Regular and strenuous physical activity does more than just the body good. Researchers at the University of Geneva have examined how intensive cycling affects our ability to learn and remember in a recent study published in Scientific Reports.
The different analyses concur: the faster individuals are, the more they activate their hippocampus (the brain area of memory) and the caudate nucleus (a brain structure involved in motor processes). Moreover, their endocannabinoid levels follow the same curve: the higher the level after intense physical effort, the more the brain is activated and the better the brain’s performance.
https://www.unige.ch/communication/communiques/en/2020/sport-et-memoire-font-bon-menage/
These findings further support efforts to integrate regular physical activity into both pre-secondary learning programs and treatment for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Not that anyone really needed yet another reminder that skipping out on a workout because an exam or big deadline are on your docket for the day isn’t the best of strategies.
