Unfortunately, the surveys show that nearly one-third of adults don’t lead a sufficiently active lifestyle. However, regular physical activity is a must for good health and energy balance. Let’s consider some of the numerous sports benefits for students in more detail.
The benefits of sports for students
As you might know, exercise increases blood flow carrying oxygen to the brain. Since brain cells need a well-oxidized environment, they develop more actively thanks to physical activity. Moreover, working out leads to the release of hormones that help to combat stress. In its turn, reduced stress levels enable us to maintain a healthy mental state. Obviously, good psychological well-being helps students focus on learning, retain more information, and assimilate new knowledge more effectively.
According to an article released by Harvard Health Publications, the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex, the brain parts responsible for thinking and memory, have greater volume in individuals who do sports compared to those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. This means that physical activity ensures improved cognitive skills, enhances memory and can even boost your academic achievements.
To keep your motivation and remain enthusiastic about your studies, it’s essential to have a good mood. Any student would confirm that staying positive helps them learn and retain more information. But for most young people, being cheerful is easier said than done. Why so? Typically, education feels like a burden on your shoulders, doesn’t it? However, there is an easy solution to this problem. As you might guess, exercising can bring you to the right mood. This is a great way to beat study-related depression and lift your spirits.
Help for fit students
If you are worried about the fact that you can’t find enough time for classes and regular training, then you should consider using outside help. In fact, there are so many assistance options to choose from. First of all, you may ask your peers to share their notes taken in class. Secondly, you can go to the StudyClerk website and get some learning recommendations from professionals. And finally, your university instructors can also answer your questions and explain some difficult concepts to you. It’s completely up to you what option to pick. Most importantly, give preference to the one that suits your needs best.
How to combine fitness training and studies
Use your headphones
If you have a lack of time before your test and don’t want to cancel your workout session, then you can prepare for the upcoming assessment while doing physical activity. For this, you need to record your notes and listen to the audio during your regular training. This might be a kind of revision for you. Moreover, if you are learning a foreign language, you may also improve your listening skills this way. Just imagine, you can jog, do squats or push-ups and assimilate new knowledge at the same time. Sounds like a smart way of staying active, doesn’t it?
Take regular breaks
Most of us weren’t taught about the importance of taking regular pauses. Hence, students tend to work a few hours in a row without any breaks. But in fact, this is not that effective. Education experts say that it’s much better to take short but frequent breaks while studying. This helps us memorize more information and retain it for longer. Therefore, you should stop learning every 30-40 minutes and engage in some physical activity. No matter what you choose, you can just do jumping jacks or arm raises for five minutes and this will be enough to stimulate your mind and body. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone – you will stay fit and productive.
Go aerobic
According to several studies, doing aerobic exercise can significantly boost your brainpower. The researchers have found out that this type of physical activity helps students establish firm connections with what they’ve learned during the day. In addition, it improves memory and thinking ability, which is the basis of effective learning. Even if you don’t have much time for aerobics, you shouldn’t worry because just 15 minutes a day are enough to feel positive effects.
Final thoughts
Summing up, fitness is extremely beneficial for students as it helps to enhance cognitive abilities, improve mood, and reduce stress levels. However, combining regular physical exercise and studies might be quite difficult as both of them require time and energy. But luckily, there are some ways to make fitness and learning a part of your daily routine. Hopefully, this article helped you understand how to be more active and keep up with your studies at the same time.
Author’s Bio: James Collins is a life coach and fitness expert. He helps people live their lives more efficiently and achieve big goals. James believes that sports must be an integral part of everybody’s daily routine since physical activity is highly beneficial for both body and brain.
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