Although it seems like a lifetime ago, I remember my college years were a stressful period of time. Trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, learning to become more independent and juggling priorities made college about a lot more than fraternity parties and late-night pizza gatherings. Some of my college classes were very difficult, so I would have given anything to improve my G.P.A. and make studying a little easier. Who knew regular exercise might have given me that boost? A new study, presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting, looked at the exercise habits of 266 undergraduates. Researchers found that students who engaged in at least 20 minutes of regular, vigorous physical activity had higher grade point averages than those who did not. Vigorous activity is defined as an effort of 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10. Previous research has documented the academic benefits of regular physical activity for elementary and middle-school students, but this is some of the first research being done on college-age students. According to the researchers, “Students who participated in vigorous activity seven days per week had GPAs that averaged .4 higher, on a scale of 4.0, than those who participated in no vigorous activity.” This was a small sample of students, so the researchers suggest further studies to validate the findings. It's not surprising that physical activity would have an effect on academic performance. There are so many benefits to regular exercise, including reduced stress, increased self-confidence and more energy. Those changes are just as important as weight loss and improved fitness, since they can impact so many other areas of your life. When I was in college, most of my friends who exercised did it to stay (or get) skinny. Hopefully this gives young people a much better reason to get moving! What do you think? Were you (or are you) physically active in college? Do you think it would have (or did) impacted your academic performance? |
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