Studies say that students who are active 20 minutes before an exam tend to score better in terms of the test results. Complementing this, there is quite the number of studies that prove how regular physical activity positively affects not only the physical but also mental health.

At this point, we have a tremendous amount of evidence at our disposal pointing out to ways that physical fitness improves academic performance.

Thanks to its numerous brain-boosting benefits, the effects of regular exercise can help the student study and focus better, write a dissertation within a shorter timeframe, and handle stress more effectively.

Starting from your homework to the writing of your doctoral dissertation, fitness should definitely take a big role in your everyday routine. Here are the seven ways scientific research shows that fitness can boost your grades and performance.

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• Concentration

To score highly on an exam, a student needs focus and concentration. Studies show that regular exercise before exams increases the basal ganglia’s volume, which is an essential brain part that helps with executive function, attention, and control.

Naturally, there are quite a few factors that allow for high concentration levels, such as exercise, healthy nutrition, and of course – sleep. Therefore, you should aim to turn fitness into your regular exercise habit, but also take care of your nutrition and rest for optimal results.

Unless you eat well and sleep sufficiently, exercise won’t help a lot. When it comes to writing a thesis or a masters dissertation, you need a combo of all these to truly succeed. In case you can’t, you can always hire the most reliable from dissertation proposal services to help you with the task.

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• Attention Span

As you know already, people have a limited attention span. Our brains simply need their rest to refuel and get back on track, which can often be hard when you have to memorize a lot or do many things within a short timeframe.

Studies show that people who are physically active are more able to focus on a given task for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, fitness is also linked to longer attention span, which should definitely help you during your student years.

• Memory

When an exam session approaches, it is extremely important to keep your memory as sharp as possible. How well you understand and recall the key concepts and facts is critical to your performance on tests.

That being said, your memorization abilities should be at their maximum when you study, both in order to allow you to pass the exams with flying colors, and to minimize the time you spend over the books.

A study by Brain Research performed on 9 and 10 year olds shows that physical activity is a great memory booster. Students who were more physically fit had larger hippocami, which of course resulted in higher performance in memory tasks. This translates to the obvious – exercise is one highly effective way to boost a student’s memory.

• Confidence

Confidence is extremely important in terms of students’ performance. Students who exercise regularly show higher levels of confidence, which makes them better problem solvers. According to studies, regular fitness increases both the self-esteem and confidence in students.

• Reduced Anxiety and Stress

When exam sessions approach, every student feels his pre-test jitters. For some, these are more emphasized than others, and can even affect their performance during exams. That fear that you’ll fail and forget things once the test is in front of you is very common, and is a cause of extreme anxiety and stress.

However, some activity can help clear the mind and reduce the anxiety students are feeling. You won’t make the feeling go away completely, which is normal, but too much stress is definitely not good for you.

• Creativity

Performing well in school requires learning, but also creativity. Many of the exam questions will test your creativity levels, and you can also use it to get out of situations where you don’t know the question completely.

Studies have also shown that regular exercise improves the divergent and convergent thinking. This leads to an increase in the problem solving ability in students, therefore heightening the student’s creativity.

The Bottom Line

A few minutes exercise before an exam might do a small difference, but to truly reap the mental health benefits of fitness, you need to set a long-term routine. This will help your physical appearance, overall health, as well as your mental abilities greatly. The benefits will only grow and become more apparent as time passes.

The long-term benefits of fitness are greater than most students can anticipate. These can increase the creativity, confidence and concentration, but also increase the neuroplasticity, which gives you a chance to form a new pathway in your brain, therefore contributing to you becoming a better learner.

Author’s Bio

Anthony Sparks is a psychologist and scientist whose main concern is the function of the brain. He works on detecting the best ways to boost people’s memory and function, especially in depressed patients who often struggle with anxiety.

In his work, you’ll read about the many ways to boost your mental, as well as physical health.