Read below for research on the importance of school recess. If you know of a study that should be included, please send it to me at: christa@communitywell.com

American Academy of Pediatrics: The Crucial Role of Recess in School
Policy Statement from 2013, reaffirmed by the AAP in 2023:
Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child’s school day at risk. Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical education—not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/131/1/183/30893/The-Crucial-Role-of-Recess-in-School Full AAP report: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/131/1/183.full.pdf

How Movement and Exercise Help Kids Learn
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/53681/how-movement-and-exercise-help-kids-learn 

Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
https://www.nap.edu/read/18314/chapter/1

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Strategies for Recess in Schools
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/pdf/2016_12_16_schoolrecessstrategies_508.pdf

Washington Post: Physical Activity May Help Kids Do Better in School, Studies Say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/physical-activity-may-help-kids-do-better-in-school-studies-say/2013/10/21/e7f86306-2b87-11e3-97a3-ff2758228523_story.html?utm_term=.94838717bed6

Live Science: Taking Away Recess Bad for ADHD Kids, Experts Say
http://www.livescience.com/20557-adhd-exercise-recess-improve-behavior.html

The Copenhagen Consensus Conference 2016: children, youth, and physical activity in schools and during leisure time
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/19/1177

Curry Alumni Answers: Keeping Kids Active
http://curry.virginia.edu/magazine/2015/03/curry-alumni-answers-keeping-kids-active/

UVA Health: Exercise and Recess in Schools: Why it’s Essential
http://blog.uvahealth.com/2016/11/30/exercise-and-school-recess/