Throughout high school I participated in fall and spring sports. I could never understand why I got higher grades when I was in a sports season then when I was out of season. I assumed that participating in these sports would cause my GPA to fall since I had a minimum amount of time to devote to my schoolwork. However, the opposite occurred. Does this happen for everyone?

Exercising is an important part of everyone’s daily routine. Staying active will control your weight, prevent health problems, improve your mood, boost your energy, promote better sleep and it is fun (Mayo Clinic). But can it now be proven that exercise can lead to better grades?

I do not compete in sports at the collegiate level, but after researching the relationship between exercising and good grades, I realize that I should motivate myself to go to the gym more often. A study was conducted at Purdue University in order to prove if exercising did improve a student’s grade point average. The study showed that students who attended the gym at least 16 times a month had a GPA of 3.16 or higher. Even students who were moderate users of the gym had a GPA of 3.06 or higher. According to Tricia Zelaya, the assistant director for student development and assessment at Purdue’s Division of Recreational Sports, “Going to the gym is so much more than going to the gym. Students who are motivated by fitness and wellness tend to have better time management skills, and research shows that being fit is good for the mind. It all ties together” (Purdue News). Although this study seems to present a valid connection between exercising and getting good grades, I cannot conclude that right away.

First of all this study is observational. Researchers have found a correlation with students attending the gym and those same students getting good grades. However, correlation does not equal causation. Only one college was tested in this study. In order to have more accurate results, more colleges would have to participate in the study and the correlations from every school would have to result in a similar outcome. The data is also only based on one semester. Purdue is currently in the process of renovating their gym facilities and could not continue their study yet. Only retrieving data from one semester is not accurate because there could be other reasons why those students got good grades. For example, the students could have had less busy schedules compared to other semesters or they could be taking easier classes that semester. Until Purdue collects data from multiple semesters, the current assumption that exercising improves grades cannot be proven.

This study also does not rule out reverse causation. It is possible that getting good grades causes people to exercise more. Many students use exercise as a relaxation technique and after they do well on an exam many students enjoy going for a run to reward themselves. Purdue’s study may have proven that there is a correlation between exercising and getting good grades but the correlation could be due to reverse causation.

Although I cannot conclude if exercising improves a student’s GPA or not, the study did show a lot of evidence in support of the idea. I feel that every student is different. We all have our own study habits and techniques and we need to find one that works best for us. There is a lot of evidence that exercising is good for our physical health and staying active is recommended for people of all ages. It may or may not boost your grades, but exercising will most likely have a positive effect on you no matter what.