Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss T and welcome to today's lesson.

Today we're going to be discussing the benefits of an active lifestyle, and that's part of our unit on physical health, "Why Stay Active?" Thanks for joining me.

So the outcome for today's lesson is I can explain why physical activity is important for my health now and for the future.

Before we get started on today's lesson, it's really important that we think about the ground rules that we follow when we're having discussions in our classrooms. We've got Laura firstly saying, "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond." And when we disagree, we challenge the statement, we don't challenge the person.

We've got Jacob saying, "No judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged." Andeep tells us to respect privacy.

He says, "We can discuss examples, but we do not use names or descriptions that could identify anyone, including ourselves." And finally, Izzy reminds us to choose the level of participation that is right for us.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." So with those in mind, let's get started with today's lesson.

So we've got five key words for today's lesson.

As we go through the lesson, see if you can spot these words being used and see if you can use them in your own responses.

Our first key word is "mental wellbeing", which is a state of feeling good emotionally.

Then we have "energy levels", which refers to the amount of energy a person has.

We've got "cardiovascular health", which refers to the health of the heart and blood vessels.

Then we have "chronic disease".

Now this is a condition that lasts a long time, often for life, and can affect how your body or mind works, for example, diabetes or asthma.

And finally, we have the key word "routine", which is a set of actions or tasks that you do regularly.

So we've got two lesson outlines for today's lesson.

What are the benefits of regular exercise and how can I include exercise in my daily routine? So let's get started with our first lesson outline, what are the benefits of regular exercise? So we've got Izzy and Andeep here, and they're talking about why they like to do physical exercise.

Izzy begins by saying, "It helps me sleep better." Andeep says, "It's fun to exercise with friends." Izzy replies, "It makes me feel stronger." And Andeep says, "It helps my mental health." So Izzy and Andeep are right, there are lots of benefits to physical exercise.

Izzy says, "There are short-term benefits." And Andeep says, "And there are lots of long-term benefits too." There are many immediate benefits of physical activity that you feel straight away.

For example, improved mood and mental wellbeing, increased energy levels and improved focus, better sleep, as Izzy mentioned earlier, and enhanced blood circulation.

So there's some of the impacts that we would feel straight away after participating in physical activity.

Our mood and mental wellbeing can improve from exercise because exercise releases "feel good" hormones, and these are called endorphins.

These endorphins can help to improve our mood and reduce stress.

And it may also temporarily reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Jacob says, "It can be hard to make yourself be physically active when you've had a bad day or are feeling a bit down." And Sofia says, "But it will definitely help.

I always feel much better after I've been for a run or a swim or even just played outside with friends." So she's noticing the immediate impact of participating in exercise.

Andeep says, "One of the best benefits of regular exercise is that it can be fun," whether you do this alone or whether you do this with friends.

This is another way our mood can be boosted as a result of exercise.

So let's pause for our first check for understanding.

The "feel good" hormones released when we exercise are known as what? Look at the answers A, B, and C and see if you know which one refers to the "feel good" hormone that is released when we exercise.

Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

Well done.

So if you were looking at these three answers and debating which one was referring to the "feel good" hormone and deciding whether it was A, endocrine, B, endorphins, or C endocardia, if you identified B, endorphins, then you would be correct.

So a single session of exercise can increase our energy levels.

It can improve focus and it can reduce fatigue, which is tiredness, because as we exercise, our blood flow increases and this boosts the oxygen that is circulating around our bodies, including in our brains.

This can make us more awake and it improves our cognitive thinking, our mental processes and our focus.

Our sleep will also improve if we exercise regularly because exercise raises our core body temperature and after exercising the core body temperature starts to fall, and it's this that helps our bodies to relax.

Jacob says, "Does this mean I should only exercise before I go to bed?" And Dr.

Elise replies, "No, whether we exercise in the morning, afternoon, or evening, physical activity will make noticeable improvements to our sleep." The immediate impacts of exercise are also noticeable on our circulation.

As we exercise, our heart rate increases and this pumps more blood around our bodies.

This activity helps to deliver oxygen and nutrients more efficiently throughout the body, and this improves our cardiovascular health and strengthens our muscles.

So let's come to our next check for understanding.

This time it's true or false.

Exercise can make us feel less tired.

Is that statement true or false? Pause your screen while you think about your answer.

If you put that you thought the answer was true, then well done, you would be correct.

So it's important to exercise throughout our lives because this will keep us in good health as we get older and help prevent chronic diseases.

We can see an example of the different sorts of exercise we participate in as we get older.

Exercising when we are younger has long-term health benefits for our future.

Number one, it can improve our cardiovascular health.

Dr.

Elsie says, "This means we can reduce our chances of having high blood pressure or the risk of having a heart attack." Number two, it can help us maintain a healthy weight.

Dr.

Elsie tells us, "Everyone is a different shape and size and you can't tell whether someone is healthy just by looking at them.

But maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the chances of getting chronic diseases like heart disease or diabetes.

Maintaining a healthy weight also means not being underweight, because this can also have health implications like osteoporosis." This is when our bone structure can change and weaken because we do not have enough nutrition.

Number three, it can enhance our long-term mobility and strength.

Dr.

Elsie says, "Over time, our muscles will build in strength from regular exercise, making us stronger and protecting our bones.

It also makes us more flexible and mobile, and this means we're less likely to injure ourselves." So let's come to our next check for understanding.

Look at these three options.

Can you identify which of these are short-term benefits of exercise? Is it A, increased energy levels? B, improved sleep or C, increased muscle strength? Pause your screen while you think about your answer.

Identified that the short-term benefits of exercise were A, increased energy levels and B, improved sleep, then you'd be correct.

You will also benefit from increased muscle strength, but that will take longer for that benefit to be seen and felt.

So let's come to task A.

