The benefits of regular exercise to both behavioral and
physiological health are well documented. According to the Mayo clinic regular exercise
is associated with decreasing blood pressure, increasing HDL (good) cholesterol,
improving mood, and getting better sleep. As students, the need to retain
information and decrease stress is a necessity for success. For many, regular exercise
can take a back seat to scholarly activities. A recent study, however, shows
the positive effects of single session exercise after learning with increased
memory consolidation and long term potentiation.
Researchers at the Radboud University Medical Center in the
Netherlands found that individuals who completed 35 minutes of interval
training four hours after a learning session were able to recall information
better 48 hours later than participants who exercised immediately or those who did
not exercise at all. Although the researchers are still uncertain why this
phenomenon occurs they believe that neuro-modulatory factors such as dopamine
and norepinephrine play a role.
Previous research indicates that exercise causes the release
of certain plasticity related products, including dopamine and norepinephrine,
that promote neural plasticity. The researchers believe that release of these
plasticity related products at a time when they would normally be low (several
hours after a learning session) could be mediating the memory retention
phenomenon.
Although more research is needed to understand the
underlying mechanisms, the data presented in this study suggests that timing
our exercise relative to when we study could aid students when it comes to
memory retention and recall.
References
1)
Van Dongen,
E., Kersten, I., Wagner, I., Morris, R., & Fernández, G. (2016). Physical
Exercise Performed Four Hours after Learning Improves Memory Retention and
Increases Hippocampal Pattern Similarity during Retrieval. Current Biology, 26(13), 1722-1727.
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.071
2)
Knaepen,
K., Goekint, M., Heyman, E. M., & Meeusen, R. (2010). Neuroplasticity –
Exercise-Induced Response of Peripheral Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. Sports Medicine, 40(9), 765-801.
doi:10.2165/11534530-000000000-00000
This is really interesting. I would love to see researchers figure out exactly why waiting a couple hours makes such a big impact. Sometimes its hard to study and wait and then go exercise, I tend to go workout immediately after studying. I'm going to try this out and see if it makes a difference!
ReplyDeleteI just read about a study that compared different types of exercise in several different age groups and the effects on learning. Although they did find an overall benefit to learning by exercise, they found that the different types of exercise did not matter as much as cardiovascular health and responsiveness to exercise. Meaning the changes in the subject's VO2 max correlated with the increase in cognitive function.
ReplyDeleteThe time after studying you mentioned might be a factor of responsiveness! Other factors can be gender, age, hormones (TBL!), genetics, and social support. I guess this just means more research is necessary as always!
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI found your Blog post to be very intriguing and also very relevant to my life. After reading, I did some more research on this subject to see what I could find. I came upon an interesting study done titled "Effects of Different Exercise Strategies and Intensities on Memory Performance and Neurogenesis" where they used mice to test the differences of voluntary and controlled exercise versus the sedentary control on memory formation and neurogenesis. The results were promising because it showed that both kinds of physical activity, voluntary and controlled, improved memory performance and neurogenesis. There needs to be more studies done though that look at the cellular mechanisms that underly these events.
Very interesting post! Whenever I come across a phenomenon like this I can’t help but think of it in an evolutionary context. There are a couple theories for the general connection between exercise and the brain, one of which considers the idea of cutting energy costs. Stress through physical demands could alert the body that there is a need for strategic thinking in order to escape predation while if we lead sedentary lifestyles it might allow for less pressure to maintain the same level of cognitive function. The timing aspect adds a unique component which would be interesting to explore in terms of what historical scenario could have benefited from a time-dependent exercise-facilitated increase in learning potential.
ReplyDelete