The influence of physical education, sports, and tourism on students’ cognitive abilities

in modern education, students are exposed to intensive intellectual workloads, which can reduce cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and cognitive flexibility. This study aims to analyze the impact of regular sports and tourism activities on students’ cognitive abilities and academic performance, with the goal of developing recommendations for optimizing physical education programs in universities. A longitudinal study was conducted with 210 students divided into three groups: sports (training 3 times a week), tourism (recreational activities 4–5 hours a week), and control (standard activities). Assessment was carried out using the Bourdon, Luria, and Stroop tests, as well as GPA analysis; statistical processing included ANOVA and correlation analysis (p < 0.05). The experimental groups showed a significant increase in attention (by 14.19% in sports), memory (by 1.17 words), and cognitive flexibility (reaction time reduction by 133.7 ms), as well as GPA improvement (by 0.35 points in sports). The control group showed no changes. The correlation between activity level and improvements was r = 0.591–0.713. The results confirm a dose-dependent effect of physical activity on cognitive development, with emphasis on executive functions in sports and creativity in tourism. Diversification of programs is recommended to support an individualized approach that promotes students’ intellectual growth.

physical education, sports, tourism, cognitive abilities, academic performance