Like the rest of America, our kids are sitting around without moving enough. Video games, television, the Internet… kids are planted in front of a video screen while bicycles, basketballs and baseball gloves collect dust.

Their brains are collecting dust, too.

A study published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health by scientists at Furman University, in Greenville, S.C., shows that exercising the body boosts brain power. In this research, the impact was more pronounced for African-American children. In contrast, all video and no play lets brain cells go into hibernation.

The researchers found that elementary and middle school students who participated in 45 minutes of daily physical activity enjoyed significantly greater improvements on cognitive tests than children who did not participate. The kids who exercised more also outperformed their fellow students on fitness and body-composition tests.