New research reveals that preschoolers who jump, run, and play more develop stronger memory and problem-solving skills—highlighting the critical role of movement in early learning.
Study: Associations between physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior and executive function in preschoolers. Image Credit: Lopolo / Shutterstock
Could a child’s ability to jump, run, or hold a grip predict their future cognitive skills? In a recent study published in the journal Pediatric Research, a research team in Spain reported that preschoolers with better physical fitness perform significantly better on tasks requiring working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. These findings highlighted the need to integrate movement-based activities into early education to foster both physical and cognitive development.
Physical Activity and Cognition
Growing evidence from research on childhood obesity and metabolic disorders has emphasized the importance of optimal levels of physical activity in children. However, emerging studies indicate that physical activity is also important for developing cognitive function.
Executive function (EF) includes essential cognitive abilities such as working memory, inhibitory control (resisting distractions), and cognitive flexibility (adapting to new rules). These skills help children plan, follow instructions, and manage tasks. Prior research shows that physical activity positively impacts EF in school-aged children and adolescents, but studies on preschoolers remain limited.
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However, the exact relationship between different physical fitness components, sedentary time, and EF is still debated. Some studies suggest that cardiovascular fitness profoundly impacts cognitive development, while others emphasize muscular strength or agility. Additionally, the effects of reducing sedentary behavior on cognitive performance have not been thoroughly explored in young children. The present study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by examining how physical fitness and activity influence specific EF domains in preschoolers.
Investigating the Association
The study examined the associations between physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and four EF domains in preschoolers aged 3–5. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study involving 241 children from two schools in Pamplona, Spain.
The PREFIT battery was used to assess physical fitness levels. This battery is a standardized test that measures muscular strength (via handgrip strength and standing long jump), speed/agility (using a 4×10 m shuttle run), and cardiorespiratory fitness (through a 20 m shuttle run). Each child’s test performance was adjusted for age and sex and combined into an overall fitness score.
Executive function was measured using the Early Years Toolbox, an iPad-based cognitive assessment that evaluates visual-spatial working memory, phonological working memory, inhibition (via a “Go/No-Go” task), and cognitive shifting (via a card-sorting task). Children wore a GENEActiv accelerometer to measure activity levels for six consecutive days, recording physical activity and sedentary time. The researchers then analyzed the relationships between these variables while controlling for confounding factors such as sex and age.
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Major Findings
The research suggested that preschoolers with higher overall fitness levels performed significantly better on all EF tasks. Specifically, better physical fitness was associated with stronger visual-spatial and phonological working memory, improved inhibition, and enhanced cognitive shifting. Speed/agility and muscular strength showed the strongest associations with EF among individual fitness components, while cardiorespiratory fitness had a moderate but positive impact.
Additionally, greater engagement in total physical activity (light, moderate, and vigorous combined) correlated with better working memory and inhibitory control. Conversely, higher sedentary time was linked to lower performance in phonological working memory and inhibition, though no significant association was found with cognitive shifting. The results suggested that reducing prolonged sitting and increasing movement-based activities in early childhood may significantly enhance specific aspects of cognitive function. However, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels did not correlate strongly with EF, indicating that total movement volume, rather than exercise intensity alone, may be more important at this developmental stage.
Limitations and Future Research
Despite these compelling findings, the study has some limitations. As a cross-sectional study, it could not establish causality between fitness levels and cognitive performance. The researchers believe that longitudinal research is needed to confirm whether improving fitness directly enhances EF. Additionally, while accelerometer-based measurements provide objective data, they might not capture all aspects of physical movement, such as unstructured play. The sample’s limited diversity (two schools in one region) may also affect generalizability.
Conclusions
In summary, the study emphasized the importance of physical activity and fitness in shaping specific cognitive skills in preschoolers. The results showed that encouraging movement and limiting sedentary behavior can positively impact working memory and inhibition and indicated that educators and parents should prioritize active play, structured exercise, and movement-friendly learning environments to support children’s cognitive growth. Further research, particularly longitudinal studies, is also needed to determine the long-term effects of these associations.
