Feel like your brain is a little sluggish? Try 10 minutes of exercise
New research demonstrates that just 10 minutes of exercise before starting class can improve executive function, making problem-solving and learning easier.
Charles Hillman has known for a long time that exercise has a positive impact on the brain. This effect has been demonstrated by the Northeastern University psychology professor and others in varied and robust experimental contexts.
A new study co-authored by Hillman, emeritus professor Art Kramer and intercollegiate colleagues provides real-world evidence of exercise’s effect on concentration and executive function. College students, who underwent a short bout of exercise prior to attending class, demonstrated improved executive functioning through several survey metrics.
Students were asked to perform a 10-minute round of continuous, focused exercise just before they attended their regular class. They filled out questionnaires designed to gauge their executive function both before exercising and again after the class.
On another day, the students answered the same pre- and post-class questionnaires but without any exercise intervention, as a control for the experiment.
Executive function, broadly defined by the Cleveland Clinic, refers to the set of cognitive processes “that help you set and carry out goals.” These cognitive processes are involved in problem-solving, plan-setting and emotion management.
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Hillman, the Anthony Manganaro distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health, says the exercise required to create a positive effect on cognition doesn’t need to be that high in intensity. The moderate intensity required, he says, is about equivalent to “if you were walking between buildings on campus for a meeting and you’re maybe just a hair late.”
In fact, he continues, they’ve gauged the effect in both “HIIT,” high-intensity interval training, which can spike the heart rate, and “MICE,” moderate-intensity continuous exercise. For young adults at least, the improvement in cognitive processing was most pronounced after moderate exercise.
Many Northeastern students, he notes, may already be getting some of the effects of exercise just by walking to class in the morning, depending on factors like distance and intensity.
Even before this recent study, some school districts around the United States had already adopted pre-learning exercise routines supported by Hillman’s research. Elementary school teachers and administrators who asked students to perform some structured exercise prior to test-taking “saw improvements in standardized achievement tests of reading and mathematics, arithmetic. That was true both in typically developing kids and kids with ADHD,” Hillman says.
Advice that isn’t just for students
One of the keys to long-term brain health, not to mention physical health, Hillman says, is maintaining physical activity at regular periods throughout the week, and throughout the day if possible.
The examples he provides of his own fitness routine — ice hockey, mountain biking, hiking, yoga — notably don’t require a gym membership. “I’ve never run on a treadmill,” he says with a laugh. “There’s a million ways we can be active, and it’s a matter of sampling to find the ways that work for us.”
Hillman says that, at this point, the benefits of exercise on cognition and executive function are practically incontrovertible. This study is one more link in the chain suggesting that we could all use a little more movement in our lives, especially when going into activities that require concentration and problem-solving.
“I think there’s definitely utility in using exercise prior to taking classes,” he concludes.
