Your days probably go like this: sit through several hours of lectures, spend several hours more in front of a laptop studying, and get some well-deserved R&R on a couch in the evening.
See the pattern here? That’s right: it’s a lot of time spent not moving.
If you recognized yourself in that example, you’re not alone. In fact, an estimated 40% to 50% of college students don’t meet the recommended physical activity guidelines. The most common reason? Perceived lack of time.
Yet, physical activity is essential for your physical and mental health. And the kicker? There are plenty of benefits of physical activity on the brain, too. Here’s how it impacts cognitive functioning, memory, concentration, and even stress resilience.
Yes, Physical Activity Is Good for Your Brain
You might already know that physical activity is good for your muscles, heart, weight management, and bones. But its benefits don’t stop there. Regular physical activity is also good for your brain.
Although the exact mechanisms aren’t 100% clear yet, researchers believe it’s a combination of increased blood flow to the brain and hormone release triggered by exercise. That, with other benefits of physical activity like improved sleep quality and mental health, has a positive effect on:
- Cognitive function
- Learning abilities
- Memory
- Concentration
- Executive functions
- Problem-solving
- Coping with stress
Good news: there’s nothing too complicated about physical activity for students. You don’t have to run marathons or spend an hour at a gym every day. The CDC is clear: brisk walking, swimming, dancing, and even household chores count.
So, How Can Exercise Improve Memory?
This shouldn’t come as a surprise: you need your memory to be at its best if you want to learn anything. Namely, it’s your working memory you should care about. That’s the type of memory responsible for encoding new information and logical reasoning.
Here’s some good news: a recent meta-analysis showed that physical activity in college students improves this particular type of memory. But it also found that not all types of exercise were equally helpful:
- Aerobic exercise, resistance training, mixed-modal training, and HIIT led to substantial improvements in memory.
- Ball sports and cognitive training, in turn, didn’t show a substantial impact.
- Consistent physical activity was significantly more effective than acute interventions.
That said, researchers couldn’t identify the most effective type of exercise.
Other studies, in turn, showed that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can boost the size of the hippocampus by 2%. That’s the area of the brain involved in memory and thinking.
Physical Activity Can Help You Stay Sharp
Your mind keeps drifting left and right while you’re reading or working on an assignment? That might make it harder for you to earn good grades. Most of the time, you can’t just will yourself to be attentive, but you can do something to boost your ability to concentrate.
That something is, you’ve guessed it, physical activity. As brain health and physical activity go hand in hand, so do attention and physical activity breaks.
Don’t take our word for it: a 2026 study tested that hypothesis. Researchers found that a 10-minute physical activity break right after a lecture led to better attentional and executive performance.
So, next time you have 10 minutes in between lectures, go for a brisk walk. That’ll help you stay sharp during the next lecture — more so than scrolling a social media feed.
Don’t Forget About Its Impact on Executive Functions
“Executive functions” might sound like a term only neuroscientists can understand, but it’s not the case. It’s an umbrella term for all the mental processes that help us get stuff done. It’s how we manage our thoughts, actions, and emotions to check something off the to-do list.
When you study, executive functions help you:
- Plan study times and complete assignments on time
- Prioritize tasks
- Switch from one assignment or subject to another
- Stay focused despite distractions
- See complex tasks through
One meta-analysis pinpointed several ways physical activity improves executive functions in college students:
- Both acute and long-term physical activity boosts inhibitory control, i.e., the ability to overcome impulses.
- Long-term exercise also improves working memory, while acute exercise does not.
- Acute activity, in turn, substantially boosts cognitive flexibility.
Life Gets Stressful? Physical Activity Can Help
Over half of students report living under chronic stress, be it due to exams, deadlines, presentations, finances, or an unhealthy study-work balance. No matter the reason, chronic stress is the kind of stress that puts your health at risk.
Addressing chronic stress requires a multipronged approach, of course, but physical activity is definitely one of those prongs. As the CDC lays out in its physical activity guide:
- A single session of moderate-to-vigorous exercise reduces short-term anxiety and improves sleep.
- Regular exercise reduces long-term anxiety, promotes deep sleep, and improves certain executive functions.
One systematic review looked into what research says about the connection between stress levels and physical activity. It found that higher physical activity levels persistently correlated with lower stress levels.
The thing is, physical activity triggers an endorphin release and provides an outlet for the stress-induced tension. So, next time you feel stressed, go for a walk or do a short workout!
How Much Physical Activity Is Enough for College Students?
The CDC recommends that any adult spend 150 minutes a week on moderate-intensity physical activity. That can involve brisk walks or riding a bike on flat ground, for example. You can substitute it with 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (e.g., jogging) a week or combine the two types of activity.
In addition to that, you need to spend at least 2 days a week on muscle-strengthening activity. Think lifting weights or doing sit-ups.
If you want to reap the benefits of physical activity for brain health, keep in mind: some activity is better than no activity at all. So, don’t give up and consider it a lost cause if you don’t reach the 150-minutes-a-week goal.
9 No-Hassle Physical Activity Examples for Students in College
You don’t have to get a gym subscription or go jogging every morning to stay physically active. Here are nine simple examples of physical activity for students that don’t require tons of preparation or investment:
- Get to class on foot or by bike instead of taking public transport or driving.
- Walk as much as you can in general (you can use that time to listen to lecture recordings or podcasts!).
- Climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator whenever you can.
- Take 10-minute physical activity breaks while studying.
- Check what facilities your campus offers: unlike a gym, an on-campus fitness center is either free or dirt cheap.
- Join a student sports club or team; it can also help you stay motivated to exercise.
- Spend time playing sports or exercising with friends.
- See if your college or university offers fitness classes (e.g., yoga, Zumba).
- Explore hiking trails in the vicinity if you’re an outdoorsy person.
Before You Go
The benefits of physical activity for students don’t stop at a healthier heart and better sleep quality. Regular exercise can quite literally give your brain a boost, making you a more productive learner.
So, don’t think about physical activity as an obligation. Consider it your superpower.
Any Questions?
