Uses of Time

On 19 October, the “Sport makes school” conference opened with the lecture “Physical activity at school: it is as important to do it as the time when we do it”, given by Dr. Maria Fernanda Zerón-Rugerio, who reflected on the impact on the health of children and adolescents of the times when they do physical activity.

The conference is part of the activities programmed by the City Council as World Capital of Time Policies and aims to raise awareness among physical education teachers in Barcelona about the importance of the use of time also when doing sport, especially among children and adolescents.

The speaker explained how the circadian rhythm works, both in adults and in children and adolescents. The circadian rhythm is an internal clock that all human beings have and that regulates the proper functioning of multiple functions of the human body. This internal clock is coordinated by sunlight, meal times and also by the time of physical activity.

Disruptions in circadian rhythm, Dr Zerón said, have consequences for everyone’s health, including increased overweight and poor diet quality, as well as increased daytime sleepiness, which is associated with reduced well-being and poorer school performance in children and adolescents.

This is why the speaker urged educating from a young age about good time habits, including waking, sleeping and eating times, as well as times for physical activity. In this sense, she closed the conference with a key recommendation: “Exercising in the morning and in natural light can have a positive impact on the performance and well-being of children and adolescents”.

The talk was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the Pact of Time and the Barcelona Sports Institute, and can be viewed on the uses of time youtube channel.