A Concentrating Walk to School

Sarah Goodyear, writing for the Atlantic Cities, reports on a Danish study indicating that kids who walk or bike to school are better able to concentrate:

The survey looked at nearly 20,000 Danish kids between the ages of 5 and 19. It found that kids who cycled or walked to school, rather than traveling by car or public transportation, performed measurably better on tasks demanding concentration, such as solving puzzles, and that the effects lasted for up to four hours after they got to school.

The benefits of integrating activity into our daily lives are far reaching, perhaps even more than we have realized. This kind of activity provides for holistic well-being - we are healthier mentally and physically. We need to build our places to encourage, or at least allow, the kind of integrated activity that aids well-being. We need these walkable places. If not for ourselves, at least for our kids.