Read Jacob's description of how he feels when he exercises.

And there are two parts to this.

Number one, identify where he feels the benefits of exercise.

And number two, categorise those benefits into short-term and long-term.

Jacob says, "Every Sunday morning I play football with my team.

Even if it's raining or I'm a bit tired, it's always worth getting up because it makes me feel happier and more positive for the rest of the day.

I really enjoy spending time with my teammates and it's great to work together as a team.

I feel like I've become fitter and stronger since when I first started.

After playing, I always sleep really well and it helps me feel ready and focused for the school week ahead." So pause your screen while you complete the answers.

Number one, identify where he feels the benefits of exercise.

And number two, categorise these into short-term and long-term benefits.

Well done.

I hope you've had some interesting conversations about this.

The first thing you were asked to do was identify where Jacob feels the benefits of exercise.

And we've got that highlighted here.

"It helps me feel happier and more positive.

I really enjoy spending time with my teammates.

It's great to work together as a team.

I feel like I've become fitter and stronger.

I always sleep really well and that it helps me feel ready and focused for the school week ahead." Part two was to categorise those into short-term and long-term benefits.

You may have categorised them like this.

The short-term benefits include mood boosting, good connecting with teammates, improved sleep, improved focus, and long-term benefits, feeling stronger, feeling fitter.

So let's move to our second lesson outline for today's lesson.

How can I include exercise in my daily routine? There are lots of ways to add exercise into your routine.

This could be participating in a specific physical activity or finding ways to add short bursts of exercise into daily life.

There are four main categories of exercise that we can participate in.

Aerobic, flexibility, strength training, and balance.

There are different examples of exercises that you can do, and these will all have different benefits.

For example, aerobic exercise might include things like running and swimming.

Strength training, pushups, weightlifting.

Flexibility, stretching, yoga.

And balance, gymnastics or skateboarding for example.

The benefits of aerobic exercise is that it's good for lowering blood pressure and controlling blood sugar.

The benefits of strength training means that it can protect our joints from injury and builds our strength.

The benefits of flexibility helps to improve our mobility and gives us a greater range of motion.

And finally, the benefits of balance makes our core stronger and can improve sports performance.

And this time, Aisha's grandmother wants to lower her blood pressure.

What sort of exercises should she do to help this? Is it A, aerobic, B, strength training, C, flexibility, or D, balance? Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

So if you identified that the sort of exercises that Aisha's grandmother should do to help lower her blood pressure as being aerobic, then you'd be correct.

Aisha says, "I might see if she wants to do some aerobic exercises with me," and her grandmother says, "I can't wait." Sometimes it can be hard to add in regular exercise into your routine.

This could be because of accessibility, the cost, not knowing where to start, or a lack of time.

And Izzy says, "Sometimes the thought of doing something new can feel a bit intimidating." It can be hard to find time to add in exercise, but the benefits are worth it.

So some quick and easy ways to do this could include run to the bus stop, cycle or jog your commute to school, choose an active video game.

We've got an example of that here.

It could be to do household chores energetically.

We've got some hoovering in that image.

Run up the stairs instead of walking or stretch while watching television.

There are also lots of ways to exercise for free.

Izzy says, "There are lots of free or subsidised classes for young people at local leisure centres.

Look on your local council website to find out where these are and go with a friend if you want support." Jacob says, "Use public open spaces and parks to run around.

Often there is free outside gym equipment that you can use too." And there are lots of ways to get help to start exercising.

Izzy says, "You could join a beginner's class, so you're with people who are also learning.

You could ask your PE teacher for advice.

Check out your school's clubs or consider starting your own if enough people are interested." Jacob says, "There are lots of free exercise and dance videos online that you can access.

This means that you can do it at home." So let's come to our check for understanding.

True or false, doing household chores energetically can be a free and helpful way to exercise.

Pause your screen while you think about your answer.

If you identified that that statement was true, then you would be correct.

Izzy says, "Not only is this a great way to exercise, it's free and it'll make the adults at home happy too." So let's come to our task for this part of the lesson.

Izzy and Sofia are talking about how they would like to be more active.

Can you provide two suggestions each to help them do more exercise? Sofia says, "I would love to start doing more yoga exercises, but there aren't any classes near me that are free.

I think there are some after school clubs, but I don't know what these are." Izzy says, "I don't have any equipment that I can use to start exercising, and I'm worried about starting a new class on my own.

What if everyone is better than me?" Can you think of two suggestions for Sofia and two suggestions for Izzy to help them do more exercise? Pause your screen while you think about your answer.

So you were starting to think about suggestions for Izzy and Sofia to help them do more exercise.

You may have said that Sofia could look for a free online yoga class or video, ask her PE teacher about the availability of afterschool classes or consider starting her own if enough people were interested.

Izzy could use the free equipment in her local parks.

She could look for free or subsidised beginner classes in a sport she would like to try, and she could also attend a class with a friend for support, which is a nice suggestion there.

So let's come to the summary of what we learned today.

There are many immediate benefits of physical activity.

These include improved mood and mental wellbeing, better sleep, increased energy levels, and improved focus and enhanced blood circulation.

Long-term benefits can include improved cardiovascular health, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the chances of developing chronic diseases, and enhancing long-term mobility and strength.

We also talked about the fact that there are lots of ways to add exercise into our routines.

For example, participating in a specific physical activity or finding ways to add short bursts of exercise into daily life.

Obstacles such as time and cost can be overcome by taking advantage of free local equipment and classes and asking your PE teacher for advice.

Starting a beginner class or joining with friends can also be a good place to start.

Well done for your contributions today.

If you want any more information or support on any of the topics that we've discussed today, you can visit the NHS Live Well site that gives advice about healthy living and exercise or the NHS website, which gives advice about health and prevention, including how to access their services.