Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body

     I’m too busy studying. Being in college, I need to really focus on my studies and my future. You’ve given me tons of motivation to change my routine and start exercising, but I have come to the conclusion that college needs to be a time of focus for me.

     Great! I’m glad that we’re on the same page. You should be putting your best effort towards your studies and staying focused during your time in college, which is why you need to be staying physically active. Now you are probably confused, but give me a few paragraphs to fix that.

     You’ve hear it before, THERE IS A STRONG LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BRAIN ACTIVITY, but you usually only believe it up to the moment when you have to make a decision between doing extra studying or working out. Then suddenly the idea doesn’t seem so appealing. So now I must convince you that this truth is actually legitimate and worth applying to your life. Here we go.

     The neocortex is a highly complex and important part of the brain which plays a leading role in our ability to focus and process information (yes, both of these are important in college). The purpose of this blog is not to explain the function of the brain in great detail, so I will not do that here. However, if you are interested, Wikipedia gives a brief breakdown of the neocortex (with a disgusting picture in case you weren’t convinced that this was part of the brain). For a thorough and convincing argument of the application of the neocortex and other parts of the brain to our phycial activity, check out this solid article. Scientists have shown that the function of the  neocortex is improved with physical activity, particularly aerobic exercise. Furthermore, studies have shown that there is a strong connection between stimulating the body and our ability to remember things. During physical activity, cells within another brain structure known as the hippocampus are produced more efficiently, leading to a more effective memory (yes again, memory is also important in college). Dr. Ratey makes it clear that he is competent on the subject, and you should certainly take what he says seriously even if you do not believe anything that I have stated.

     Straying slightly from the more complex scientific argument, I think it is important to see a practical side to this idea of “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Check out this short blog on the success of those people who are committed to fitness in addition to the other normal aspects of their life. We see that exercise leads to a drive in our work environment (college for you) and motivates our overall progress. Also, younger students were clearly strengthened mentally by their physical activity. Whether it was a change in their neocortex or something else, the results of the study make it clear that the high schoolers became better students when they were motivated to work on their personal level of fitness.

     Stating the obvious, being active in college helps you to be a better student.  Let us close with some words of wisdom from Dr. Ratey:

“We need to change the way we think about exercise. We really need to understand that exercise keeps the brain functioning well, and then realize that it also happens to be good for the body. We tend to think about it the other way around, but in fact it readies the cells in the brain to be optimal. We are made to move and people aren’t moving anymore.”

THERE IS A STRONG LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BRAIN ACTIVITY. It is true, and you need brain activity in college, believe it or not.  Now do you have time to work out?