Do you want to know a secret to supercharging your brain to help you study better? It’s super easy – exercise!

The OTHER benefits of exercise

Yes, it’s well accepted that exercise brings physical benefits and positive changes within your body, and it’s also becoming more widely known that it also brings about better mental health in the long-term. But did you know that exercise can also have a huge impact on your brain?

1. Enhanced neuroplasticity

That’s some fancy words to say that exercise will help grown new brain cells and connections between those braincells.  And when you do that, you’re improving your ability to learn and retain new information. Handy when studying for exams right?

2. Increased blood flow

Exercise increases just about everything good, including blood flow to the brain. Blood carries important nutrients and essential oxygen.  So, the better your blood flows, the better your body’s nutrient and oxygen transportation system.   If you have more of these for your brain, you can think more clearly and you’re looking after your brain cells.

3. Improved Sleep

Have you noticed that when you have a bad sleep, it’s a little harder to ‘function’ the next day – things like making decisions and remembering stuff is a little harder than usual?   Well, exercise can help regulate sleep, and being well rested is essential for learning and memory.  So, regulate your sleep and be well rested and you’ll be better at learning and remembering important stuff.

4. Reduced stress

This is the big one. As humans, we can tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform well. That’s a good thing usually (we call this eustress) to strive to be our best. Sometimes though, we can take it a bit too far, and we slip into distress, a somewhat more negative state, where we can feel a bit overwhelmed! Regular exercise has been shown to regulate our stress levels, so it’s a good idea to keep a routine going or start now. Even a little each day can make a huge difference to how you feel!

Ok, all good, I believe you, but how do I fit it all in?

Excellent question! Honestly, it comes down to planning. When you’re making your study schedule, we’d strongly suggest prioritising 30mins a day to simply move. This can look different to everyone, so here are some examples:

• Before you start scrolling in the morning, promise yourself 10mins of stretching, whether that’s beside your bed or on it!
• Every hour of study, stand up and walk around for 5mins.  Change your perspective, get some fresh oxygen to your brain and focus better when you sit back down
• Take a 30min walking lunchbreak in your study day. A couple laps around Uni should do it (you know the loop…Ilam Road, Crekye Road, Clyde Road, Kirkwood Ave, or if you want to make it a bit shorter, take University drive instead of Kirkwood, and Arts/Engineering roads to cut the corners….)
• Or if you have a solid gym routine or other exercise plan, do all you can to keep it up. Don’t forget we have a heap of free videos in our Rec&Sport app that all students can access for free, or you can use the gym and all the classes for free too!

Be Well
Te Ratonga Hākinakina | UC Rec&Sport