Journal reference:
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García-Alonso, Y., Ramírez-Vélez, R., Legarra-Gorgoñon, G. et al. (2025). Associations between physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior and executive function in preschoolers. Pediatric Research, DOI:10.1038/s41390-025-03946-w, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-025-03946-w
“No one forced you to be here”: it’s a statement I’ve heard many times in many different ways over the years; at parties I didn’t enjoy, on weekends away when I had, in fact, felt forced to attend. Most recently, I said it to myself as I shuffled towards the start line at the Hoka Hackney Half Marathon. It was true; no one had forced me, and while that saying had previously always felt loaded — usually spewed in sulky moments when I wasn’t being fully amenable to the whims of whoever was lodging the insult at me — more recently, I have found it empowering.
I have a history of recoiling at anything with even a whiff of bootcamp vernacular, but at my weekly Pilates session, instructor Lucy Borrie likes to remind us that we chose to be there, and for the first time in my life, I’ve found that reminder reassuring rather than reprimanding. Before, I’d taken the saying as confirmation that I wasn’t meant to be there — that the space, and exercise at large, were not for me. No one forced you to be here, so if you’re not enjoying this, or you can’t complete the routine, then you are the problem: that is what I took that saying to mean.
It confirmed what I’d always suspected: that I wasn’t cut out for exercise. It’s a sad thing to admit at the ripe age of 35, but I’ve spent most of my life believing I can’t do things, and chief among them was exercising. Not just running, which held a vaguely mythic quality, but working out as a whole.
I was a childhood asthma sufferer, severe enough that it necessitated several trips to the hospital and being put on a ventilator a few times a year. Exercise became something I feared, and ultimately avoided, and no one questioned it because who would want to risk the wheezy kid with glasses and inhalers to hand at all times having an asthma attack?
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I don’t remember how I felt about that at the time — relief, I assume — but what I do know is that by the time I got to secondary school, I’d never learnt to ride a bike, I’d never been on a school team, and the only time my name came up in reference to anything vaguely active was when my family joked about my first ever sports day. I’d been so late finishing the four-legged race that I’d gotten a round of applause, and my nan had watched me pass the finish line through covered hands, so embarrassed — and worried (correctly, as it turned out) that I’d be condemned to a lifetime of childhood taunting — was she.
There’s a photo my mum took of me that day, blissfully unaware of how I’d held up the entire school, determined to cross the finish line. I think it must’ve been the last time I approached anything physical with that level of determination because, as soon as I was made aware of what a “slow coach” I was, I gave up entirely.
Learning to run in my thirties has transformed almost every aspect of my life.
(Image credit: Mischa Anouk Smith)
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Then came the early 2000s.
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At my wildly underfunded school, PE lessons consisted of a Ministry of Sound Pump It Up workout DVD shoved lazily into a wheeled-in monitor so gyrating women could be projected onto the blank wall of the gym hall. This farce went on for the better part of a year until the school finally hired actual PE teachers, but by then I’d already been indoctrinated into that era’s understanding of exercise: that it was punitive, goal-based, and primarily aesthetic.
The tagline of the DVD was “burn it, lose it”, and you didn’t need a GCSE — just as well, because I wouldn’t have got one — to know that the “lose” meant weight. This was the era of You Are What You Eat, The Biggest Loser, and, of course, size zero. Having only gotten Sky as a pre-teen, and therefore feeling compelled to binge every cultural artefact I’d missed, my TV diet consisted of The Simple Life, America’s Next Top Model, Girls of the Playboy Mansion, and a dizzying assortment of music channels, each one varying in genre but united by one continuous theme: a bevy of glistening bodies, whether writhing on MTV Bass or bouncing around in neon on Kiss.
Eric Prydz – Call On Me (Official Music Video) | Ministry of Sound – YouTube
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By then, I’d worn the phrase “I don’t exercise” like a badge of honour for years. It’s something I’d heard my mum say many times, normally in reference to her naturally slim figure, and I took it — though I’m sure this wasn’t her intention — to mean that there was value in being thin without having to try. But of course, she did try to be thin, and so did I. I didn’t exercise, but I did exercise control over my diet, and for a long time, that felt the same.
Exercise, to me, meant exclusion. More than that, it meant public evidence of inadequacy. In the classes I tried throughout the ensuing years, it felt as though everyone else instinctively understood how to move their body correctly while I stood at the back feeling not only unfit, but fundamentally defective. It turns out this is a pretty common experience. Research from Liverpool John Moores University found that many women experience “gym-phobia”, reporting feelings of intimidation, self-consciousness, and fear of judgment while exercising in public spaces. “Women often feel judged for their appearance and performance, leading to a persistent sense of inadequacy,” agrees Dr Kat Schneider, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR).
