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Study promotes exercising for excellence on exams |
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
by LINDSAY TIGAR
Lifestyles Reporter
Instead of sweating with worry on passing exams, perhaps students should actually work up a sweat in the gym, according to a new study from Columbia University.
U.S. researchers reported in mid-March that exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked to memory.
This region is called the dentate gyrus.
The study first tested mice with the use of MRIs and concluded that the same pattern was evident in humans.
When humans exercise, they produce new brain cells, which in return
produces better energy and power for the brain, according to the study.
 Active Image | Bryan Tarnowski | The Appalachian
Kirstin N. Cox, a freshman communications major, and Anthony V. Joyce, a senior middle eastern studies major, work out in the Mt. Mitchell Life Fitness Center.
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Exercise also generates blood flow to the denate gyrus and the more fit a person, the more blood flow, and in turn, more power.
“Blood flow is going to be important,” John C. Quindy, an assistant
exercise science professor, said. “People who exercise have bodies that
metabolize more efficiently than people who do not.”
“There may be a link between brain power and exercise, that link being metabolism and maybe another blood flow,” Quindy said.
However, this link may not be as helpful for students at Appalachian State University.
“When [Columbia University researchers] looked at this, before age
thirty for those who haven’t aged, they don’t see this huge leap in the
learning factor,” Jeff Crittendeten, MD, a neurologist from High
Country Neurology, said. “They don’t see an enormous increase, it’s
more older people who see it.”
Even if the link discovered by Columbia University researchers does not affect the average age group
at Appalachian State, exercise can be a great element to add to study routines.
“Exercise helps to regulate sleep cycles which is essential for performing well,” Quindy said.
Also, sleep can help to alleviate stress from studying.
“I absolutely believe that exercise helps a person to do better in school,” Will Brown, an exercise
science December 2006 graduate and ACE personal trainer, said. “It
helps to relieve stress which allows a person to focus better on
studies.”
Brown exercises almost everyday and, while a student at Appalachian,
exercised three times a week and believes that it helped him perform
better.
Apart from exercise, there are other habits students can add to their daily lives in improve exam grades.
“Eat nutrient dense foods,” Quindy said. “Don’t just have calories, but
have food that have many vitamins and minerals. Although normally I
wouldn’t promote refined sugars or caffeine, at exam time,
studies to show that having a little caffeine and sugars can improve energy.”
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