Exercising, Even For A Little Bit, Can Help Improve Brain Function

Those looking for a burst of energy or heightened focus during that midday lull at work might be partial to grabbing another cup of coffee or tea, but a new study shows that 10 minutes of exercise might be a better solution.

A study conducted at Western University in Canada showed that when participants who hopped on a stationary bike did just 10 minutes of that aerobic exercise, they ended up having quicker and more accurate reaction times to subsequent testing. The group who exercised was compared to a group who instead of exercising, was left to read a magazine for 10 minutes. The study and the results were published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

After either exercising, or reading, participants in each group were tested on their frontal lobe function, the part of the brain that hosts not only a person’s personality, but also their motor skills, emotions and problem solving abilities. To conduct this test, the researchers had the participants complete eye-movement tasks that tested the areas of the brain responsible for executive function and inhibitions, according to a release from Western University.

The researchers found that those who exercised, in some cases, showed as high as a 14 percent increase in cognitive performance over those who didn’t exercise for the study. Other studies have been done previously to test whether longer or more consistent workouts could have the same impact. But the new one from Western shows that even a small amount of exercise sporadically can help improve cognitive function.

“I always tell my students before they write a test or an exam or go into an interview — or do anything that is cognitively demanding – they should get some exercise first,” Kinesiology Professor Matthew Heath said in a release, “Our study shows the brain’s networks like it. They perform better.”