I’d like to say I realised the error of my thinking much sooner than I did, or that it took some dramatic life event to shift my perspective — it likely would’ve made a more interesting story — but that’s not what happened. I simply tried going for a run one day and, to my great surprise, found I could do it.
My partner, after a health scare that prompted the sort of lifestyle overhaul people are always threatening to make, had started running regularly. One evening, as he laced up his trainers, I asked him not to go. I was anxious and didn’t want to be home alone. He suggested I join him instead.
I spent the first ten minutes waiting for catastrophe. For my chest to tighten, for panic to kick in, for my body to remind me of all the reasons it had historically rejected movement. But none of that happened. I was slow and panty and self-conscious in my hodgepodge of workout clothes, but I could do it. There was no grand revelation, just the happy realisation that I wouldn’t keel over at the slightest exertion. This small shift is something researchers have repeatedly identified in studies linking running to mental well-being, with evidence suggesting that regular running can improve mood, self-esteem, and overall mental health.
That was in 2024. My asthma had been under control for years by then, but, having never grown up exercising, it had genuinely never occurred to me that this was something I could do — you don’t miss what you don’t know. I spent the next year going on occasional 5k runs, amazed each time that I completed them. I didn’t want to tempt fate, and so I never went further than that, afraid that if I pushed too hard, I’d somehow injure this body I’d only recently discovered was capable of anything beyond a walk or a swim.
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Then I watched my partner run the Hackney Half.
Hackney is the borough where I’ve spent most of my thirties and, for a different set of reasons, also found transformative. Watching thousands of people run through streets I knew so well felt emotional. I wanted whatever it was they seemed to have found. I didn’t even know exactly what I was looking at — elation? achievement? relief? — all I knew was that it looked like something I had absolutely no frame of reference for.
I’d spent most of my life focusing my energy on academic pursuits, convinced that was the only place I could ever really excel. As a child, staying at friends’ houses and seeing swimming medals hanging from bedroom walls or horse-riding trophies lined up on shelves, I assumed those things were unavailable to me, first because of my asthma, then because of my own inability. As a teenager, I came to believe exercise was simply a means to an end: thinness, and there were other ways to achieve that.
It never crossed my mind that exercise could be fun, or grounding, or communal, or in any way unrelated to aesthetics. It seems so obvious now that I’m almost embarrassed to admit it.
I felt like the living embodiment of the saying “all the gear, no idea” as I entered the HOKA Hackney Moves festival, but it turns out the old adage “fake it ‘till you make it” also holds true.
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(Image credit: Mischa Anouk Smith)
Training for the half-marathon introduced me to a version of adulthood I had longed for but not previously experienced: the kind built not around dramatic transformation but repetition. A simple Runna plan that reminded me each morning that small choices made consistently can mount up to something bigger. For the first time, I had to strengthen my body, which had been so neglected that I had what my physio described as “wobbly knees” that needed tightening. I invested in decent kit that helped me go for a run when I couldn’t really be bothered. Gradually, I became the kind of person who signs up for things and follows through.
By the time I crossed the finish — knees weak, and in slight disbelief — the distance itself wasn’t even the biggest shock. The bigger shock was confirming that my body was not, in fact, this thing that simply propped up my head. It was something that could adapt, strengthen, and surprise me.
No one forced me to be there: that’s what made it matter.
Shop Beginner Running Essentials
Shokz Opendots One Open Ear Headphones
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An earbud that looks like an earring? The further I venture into what I shall tentatively call my running journey, the more I realise that the running girlies have got style, and honestly, that’s all part of the fun. This Shokz pair comes in a range of colours and is fitted with premium Dolby Audio, has 40 hours of playtime (so there’s no fear they’ll cut out on your part-run), and — I can confirm — they don’t fall out no matter how vigorous or “bouncy” your gait.
One of the best — and most unexpected — pieces of advice I was given ahead of my first half-marathon (naturally from ultra-marathoner Ally Head) was to not check the time. Instead, I was encouraged to be present and have fun rather than focus on my speed. After all, I was only trying to complete it, not hit a sub-2. This would not have been possible were it not for these nifty sleeves that kept my Coros conveniently out of sight. They also have the added benefit of looking good, imo.
