Analysis: Physical activity increases your ability to review, learn, and think. So why wouldn’t you want to make the most of this?
Written by Simon Cooper, Nottingham Trent University
It’s the season for review. If you are a student preparing for an upcoming exam, you may want to put sports and other physical activities aside for a while to spend more time studying. However, exercise is very important for academic success. Make time to be active. It may help you review it better.
Physical activity improves your thinking and information processing abilities. Research with colleagues has shown that this is true for both elementary and middle school students. In fact, when considering different types of cognition such as perception, memory, and attention, the area where physical activity benefits the most is executive function. This is our ability to perform complex, higher-level thinking. This is an area that is connected to academic ability.
Research shows that the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognition last for about 45 minutes. This means it’s important to take regular breaks from your activity to maximize the corrective effects of exercise. You may want to schedule your remediation work in hourly increments. This means 45 minutes of work followed by 10-15 minutes of physical activity. This includes things like walking, running, bodyweight exercises like squats, and even stretching.
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DCU’s Professor Niall Moyna talks to teenagers about exercise on RTÉ Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor Show
Perhaps the most important thing is to find an activity you like. That way, you’re more likely to incorporate it into your revision routine. So this could be a 10-minute walk after an hour of review, a short 5-minute break for squats or push-ups every 30 minutes, or a morning swim or a lunchtime run.
If possible, try to go outside during these breaks. My colleagues and I recently conducted a study showing that outdoor physical activity is more beneficial for cognition than indoor physical activity. This also applied to attention, memory, and executive function, which were assessed using a battery of computer tests. So wake up, take a break, go outside, be active, and improve your review skills.
You can also use the energy you get from exercise on test day. Why not take a walk before the exam? It may also help calm your nerves. There are many possible reasons why physical activity improves your ability to revise. For example, it can increase blood flow to the brain and cause the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters. This is a small signaling molecule that helps the brain function more efficiently.
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Even during exam season, it is important for schools to keep in mind the importance of physical activity. One of the challenges here is that in many schools, the gymnasium also serves as the exam venue. This makes sense given the space requirements.
However, rather than restricting physical education opportunities, this could be seen as an opportunity to take physical activity outdoors in schools and find innovative ways for teachers to help students further develop their cognitive skills through outdoor activities. The important thing is that schools, parents, and students themselves don’t stop prioritizing staying active even when there’s a lot of review to cram. Of course, we always need to find a balance, but physical activity promotes our cognition, review and learning. Why wouldn’t you want to make the most of this?
I often use the phrase “unleashing the power of physical activity.” I recommend doing this during review and exam season. The same applies whether you (or your child, your class, or a young person you know) are revising for Junior Certs, Leaving Certs, or other tests. Stay smart and stay active.
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Simon Cooper is Professor of Physical Activity and Health at Nottingham Trent University. This article was originally published by The Conversation.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ.
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