How Exercise Makes You Smarter (And a Better Student!)

We all know we should incorporate regular exercise into our lives because of the multitude of benefits. From cardiovascular health to bone health to decreasing the risk of diabetes to etc., there are a great number of health benefits. However, using health benefits as a motivator is often not a very compelling reason to go to the gym.

Studies show that short term benefits, such as feeling better during or immediately after a workout, are a stronger incentive to get people moving. Additionally, challenging yourself in a physical manner through regular exercise makes you a better person all around, and this carries through all aspects of your life, including your studies.

Embrace the Uncomfortable

Here is the key point: Exercise forces you to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s incredibly powerful. This applies to any sport or athletic endeavor that requires regular training. As many top athletes say, suffering in competitive athletics is inevitable, but being able to embrace uncomfortable situations is paramount to success, and not just in exercise, but in other aspects of your life.

Public speaking used to be one of my biggest fears. I absolutely hated any time I had to speak in front of an audience. But by learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and getting outside of my comfort zone, I was able to address this weakness and even learned to enjoy public speaking over time.

Instead of trying to escape the burn, pain, and discomfort I experience during exercise, I’ve learned to practice mindfulness. I look at it curiously, almost from a third person perspective, intrigued by what I’m feeling rather than letting the feeling control my thoughts.

You can see this happen in action by doing planks. I challenge you to time yourself doing a regular plank. Now do it again, but this time, don’t let the burn consume you; instead, try looking at it from a third person perspective. See how much longer you can go.

The Benefits of Exercise for Students

So how does this help you as a student? Research shows that regular aerobic exercise enhances cognitive functions, particularly executive functions. Another study showed that participants who went from not exercising at all to even a modest program (just 2 or 3 sessions per week) demonstrated decreased stress, as well as reduced smoking, alcohol, and caffeine consumption. Their spending habits, study habits, and regulatory habits improved, too. People’s ability to push through discomfort in exercise enhanced their ability to stay calm in the face of other difficulties.

This is closely tied to discipline, which, as you guys know, I am a huge proponent of. Discipline and self-regulatory behavior allows you to achieve something you set out to do at a prior moment in time, even when you don’t want to do it at a later time. Like I’ve said before, discipline is a muscle requiring regular exercise. If you practice discipline by going to the gym regularly and eating healthier, you’ll find it much easier to follow a disciplined study routine. That alone will make a significant difference in your grades.

In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg calls exercise a “keystone habit,” meaning change in one area of life can bring about positive changes in many other areas. These keystone habits are powerful because they “change our sense of self and our sense of what is possible.” While this is not my favorite book ever, it is a very powerful read. As you may have heard before, “you are the sum of your habits.” Most of what we do day in and day out are repeated behaviors that are habits. Therefore, changing your habits is one of the most powerful ways to change or improve yourself.

Now, the key take away from these studies is that you don’t have to exercise at professional or olympic levels of intensity. As long as you are challenging yourself, you will reap a multitude of benefits. Challenging yourself is a vital part of growth and improvement.

Challenging your muscles and body with increased exercise intensity and demand provides a stimulus for muscular growth and strengthening. Similarly, challenging yourself in other areas of your life and getting outside of your comfort zone will help you grow in different ways.

Putting Exercise Into Practice

If you’re finding it difficult to start a regular exercise routine, consider the following. Although it may seem counterintuitive, studies have shown that people whose goals are weight loss and better health spend the least amount of time exercising. In this study of 335 women between the ages of 60 to 95, immediate rewards that enhance daily life, such as revitalized energy, improved mood, and decreased stress, offered significantly more motivation.

Leave a comment below on what your chosen method of exercise is. I love cycling and weight training, but I also occasionally go running or hiking. If you don’t regularly exercise right now, how are you going to incorporate exercise into your life moving forward?

Check out our companion article: How to Exercise with a Busy Schedule, which shares strategies for fitting exercise into even the busiest of schedules.