
The study also found exercising straight after learning showed no improvement in memory retention.
As if exercise didn’t already have enough benefits, it now helps boost your memory. A new study suggests high-intensity exercise 4 hours after learning will boost your ability to remember new information as neuraltransmitters responsible for memory boost in the brain get triggered.
Researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands conducted the study, used aerobic exercise, in particular a spinning bike. 72 participants were separated into three groups and were asked to take part in a memory test involving matching locations with pictures over the course of 40 minutes.
The first group did high-intensity exercise for 35 minutes immediately after the learning task, the second group four hour later and the third group didn’t exercise at all. The participants were then tested further to see for any difference in memory retention using an MRI scan.
What surprised the researchers was exercising immediately after learning didn’t make a difference in the participants’ memories as with the group who did no exercise. However, the group that exercised four hours after the task retained the information much more efficiently. According to Live Science, it was up to 10 percent more than the other groups.
Dr. Guillen Fernandez, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, and involved in the study, says that it is unknown why this is but suspects the psychological effects of exercising immediately after learning may interfere with the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters.
However, this is only a ball-park estimate and Fernandez wants to look more into how the type of exercise affects improved memory as well as the duration of the exercise involved.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
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