According to a recent study, conducted by a group of researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, published in Current Biology, the study results indicate with intense physical activity the group of neurotransmitters responsible for a memory boost get triggered. For the purpose of their study, the researchers used aerobic exercises on their participants.
However, a recent report highlighted an interesting twist to this study. Researchers found out that if you exercise immediately after studying, it will not enhance your memory retention. The researchers are yet to find the reason why this happens. For now, they only recommend that the exercise is best conducted after a couple of hours of doing your homework.
"Experts from the Donders Institute in the Netherlands' Radboud University Medical Center discovered that people who exercise four hours after finishing a learning task had better memory recall 48 hours later," according to a recent news report.
According to another news article, "Newly-learned information turns into long-term knowledge through a process of stabilization and integration of memories, the study team writes in Current Biology. This requires certain brain chemicals that are also released during physical exercise, including dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and a growth factor called BDNF, they explain."
"The brain processes new memories for a while after learning. Physical exercise is able to improve these post-learning processes," senior author Guillen Fernandez, director of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, told Reuters Health by email.
People who want to improve their learning should perform intense exercising activities to ensure that the responsible brain chemicals are released. However, the researchers also warn, "Very intensive exercise might also have negative effects."
