Heavy School Backpacks Linked to Lower School Grades

TIBURON, Calif., Aug. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the mid-90s, school children have been carrying heavy backpacks back and forth to school every day. Doctors and parents have expressed concerns that these heavy backpacks may be contributing to musculo-skeletal problems.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160830/402578
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160830/402579

But Bob Prichard, President of Somax Performance Institute in Tiburon, CA, has found another, much more serious hazard—less oxygen to a growing brain.

"This generation of teens and young adults has been lugging heavy backpacks back and forth to school every day of the school year. The only way you can carry loads that are up to 30% of your body weight is to massively tense up the muscles in your shoulders, chest and stomach. Overusing muscles like this creates microfibers, or mild scar tissue, in the connective tissue between the muscles. These microfibers tend to accumulate over time, restricting the normal expansion of the chest during breathing and reducing the amount of oxygen going to the brain 24/7. We call this 'Backpack Brain'."

Parents of kids who have attended Somax swim camps report that their kids not only swam much faster, but their grade point average improved up to a full letter grade after Somax released the microfibers restricting their breathing with their Microfiber Reduction program.

A college golfer saw his C grades improve after his chest expansion increased at Somax from 2" to 4" and his vital capacity (maximum lung volume) increase from 3 liters to 4 liters. He then transferred to a harder school and graduated with 2 majors and 2 minors. He had carried a heavy backpack from age 6-18. His grade-school performance had been so poor that his family doctor put him on Ritalin.

A study by two psychologists found a reduction in depression and hostility in Somax clients, leading Prichard to believe that heavy school backpacks have contributed to the rise in depression in young adults. Golden Gate bridge suicides among young adults have increased five-fold since 2000.

An increase in brain performance from increased oxygen has been confirmed by experiments conducted in England where students were given pure oxygen during a test. The beneficial effect of increased oxygen on elderly brains has been confirmed by a Korean study.

A kit containing a tape measure and directions for parents can be ordered at www.somaxsports.com/breathing.

For more information, contact: Bob Prichard, Somax Performance Institute, 4 Tara Hill Road, Tiburon, CA 94920; web http://www.somaxsports.com/breathing.php; email, telephone: 415-435-9880

SOURCE Bob Prichard

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