What motivates us to exercise? No, the answer isn’t Kelly Rowland and Lil’ Wayne (or at least not for all of us). A possible answer could be that we want to be healthy. Or that we want to look fit. Or that we feel guilty about that Pinkberry we just inhaled. Whatever your reason may be for going to the gym on a regular basis, I’m about to give you one more.
When I was strolling through a bookstore the other day, one particular title caught my eye: Stop Saying You’re Okay by Mel Robbins. I opened the book to a random page and found the results of an exercise study. According to the study, just twenty minutes of cardio can increase your ability to learn and memorize more quickly and efficiently. This would be the result of an increase in mental processing speed and stimulation of memory cell growth. And, not to mention, these 20 minutes actually prepare the brain for a 90-minute period in which you will learn best!
With this newly found information on cardio, I hope I’ve inspired you stay active, even when you’re swamped with homework. If you can’t figure out a math problem, or can’t think of a thesis statement for your paper—try this out. Speed up your heart rate for 20 minutes either on a treadmill or a short run in Morningside Park. Then, return to your homework and see if it makes a difference. As you can see, the benefits of the elliptical or the treadmill are far more than purely physical; they now can be seen as intellectual as well. Being busy students, we tend to put working out aside because we claim, “there’s no time”. However, if you put in the time to exercise first, you may actually reduce the time you spend studying, and actually learn the information better.
So, what motivates us to exercise? Aside from all your usual reasons, you can now add grade improvement to your list (after Weezy, of course).