As the wellness manager for my school district, one of my job responsibilities includes implementing the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) in our schools — essentially, making the school day more active.
Like most health and physical educators, I know that physical activity is integral to student success. It supports students’ academic achievement, mental health and overall well-being. However, despite knowing about research that proves “active students are better learners,” I still struggled to communicate this concept to core subject teachers.
When encouraging teachers to use kinesthetic learning or to take “brain boost breaks,” the response was loud and clear: “Student misbehavior prevents us from doing that!”
One teacher even lamented to me, “We spend so much time trying to get our students to sit down and listen to instruction, we’ll lose complete control of the classroom if we get them out of their seats!”
Pilot Program to Incorporate Physical Activity
Despite receiving this initial resistance from classroom teachers, I had a hunch — supported by research — that creating opportunities for physical activity would actually improve students’ focus in the classroom.
Working alongside our behavior intervention specialist, I selected a group of students to engage in a 10-week physical activity intervention pilot program. Once a week during their lunch period, the students joined me in the school gym for exercise. We had a brief check-in while the students ate their lunch, followed by about 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
As part of the pilot, we collected data on these students, looking at their behavior before the program and at the conclusion of the program. How many behavior disruptions did they have on an average day? What type of disruptions were they having?
Feedback from classroom teachers at the conclusion of the program proved that movement matters: On days when students participated in the physical activity intervention, they had far fewer behavior issues than on days they were sedentary.
Share the Facts About Physical Activity
Through our district’s pilot program, we were able to prove to our colleagues that physical activity was imperative — that it actually helped to decrease unwanted student behaviors.
If you need help convincing your school teams that movement matters, try sharing these five facts:
- Inactivity withers the brain. Ever heard of exercise deficiency disorder? It’s a condition where individuals do not engage in sufficient physical activity, and for children under 18, that’s 60 minutes of physical activity per day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that less than a quarter of youth ages 6-17 participate in 60 minutes per day! That means more than 75% of the population is exercise deficient.
In his research on neuroscience and exercises, Dr. John Ratey explains that the brain works like muscles — it withers with inactivity. What’s more, physical inactivity erodes connections between synapses — the area where nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other. - Exercise releases neurochemicals that can reverse damage in the brain. The good news is that physical activity can reverse some of this damage in the brain. Whether the damage is caused by physical inactivity, toxic stress or trauma, the brain has this amazing ability to reorganize itself with new neural connections — a function called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is enhanced with physical activity, as exercise releases neurochemicals that can enhance the brain’s infrastructure.
- Physical activity improves mood. We’ve all been in bad moods, and we know that our moods can drive behavior. When we’re happy, we may be more joyous and magnanimous; when we’re upset, we may react negatively toward those around us. Students are no different. Whether they are in a bad mood due to home-life situations, peer teasing, or the general angst that is growing up, students can misbehave due to their negative mood. However, exercise not only releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals in the brain that can lift your mood), it also decreases the level of stress hormones in the body, thereby improving behavior.
- Physical activity decreases restlessness. Some of students’ behavior disruptions in class can be caused by hyperactivity and restlessness. Kids are made to move! Sitting still for several hours goes against the body’s natural inclinations. Thus, some students, particularly those with a hyperactivity disorder, will struggle to stay still in class. Exercise helps with neurotransmitter regulation by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that may be lower in neurodivergent learners. This process can improve inhibitory control (the ability to manage impulsive behaviors), thereby helping students to calm their bodies during class time.
- Physical activity enhances cognitive functions. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, which improves executive functions such as attention and retention. Some student misbehavior is driven by not understanding the course material. Improving the brain’s ability to focus helps students to learn and retain information, which may engage them more in the lesson, thereby reducing misbehavior.
Be a Physical Activity Champion in Your School
The causes of negative student behavior are multifactorial and thus, the solutions must be as well! However, I am of the strong belief that physical activity can address so many of these areas by improving student mood, focus and retention, while also giving students an opportunity to have fun and socially connect with other students or a positive role model.
As health and physical educators, you are the champions of wellness in your building. Talk to your administrators and colleagues about bringing more physical activity into your school day.
Additional Resources

Kaitlyn Falk
As the district wellness manager for Erie's Public Schools in Pennsylvania, Kaitlyn Falk is dedicated to fostering a culture of health and well-being within the district and Erie as a whole. She creates initiatives that not only support student and staff wellness but also enhance the overall culture in every space she inhibits. Falk was a member of the 2024-2025 cohort of SHAPE America’s Leading Healthy Schools program.