Research Paper

Hannah Vogelsong

Professor Harmon

English 1020-3

28 October 2014

The Influence of Exercise on the Mind and Body

            Childhood obesity has become an epidemic with more than one third of children aged 2 through 19 overweight or obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] 2013). Research has shown that obesity or lack of exercise correlates with student’s cognitive performance, ability to focus on new information, capability to produce neurochemicals, and their success of encoding and retaining new information. Current research supports the link between exercise and long-term retaining and encoding of new information. Scientists have proven that exercise stimulates the production of neurochemical enhancers and brain derived neutrophic factors (BDNF) which help to focus attention to new information therefore aiding in overall learning, supporting the relationship between the mind and body.

Researchers investigate the link between children’s health, nutrition, and their academic achievement. Kayla Naticchinoni, student at John Carroll University, stated in her Senior Honors Paper, “The Relationship between Obesity and Academic Achievement of School-Age Children”, “With more of the adult population overweight or obese, the rates of childhood obesity have also risen to 33%” (2). Conducted research demonstrates that obesity and lack of exercise is a noticeable problem in the United States, which affects the success of students academically. Researchers have examined a number of factors related to this relationship, including children’s weight, amount and quality of food consumption, and amount of physical activity. In her article, Naticchioni quoted Datar, Sturm, and Magnabosco who indicated that “Overweight kindergarteners and first-graders, on average, scored lower in math and reading than students who are of average weight” (qtd. in Naticchinoni 8). Researchers argue that the effects of obesity on academics extend beyond early childhood (Naticchinoni, 8). According to Kathy Speregen, student at University of Michigan, and author of Physical Education in America’s Public Schools: Obesity & Overweight Epidemic among Children in US, stated “Children who are overweight or obese experience many symptoms which affect their learning in schools” (Speregen). In her article, Speregen quoted Satcher who proves that weight problems do not only lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint problems, asthma, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and diabetes, but also these children miss as much as four times as much school as children of normal weight (qtd. in Speregen). Studies have been conducted on obesity or lack of exercise and the correlation that it has on the ability to learn, which demonstrates a lack of production of neurochemicals that allow the brain to aid overall learning.

Researchers argue that understanding the science behind the effects that exercise has on the mind, body, and cognitive performance is very important to understand because it is affecting our society. In The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain, by Terry Doyle, Chief Instructor for Faculty Development and Coordinator of the New Faculty Transition Program for the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning at Ferris State University and Todd Zakrajsek, an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and Executive Director of the Academy of Educators in the School of Medicine, the authors discuss that neuroscience research has presented that when you learn something new, there is a physical change in your brain. Doyle and Zakrajsek argue that when you learn new information your brain cells establish connections with other brain cells to form new networks of cells, which represent the new learning that has taken place (6). The authors’ state:

When frequently activated, these new networks have the potential to become long-term memories. In fact, every time you use or practice the newly learned information or skill, the connections between the brain cells get stronger and recalling the information becomes easier. Long-term potentiation is a neurological description of how habits and long-term memories are formed. (Doyle and Zakrajsek 6-7)

An important message that Doyle and Zakrajsek conveyed is that when learning new material a considerable amount of practice and meaningful connections to other information is necessary in order to become a more permanent part of your memory (7). Neuroscience researchers have also found that to create long lasting memories practice typically needs to occur over a period of time, which psychologists call distributed practice (Doyle and Zakrajsek, 7). Doyle and Zakrajsek consider exercise as the most important activity you can take part in to improve your learning (9).

Noted by several researchers, the three stages of memory processing are encoding, storage, and retrieval. Conducted research argues that learning and memory have two key components: the learned object itself and the retrieval cue to find the learned material. In the article, The Impact of Stress and Glucocorticoids on Memory, Alexandru Tatomir, Carmen Micu, and Carmen Crivii discuss stress glucocorticoids have important effects on the cognitive functions, predominately memory (Tatomir et. al). Scholars debate that memory is crucial when trying to retain new information. In the article, Exercising During Learning Improves Vocabulary Acquisition, by Maren Schmidt-Kassow, Anna Kulka, Thomas C. Gunter, Kathrin Rothermich, and Sonja A. Kotz, discuss that studies have provided evidence that physical activity promotes cortical flexibility in the adult brain which ultimately expedites learning. The authors also discuss that the effect of simultaneous physical activity on learning performance has not been investigated thoroughly (Schmidt-Kassow, et al). A conducted study focuses on clarifying whether simultaneous motor activities influence verbal learning compared to learning in a physical situation. The study was done on 12 subjects, four being males between the ages of nineteen and thirty-three, in which they were monitored over three weeks. Over that period of time, they measured the responses between behavioral and electrophysiological responses to memorized materials. Researchers discovered that a better performance on vocabulary tests were demonstrated by subjects who were physically active during the encoding phase (Tatomir et. al). In addition, In The Effects of Cardiovascular Exercise on College Students’ Learning, Recall, and Comprehension, Andrea Salis examined the correspondence between exercise and the improvement of cognitive recall and comprehension. Salis conducted an experimental pretest-posttest study and examined whether or not a physical activity intervention improved community college students’ recall and comprehension of recently learned information. The experiment demonstrated substantial positive correlation between increased levels of physical activity and comprehension (Salis).

