcher Craig Bryan, director of the Suicide Prevention Program at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Although suicide-specific therapy is highly effective for reducing suicidal thoughts and urges, finding therapists who know how to do this life-saving therapy after leaving the hospital can be challenging,” Bryan said in a news release. “OTX-202 provides a possible solution to that problem.” OTX-202 offers a series of 12 lessons each 10 to 15 minutes long providing specific cognitive-behavioral therapy for suicide prevention. For example, the first lesson teaches how to restrict access to potentially lethal means of suicide and how to identify suicidal thoughts and behaviors, the study says. Later lessons…  read on >  read on >

The Presidential Fitness Test is returning to U.S. schools after more than a decade. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to bring back the program, which aims to improve physical fitness among students. The test was launched in 1956 and ended in 2013. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the venture. He has spoken out about rising childhood obesity and the need for healthier habits among young people. “President Trump wants every young American to have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles — creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News. The original test asked kids to do exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, running and toe-touches. High-performing students could earn the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. In 2013, the Obama administration replaced the test with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which focused less on athletic skill and more on individual health. The new version will again reward students who excel in physical fitness. It will be led by the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, which will create updated fitness standards and school programs. Kennedy said the award “was a huge item of pride when I was growing up,” and that the country needs to bring back “that spirit of competition and…  read on >  read on >

The Presidential Fitness Test is returning to U.S. schools after more than a decade. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to bring back the program, which aims to improve physical fitness among students. The test was launched in 1956 and ended in 2013. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the venture. He has spoken out about rising childhood obesity and the need for healthier habits among young people. “President Trump wants every young American to have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles — creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News. The original test asked kids to do exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, running and toe-touches. High-performing students could earn the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. In 2013, the Obama administration replaced the test with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which focused less on athletic skill and more on individual health. The new version will again reward students who excel in physical fitness. It will be led by the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, which will create updated fitness standards and school programs. Kennedy said the award “was a huge item of pride when I was growing up,” and that the country needs to bring back “that spirit of competition and…  read on >  read on >