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Finals Week. It’s guaranteed to come around every semester and yet, it always finds a way to take students by surprise. While feeling overwhelmed with stress and lack of sleep, a simple luxury, such as your daily workout or cooking a hearty, yet healthy meal, seems like time that should be better spent in your textbook or notes. Well, I’m here to tell you that even though, yes, you won’t easily pass your finals if you don’t spend the proper amount of time studying, but if you decide to skip out on your daily routine of being healthy and active, you’ll be missing out on an easy and effective way to manage stress and produce a more productive and healthy mind.
The Studying Advantage
In a recent study, formed by the University of Illinois, they explain how exercise can increase the size of the brain’s hippocampus or, in simpler terms, the area that is charge of regulating emotion and memory creation. The increase in size gives the brain the opportunity to have better recollection and decision-making abilities, which, in turn, would create a sort of advantage when studying. Another study, which was conducted by the International Journal of Workplace Health Management Exercise, revealed that people who exercised during their workday were 23% more productive, compared to days they didn’t exercise. Plus, exercise has the capability of boosting blood flow to the brain. This might sound strange, but in reality, this gives the brain the wakeup call it needs after being put through a tremendous amount of time sitting in one place and staring at an open laptop screen or textbook. It even has the ability to release key hormones, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which affect learning and attention and perception, motivation and arousal.
The Natural De-Stressor
If you’re feeling a bit down, stressed or anxious, exercise can also lend you a helping hand. The production of serotonin, a mood booster, and endorphins, a natural painkiller, are released to ease tension for the body and mind, which in turn can create a positive reaction to stress and anxiety. Even better, a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine discussed how when a group of 18 to 25-years-olds rode a stationary bike for 20 minutes at medium intensity, they had a mood lift that lasted up to 12 hours.
Overall, if you think that skipping your 20-minute run or 30-minute workout might help you cram for your finals, you could actually be doing yourself a hindrance and create more stress for yourself. So, treat yourself and help not only your body, but mind survive finals.