An interview was conducted with James Hilton, a freshman at Johnson and Wales University, on October 29^th, 2014, discussing his opinion on the effect that exercise has on the mind and the body. Hilton argued that exercise creates a positive link between his mind and body connection. Hilton states

Typically after an intense study session or class I would either workout or meditate; the meditation allowed me to process the information in a way I could understand, and the intense exercises made the information stick in my brain. This was useful because recalling these events made it easier to evoke the related information. (Hilton, 2014)

Hilton reveals a positive correlation between exercise and his ability to recall information. Researchers say that this is because of the neurochemicals released during exercise.

Intellectuals demonstrate that there are many factors needed to accomplish the processing of information. Stated by neuroscience researchers, chemicals and proteins improve human ability to take in, process, and remember new information and skills. Doyle and Zakrajsek argue processing and remembering skills are improved when large amounts of neurochemicals and proteins-messengers are released during exercise (35). As stated by Doyle and Zakrajsek, “exercise increased the production of three important neurochemicals that are involved in learning: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine” (37). Research shows that these neurochemicals help the brain to be more observant, focused, positive, and motivated toward learning. Scientists believe that when the levels of these three neurochemicals are increased, exercise provides you with the tools needed to make any learning situation highly productive.

Researchers argue that BDNF creates an easier learning process. According to Doyle and Zakrajsek, “BDNF is a protein produced inside nerve cells when they are active. It serves as a fertilizer for brain cells, keeping them functioning and growing, as well as spurring the growth of new neurons.” (37). As discussed in the academic journal, Exercise and Time-Dependent Benefits to Learning and Memory by Berchtold, Castello, and Cotman, the improvements exercise has on cognitive performance and how long the benefits sustain after exercise has ended was discussed. The goal of the conducted experiment, tested on mice, was to support the idea that BDNF availability contributes to the time-dependent cognitive benefits of exercise. In this experiment, the mice all demonstrated improvement. After being assessed over a 3-week, 2-week, and 1-week period, the mice with the fewest errors followed a 1-week delay. Researchers discussed that the mice with had the best memory performance trained immediately after the exercise period. The experiment consisted of assessing the time course of BDNF availability following exercise which revealed significant advancements of BDNF. Alchemists assessed that the BDNF levels returned to normal after 3-4 weeks. Yet, the BDNF protein levels showed a positive correlation with cognitive improvement (Berchtold et. al). Conducted research has created a relation between exercise and the ability to retain new information in the long term memory; without the protein, BDNF, encoding new information has been proven a harder task to accomplish.

Academics have proven the dependent relationship of the body and mind is supported by exercise. Studies have shown that when neurochemicals are released during exercise, the ability to focus and retain information in long-term memory is enhanced. According to recent inquiries, exercise contributes to not only a healthy body, but also a healthy mind. Conducted research demonstrates that obesity and lack of exercise disrupts the release of neurochemicals which interferes with a student’s ability to create connections and memories in order to retain new information, ultimately effecting the capability to succeed in the classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Childhood Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 May 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.

Doyle, Terry, and Todd Zakrajsek. The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain. Sterling: Stylus, 2013. Print.

Hilton, James. “Research Paper.” Personal Interview. 29 Oct. 2014.

Naticchioni, Kayla, “The Relationship between Obesity and Academic Achievement of School-Age Children” (2013). Senior HonorsProjects. Paper 9.<http://collected.jcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=honorspapers&gt; Web.

Salis, Andrea S. “The Effects of Cardiovascular Exercise on College Students’ Learning, Recall, and Comprehension.” ProQuest LLC (2010). ERIC. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Schmidt-Kassow, Maren, Et Al. “Exercising During Learning Improves Vocabulary Acquisition: Behavioral And ERP Evidence.” Neuroscience Letters 482.1 (2010): 40-44. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Speregen, Kathy. “Physical Education in America’s Public Schools: Obesity & Overweight Epidemic Among Children in US.” Physical Education in America’s Public Schools: Obesity & Overweight Epidemic Among Children in US. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.