Quizlet, Kahoot, … The Gym?! When we think about study strategies, stairmasters aren’t usually the first thing that come to mind. But, exercise is a powerful tool for improving academic performance (and overall happiness!).
Mood: Exercise is a natural stress-buster, prompting the release of endorphins (natural mood-lifters) while helping to regulate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. Pre-test jitters? Movement will help!
Memory: Regular activity acts as a “zeitgeber” (a cue for your body clock), resetting your internal sleep-wake cycle. This leads to better quality sleep and decreased “sleep onset latency” (the time it takes to fall asleep), which is essential for memory consolidation.
Miracle-Gro: New research shows that exercise promotes the expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, a molecule that grows your neurons, improving overall cognition (Sleiman et al., 2016).
The benefits of exercise on your health as a whole are profound. But, what options are out there? Finding your fit (no pun intended) can be fun and an opportunity to try new things.
There are four main categories of exercise: cardio, strength, stretching and balance. You don’t need to participate in all of them, so find a mix that optimizes for your health and well-being.
Cardio: Aerobic cardio can be generally defined as anything that increases your heart rate, such as jogging, cycling or dancing. Even a speedy walk from Pomona to CMC counts! Cardio strengthens the entire cardiorespiratory system, reducing your resting heart rate and allowing you to get through your day without as much fatigue. TLDR: your heart becomes more efficient.
Strength: Anaerobic exercise involves using your muscles with significant effort against resistance such as weight-lifting or calisthenics (push-ups, squats, resistance bands). To build muscles, progressive overload — using more resistance over time — is key. Your twenties are the time to build muscle, since sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, starts as early as 30 years old (3-5 percent loss per decade).
Building muscle as a student is a critical investment into your health as you age, allowing the prevention and reduction of injury. Find your friend that’s always in the gym and ask to come along! Or, challenge yourself to do as many push-ups as possible — and then do one more push-up each day.
Flexibility: Stretching and flexibility typically means moving your neck, limbs and torso through their full range of motion. This includes exercises such as gentle yoga or tai chi. Dynamic stretching can be included “before” training to help increase performance, while static stretching can be included “after” training to improve flexibility and aid in recovery. Evidence suggests that mind-body practices such as yoga improve stress regulation by calming the sympathetic nervous system, which initiates “fight or flight.” This suppresses the negative effects of the stress hormone, cortisol, promoting a clear mind and sustained attention during class or study sessions.
If you’ve spent a little too much time hunched over your computer, try setting a timer for 5 minutes and stretch out. Also: breathe!
Balance: Lastly, balance as an exercise can be generally defined as using your muscles to maintain stability. This can include exercises such as gentle yoga or single-legged movements. Balancing exercises directly help prevent injury and falls by training small stabilizer muscles and improving coordination.
This kind of training makes your brain coordinate balance, vision and body movement all at once, pushing it to work harder and stay sharp. As a result, memory and spatial cognition are improved, aiding in tasks related to comprehension of graphs, charts and studying. Take advantage of being at the 5Cs and sign up for a free yoga class at one of the on-campus gyms or choose a balance-related P.E. course.
So, we’ve covered what exercise does for our brains and how we can “find our fit,” but how much exercise do we need? How often?
The CDC recommends 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (such as brisk walks) or 75-150 minutes of intense aerobic activity (such as intense cardio exercise) per week. Strength training 2 days or more a week is also beneficial — this can look like anything from simple body weight exercises to intense weightlifting.
In one week, you could schedule 30 minute sessions of moderate intensity exercise five days a week, followed by two sessions of muscle strengthening sessions. This would allow for a healthy lifestyle while still maintaining a good work-life balance.
Movement is an essential tool for thriving in all areas of life. Like exercise itself, exercise schedules can be dynamic. Everybody’s body handles strain differently and we all have individual preferences for how we move.
Some people love to dance. Others love to run, climb or throw around heavy weights. That being said, the most important thing to remember is that at the end of the day, anything is beneficial. The best workout is one you genuinely enjoy. Exercise is supposed to be fun, so find what works for you and just do it!
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