Oakley Meta Vanguard Glasses
I’ll admit it, I had conflicting feelings about these Meta glasses. It didn’t take long for the discreet in-built camera to be exploited for all the wrong reasons, so when I was offered a trial of them “out and about”, I wasn’t sure where I landed. But from a purely training perspective, I found them incredibly helpful. I’m always conscious when I’m running about having my phone out (this is London, after all), so I found it really helpful to be able to use the voice command to WhatsApp people on the go. And as someone who takes a lot of photos to the detriment of enjoying the experience of whatever it is I’m furiously documenting, I loved being able to snap my runs with an easy click. So while I don’t see myself using them in any setting outside of exercise (I’m keen to try them hiking — the views!), they helped my runs a lot. Also, because they’re Oakley, the visibility and sun protection are unrivalled.
SAUCONY Endorphin Pro 5 Panelled Mesh Sneakers
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Was I advised not to run in new trainers for the half-marathon? Yes. Did I listen? No, and I have the black toenails to prove it. So while I’d certainly not recommend following my lead on that, I would recommend Saucony’s Endorphin trainers. The mesh-knit keeps them breathable, while the padded ankle, foam midsole, and gripped rubber sole help keep your feet secure while you’re collecting those miles. I’m a big fan of a ‘springy’ shoe, and this pair have just enough bounce to protect your joints without being unable to walk around in them after.
Every May, Special Olympics celebrates Fitness and Sport Month, recognizing the power of sport to support athlete health, fitness, and performance. To celebrate, I met with Special Olympics Pakistan athlete and Fitness Captain Muaz Khan to learn about his journey to becoming a Fitness Captain.
Muaz has been an athlete for six years and a Fitness Captain for two years. Fitness Captains are athlete leaders who promote health, fitness, and healthy lifestyle habits within their Special Olympics teams and communities. They are trained to lead their sports teams in fitness activities, including warm-ups, cool downs, and exercises that enhance overall health and sports performance.
Today Fitness Captains are represented across all seven Special Olympics Regions in 80 Programs worldwide. In 2025 alone, a record-breaking 1,329 new Fitness Captains were trained, bringing the global total to 2,255.
Driven by a passion for fitness, Muaz became a Fitness Captain and today inspires his fellow athletes to practice healthy habits every day. After completing the Fitness Captain training two years ago, he embraced the idea that a great athlete is a healthy athlete and gained skills to lead safe and effective warm-ups and cool-downs while teaching his teammates about habits that improve fitness and sports performance.
With this new knowledge in hand, Muaz became a peer-leader for his teammates on and off the field. During practice and at Games, Muaz conducts warm-ups and cool-downs. He understands how important both are for sports performance. “Warm-ups are important because it prepares athletes to start being active before playing any match. Athletes get tired after playing, so cool-downs help them relax their bodies.”
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Muaz also shares health tips during training sessions, often times emphasizing how healthy eating habits are crucial to both health and fitness and referencing Special Olympics Fit 5 Guide. “I tell my teammates that they should drink eight glasses of water each day and have three home-cooked, healthy meals.”
Implementing Fitness through Sport within practice and competition expands the reach of health and fitness programming through a focus on three connected outcomes:
Performance: Including endurance, speed, strength, and flexibility
Health: Including energy, healthy weight, and fewer injuries
Wellbeing: Including reduced risk of disease and improved quality of life
Muaz (middle) and fellow Fitness Captains lead morning exercises.
In addition to teaching his teammates healthy habits, Muaz also inspires his classmates to stay active daily. Every day at school, Muaz leads fitness activities and exercises he learned from the Fit 5 Guide.
“My favorite part about being a Fitness Captain is the Fit 5 activity. I conduct the Fit 5 activity every morning in front of my entire school.”
Muaz Khan, Special Olympics Fitness Captain and Athlete
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At the end of our conversation, Muaz shared advice to athletes considering becoming a Fitness Captain, “My life has changed a lot since becoming a Fitness Captain. I learned about the importance of exercise and so I do it very often, which has helped me become healthier. Once you become a Fitness Captain, your life will also change.”
Interested in learning more about Fitness Captains? Check out the Fitness Captain webpage and email Gwendolyn Apgar (gapgar@specialolympics.org) for more information on how to offer a training.
If you were interested in joining the military, there are some fitness tests you would need to pass in order to qualify.
