After decades of schools squeezing playtime out of the day, recess is back in play, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum writes.

• 🎒 Why it matters: Recess may look like a break from learning. But researchers say free play helps kids return to class healthier, calmer and more ready to focus.

"Recess refreshes you. Recess helps you feel a little bit less cynical about what's going on," says psychologist Peter Gray, author of the forthcoming book "Restoring Childhood."

🧩 By the numbers: As of December, 12 states and Washington, D.C., had mandated school recess, while another 12 states required some form of physical activity, according to Johns Hopkins research.

• And recently, a new Oklahoma law requiring 40 minutes of recess each school day took effect in July.

🧠 The big picture: Unstructured play helps children practice social skills, manage stress and build stronger connections to school.

• Research has also linked recess to better behavior, attendance, classroom motivation and academic performance.

🤸 Reality check: Not all movement is recess.

• Broader "physical activity" laws can include after-school sports and gym class.

Advocates say children also need time to play without being told how to do it.

• "Anyone who's ever spent even a day with a kid can recognize that if you kept them sitting all day, they'd go insane — they'd drive everybody else insane," says Hannah Thompson, a physical activity epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Zoom out: The decline in recess since the early 2000s is often tied to the testing-focused era that followed the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, when schools devoted more time to reading and math rather than play.

• Weekly recess time in U.S. schools fell by an hour between 2001 and 2019, according to education consulting firm EAB.

🔔 But the pendulum is swinging back.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recently expanded its recess recommendation beyond elementary schools, calling for middle and high school students to get at least 20 minutes, too.
• Parent-led group Say Yes to Recess has become a national nonprofit, while support for the cause now stretches across the political spectrum.

The bottom line: "More recess" isn't just a student council campaign promise. It's increasingly an essential part of the school day.

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Our kinda recess: Reader Nancy Russo of Neenah, Wis., sent us this sunset over Mount Watzmann, seen from the picturesque village of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps.