Source: Thomas Park, Unsplash

Most teenagers have inactive lifestyle, however, during distance learning, students move even less than usual. On a traditional school day, a student walks an average of 6,000 steps, while in distance learning, all movements are limited to the area of ​​the place of residence and do not exceed 600 steps per day.

Now students do not need to get to the place of study and walk around the classrooms, but need to make just a couple of mouse clicks on the computer without leaving home for studying offline. Instead of physical education lessons, students study literature about sports and write essays. At the end of all online lessons, you need to do your homework the next day and send it to the teachers. When all the tasks are completed, a free time comes, but since all youth centers, clubs, cinemas, and other usual places of after-school leisure are closed, and the weather outside does not attract you to go for a walk, you just have to come up with activities at home.

Generation Z enjoy spending their free time on various gadgets, such as watching their favorite TV series or playing video games. One week of such a regime will not affect the health of children, but months of a sedentary lifestyle will make them felt. The solution to the problem may be motivating students to use their free time for the benefit of health. As an example, in Tallinn Linnamäe Russian Lyceum, a 20-day challenge took place, during which 6,000 steps had to be taken every day between 11-30 December. In real-time, participants could follow the steps of other high school students and teachers, as well as support and comment on their achievements.

More than 110 people took part in the challenge, 50 of whom made it to the end. Among the participants who fulfilled all the terms, on December 31, 2020, an online draw was held for more than 20 prizes from the Lyceum and the challenge partners.

Among the prizes were: cinema tickets, a € 100 discount on purchases at the Nike store, party mask sets from Facewear, tickets to the Skypark trampoline center and tickets for the T1 mall’s Ferris wheel, sports prizes from the HC gym, gifts from the Lasnamäe District Government and much more. Physical education teachers did not stand aside and agreed to reward the students who fulfilled the conditions with grades.

“In winter and especially during distance learning, students move less, which affects their health. And even though 6000 steps is not such a large figure, it also forced the challenge participants to go out for a walk once again,” said Mark Efimov, chairman of the student office of the Tallinn Linnamäe Russian Lyceum.

Author: Daria Kondratenkova, Peace Child Estonia volunteer