The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives

by William Stixrud

The Latin root of the word emotion, emovere, means “to move.” Our bodies and minds are linked, and the part of the brain that tells the body to move is adjacent to the part that’s responsible for clearheaded thinking. There is a close overlap between our motor control functions and our mental control, or executive functions, which is one reason why exercise is so beneficial for developing self-regulation. Exercise is more generally good for the brain and body. It increases levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which provide stability, focus, mental alertness, and calmness. Exercise stimulates the production of the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is considered a brain “fertilizer” because it’s important for the growth of the brain and for helping cells wire together. Exercise provides more glucose and oxygen to the brain, which promotes neurogenesis, the growing of brain cells. In short, it’s often said that exercise does more to help clear thinking than thinking does, in part because it stimulates and strengthens the prefrontal cortex’s control functions.