Working out can sometimes be a pain, you have to fit it in between classes, or after work, or trek across campus to even get to one that works best for you. To top things off, finding time during mid-terms or finals makes it 10 times harder to exercise, but what if I told you that working out can help get you better scores on your tests?
A 2009 experimental study showed that there were significant improvements with memory function with rodents (either rats or mice). Along with that, several other functions that were discovered within the nervous system which had improvements as well. Not only were the benefits displayed with the animals, they were also discovered with humans as well. The link between cardiovascular work outs (running, walking, etc.) and positive brain function were apparent. The information was collected as mean of an MRI’s. After the subjects were asked to perform cardiovascular they then were put through a series of mental test.
In other words, your cognitive ability to learn and apply knowledge is increased when you work out. However, there are limitations of the study such as the age range at which the participants are at the time of the study. The study uses children from ages 9-10 all of different fitness levels. looking at that alone, you could ask numerous questions about how the study was conducted. For example, How does a child compare to a college student in terms of cognitive ability. Another questions could be, Since college students have more schooling, could their adaption to studying habits cause them to have different results over what the children might do? Could there be a correlation to a child’s brain verse a college brain that is being over looked? Though the study make be a bit of a leap using children to compare to the entire population, further research is also showing links to the brains connection with fitness and grades. What about a Confounding variable, Could it be that, students who care more about their physical appearance are more likely to also care more about their grades? This is a variable that was not mentioned however, when it comes to the study, this could effect the data!
Further research however does provide evidence that fitness levels in college students correlates to their grades! in an article from Purdue University published in 2013, it gives credible data supporting grades and physical fitness. Not only was the GPA higher in those who worked out in comparison to those who did not, it also went on to test the amount of time spent in the gym and how it effected the GPA as well. Even students that only went a few times in the semester, those students overall had better GPS than students that had not worked out at all. Time management was also factored into the data testing which helped eliminate any type of unseen 3rd variables.
In closing, based off the studiess talked about, the chances that your grades are directly linked to fitness could be due to chance, but evidence provides strong instances where working out could lead to better GPA’s.
This blog stuck out to me because I never thought there would be a correlation between these two things. I know that when I work out I feel better and more energized but I didn’t think there would be a connection to working out and good grades. It’s pretty amazing that working out can actually help with our memories. I don’t think many people know all of the benefits of working out. I think a lot of preforming well in school and or in a work environment has to do with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you don’t feed your body with good food, don’t get enough sleep and never work out you aren’t going to preform to the best of your ability in school. Working out definitely has a lot of perks! Interesting post, thanks for sharing!
I have noticed that back in high school, when I would be in soccer season, my grades would be naturally higher. I do think that working out does lead to higher grades. Ever since I have been in college though I haven’t worked out nearly as much and my grades haven’t been as high. Maybe it has just been because i am not used to college since I am a freshman.
It was a great post, though I think that the study has certain flaws. There are some ways that it could provide stronger evidence. I think you also mentions how the participants are just children this is disregarding the fact that older people such as college students or middle aged individuals who are in the work force have harder chores and may be more at risk of stress. Also I think that even though exercise suggests to have a positive effect on our memory and cognitive abilities, some people disregard the fact that it is vey unhealthy when you over do excercise. I found and article from TIME magazine that talks about the negative effects on your health if you do too much excercise. The article suggests that it may affect your heart and even increase your mortality rate by 66%.
I know I’ve talked about this before on this blog, but fitness plays a big part in my life so I couldn’t resist talking about it again. I’ve always found the theory that working out helps your cognitive function and helps you concentrate better to be completely true. At least for me. I never drink coffee and I’ve never had energy drinks so a good alternative for me is quick workouts. Whenever I feel my energy start to drain and my eyes start to droop, I get myself up and start doing some cardio. Jumping Jack’s and things like that are great ways to get your heart rate going fast and get your energy up again. Plus it’ll keep you fit in the long run if you do it enough.
I really enjoyed this article, I love lifting and I could not agree more that it directly helps me get better grades in the classroom. From what I read most of the points you made about how working out affects your performance in the classroom were mostly all physical affects such as how running and doing cardio increases your brain positively. I actually have a different hypothesis on why working out has a correlation with higher GPA; working out is a huge commitment that never ends from eating right to lifting everyday, its a lifestyle. The fact that you are working so hard and competitively in the weight room, it just makes you work that hard in your classes because the grind as some people like to call it is a mindset. Here is a short interesting video of the science behind exercise affecting your brain and how it makes you smarter.
I really enjoyed reading this post because I have always been a strong believer that there is a link between working out and good grades. I first developed this thought when someone told me that when you are studying for long hours at a time, it is good to take a mental break, and a good way to use that time up is working out. For a while now, with this thought in my head, I have been working out during breaks from studying. I have not tried to figure out exactly if it is beneficial, however I do feel very refreshed and eager to get back to studying after working out. In this article for the Daily Collegian here at Penn State discusses this topic and how working out relieves stress and two students recommend working out finals week to help relieve the stress.
This blog really caught my eye because of how relatable it is. Whenever I work out, I feel much more energized and motivated to get my work done. This is also a very important topic because it is vital that we make time for working out even when we may be swamped with school work. When seeing that there are many more advantages other than just getting a good work out, I am definitely much more eager to get to the gym now. Hopefully people will read this and feel the same!! Here is an article on other benefits that people might not know about: http://greatist.com/fitness/13-awesome-mental-health-benefits-exercise
For as long as I can remember I’ve struggled mightily with getting out of bed in the morning. Prior to college, waking up at 6 or 6:30 for school wasn’t easy or fun by any means, but even when very tired (and with the help of my parents) I always forced myself out of bed and made it to school. However, when i got to college and had more flexibility with my schedule and could choose how to spend free time, waking up for even a 10:10 class was a seemingly impossible task. That was until i adjusted my daily schedule and started going to the gym prior to my classes. Waking up early to get to the gym can still be tough, but I’ve noticed that the wake up call my body gets while working out in the early morning has had a tremendous effect on my alertness and attentiveness in class, my mood, and my overall health. All of these factors together have improved both my grades and my day to day life, so I’m a firm believer that working out can be a key to good or better grades.
Loved this article!! I try to go to the gym as much as possible because yes it is good for my body but I also believe it is a good stress reliever. I get very stressed out when I receive piles of school work and exams to study for so I usually work out to relieve my stress! I do believe that working out could lead to higher GPA’s because one gets so many benefits from working out like I do! The more I workout the less stressed I get and I have more time management if I really put my mind to it! I found this article from California College San Diego, http://www.cc-sd.edu/blog/can-exercise-boost-your-gpa , and it stated how levels of energy within one’s brain increases which motivates one to do schoolwork or “ace a midterm.”
I believe the research behind this, because from a personal view, I feel more productive and ready to take on my classwork after working out. It’s important to keep a good balance, and I think that it really makes a difference in someone’s grades. What striked me the most was where it said that GPA is higher for people who are more inclined to work out. Here’s an additional source on the subject I thought was interesting.
Wow, this concept is really interesting and provides extra motivation to hit the gym every day. Its like killing two birds with one stone! I thought you did an excellent job presenting the data of the study you cited and giving an analysis of the data. Also, I like how you addressed confounding third variables. My only question would be if working out too much would be detrimental to grades? Perhaps from overexhaustion? Heres an article that supports your blogs discussed hypothesis: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2012/05/08/6-ways-exercise-makes-you-smarter/&refURL=https://www.google.com/&referrer=https://www.google.com/