Does Outdoor Play Make Kids Smarter?

Deanne Musolf · Mercury News · August 12, 2016

Featuring Dr. Pooja S. Tandon, Nature and Health researcher

We know that outdoor play improves kids’ physical health. All that fresh air and exercise — what’s not to like? The truth is, there actually may be more to like. Outdoor play is increasingly linked scientifically to stronger mental muscle.

Parents have long thought of outdoor play as the icing on the cognitive cake: Finish your homework, attend to all of the after-school lessons and clubs intended to gain you admission to Stanford or Cal, and then, and only then, can you go out and play. A growing body of research, however, suggests that outdoor play offers such a positive bump in brain power, it should perhaps be a priority.