But not all military roles are physical. In fact, many military workers are desk-based and experience the same challenges as regular office workers,
That’s where Lt. Col. Jason Barber, PA-C comes in. He is a U.S. Army Reserve soldier, strength and conditioning coach and a leader in the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system.
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As part of Barber’s role, he supports desk-based military personnel to stay fit and ready for action, using a system inspired by special forces training methods.
This may sound like Barber builds intimidating, difficult workouts, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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He has shared his go-to exercises to improve strength and fitness—and you can do them at your desk, while at work.
He says that the full workout can be done “right at your desk, in 10 minutes, or less”.
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He has even included modifications to scale up or scale down the exercises to suit your fitness level.
Tell us in the comments how you fare, and whether you found this military-approved workout harder or easier than your usual training method.
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Watch how to do the equipment-free desk workout
Exercise guides
1. Squat
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15
How to do it:
Stand with a chair behind you, with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out slightly.
Keep your chest up and core engaged.
Bend your knees and push your hips back to sit on the edge of the chair.
Press through your heels to stand back up.
Add intensity: Remove the chair, hold a heavy book or water bottle at your chest, or perform jump squats
Reduce Intensity: If you chair has arms, use them to push back up.
Barber says: “The bodyweight squat improves mobility and stability, while also strengthening your lower body by targeting the glutes, quads, hamstrings and core.”
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2. Desk push-up
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15
How to do it:
Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart against your desk.
Step your feet back, so your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels.
Bend your elbows to lower your chest to the desk.
Press away from the desk to extend your arms and return to the starting position.
Add intensity: Lift one foot to add instability. Perform a push-up with your hands on the floor. If this is still too easy, elevate your feet on a chair and perform slow, controlled reps.
Reduce intensity: Use a wall to make the angle of your push-up less steep.
Barber says: “Leaning push-ups work the chest, shoulders and triceps, making them an effective upper-body workout. They are also easily modifiable.”
3. Reverse lunge
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side
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How to do it:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Step your right foot back, then bend both knees to lower—keeping your left knee directly above your left ankle and your chest facing forward.
Push through your left heel to return to standing.
Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.
Add intensity: Hold weights or add a knee drive at the top.
Reduce intensity: Limit the depth of the lunge or hold onto a chair for balance.
Barber says: “The reverse lunge is a great way to improve balance and coordination, while also strengthening your lower body. Reverse lunges also have less of an impact on your knees than a forward lunge.”
4. Standing twist
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side
How to do it:
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms raised in front of you at shoulder height, holding something from your desk to add weight.
Moving from the middle of your back, but keeping your gaze forward, move your arms to the right, then to the left, keeping your hips facing forward.
Engage your core throughout the movement.
Add intensity: Hold a weight or medicine ball, or increase the speed of your twist.
Reduce intensity: Perform slower, smaller twists.
Barber says: “The standing twist can help improve rotational mobility and core engagement, and is a great exercise if you spend most of your day at a desk. It primarily activates the abs and obliques and helps to strengthen spine stability.”
5. Lateral hop
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each direction
How to do it:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
Lift your right foot and leap to the right, landing softly on your right foot, keeping your left foot off the floor.
Immediately leap back to the left.
Continue leaping side to side, staying light on your feet.
Add intensity: Increase the hop distance or speed.
Reduce intensity: Step side-to-side instead of hopping.
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Barber says: “The lateral hop builds agility, coordination and endurance while targeting the glutes, quads and calves—as well as the stabilizing muscles around your joints. If you are a runner, consider incorporating this exercise into your training to improve joint stability through your hips, knees and ankles.”
About our expert
About our expert
Lt. Col. Jason Barber
Lt. Col. Jason Barber, MS, PA-C, has served in the U.S. Army for the past 34 years. He has spent time on active duty, in the Army National Guard and is currently in the U.S. Army Reserve.
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He holds advanced degrees in exercise science and physician assistant studies, as well as multiple strength and conditioning and sports medicine fields certifications.
He is currently activated to assist with the implementation of the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system at the 81st Readiness Division at Fort Jackson, SC. In his role, he spearheads the U.S. Army’s H2F system, an initiative to enhance soldier readiness across physical, mental, nutritional, sleep and spiritual health.
Barber is also a high-performance coordinator for the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), where he helps soldier-athletes prepare and qualify for international competition, most recently the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
