Brittany Anderson

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
29 February 2016
How Exercise Effects the College Student
Exercise is something that everyone needs, yet only a small percentage of us actually take
advantage of. Why do people exercise? Why do people not exercise? Why are some life time
careers purely devoted to exercise? According to a study done by Gallup (an analytical company
who takes surveys and makes game plans for people and companies) 51% of Americans say they
want to loose weight. Some people say admitting it is the first step right? Well not in the case of
exercise. Only 25% of the 51% of Americans who say they want to loose weight, are actually
doing anything about it. Thats not quite half of the people who are actually working towards this
goal (Brown). While Americans as a whole are surprising I want to look specifically at one
population of people: college students. If anyone is going to workout I believe college students
are the most likely. They have a much more flexible schedule from their high school days which
usually consisted of classes from around 8am to 3:15pm. This being said we all know the main
reason why people dont exercise is because they think they dont have time. I have no intention
on questioning their time management, what I would like to do is show how exercise is vital to
our health in terms of memory, energy level, and sleep patterns.
While doing my research, the one area that I found, which surprised me the most was
how exercise effects the memory. Although there are many more aspects to college than just
hitting the books, most of us realize that education is the most important one. One of the main
parts of education these days is purely the ability to recall what you have learned. Some find it

difficult to recall answers on a test, homework thats due, or the group project meeting that
started an hour ago. Yes, setting reminders in your phone will help tremendously, but one way to
help your mind remember for itself is exercise. Heidi Godman a writer for Harvard Medical said
it like this:
"The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance,
reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factorschemicals in the brain
that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even
the abundance and survival of new brain cells. (Godman)
I had to read this several times to understand that this just means that during exercise the brain is
stimulated in ways which help your memory. Just like your metabolism is stimulated, which
helps you lose weight, your brain is working overtime to improve itself. Many may think that,
while it would be great to exercise and benefit from memory growth, they just don't have the
time. A common misconception is that in order to make a difference in your body you must
exercise for hours and hours; this is simply not true. Studies have shown that low intensity
workouts help just as much (Godman) . Low intensity could mean taking a walk, taking the stairs
instead of the elevator, going for a swim, etc. Most of these activities we do to some degree
without even considering it. Imagine how much exercise the average college student could get if
they thought consciously about adding these activities to their lives.
The oxymoron excuse that a college student gives for not exercising is that they just dont
have enough energy. All of us can relate to this. There are times when we fill much more
energized than others. I call this excuse an oxymoron because everyone knows that if you dont
have a lot of energy than you need to exercise to get more energy, but people dont have the

energy to start exercising. The science behind it is that as you exercise your blood starts flowing
more, which allows more nutrients to be brought to different parts of your body giving you the
nutrients you need (Web). As college students its easy to get caught in the rat race of balancing
or classes, hobbies, and personal lives, but all these activities require energy. I have heard this
statement from numerous freshman, I dont need to exercise because walking to my classes is
exercise enough. While it usually does take a bit of effort to walk to your classes you have to
work a little harder in order to raise your overall energy level. Two and a half hours of moderateintensity is the suggested amount of exercise per week if one wants to raise their energy levels
(Web). So walking to class everyday is not necessarily enough of a workout, but if you add a
swim or some time on the treadmill than you most likely will see an improvement in your energy
level over time.
Whether in their dorms, in class, or in the library, college students are known for how
much they sleep. Studies have shown that exercise improves sleep; not just the amount but also
the quality of the sleep that you get. During my research I read that by exercising just 150
minutes a week sleep can improve about 65% (Study: Physical Activity Impacts Overall Quality
of Sleep). Although I knew that a hard hike would make you sleep better that night I never
considered the fact that only 150 minutes could actually greatly effect your sleep. This also
means that if youre sleeping better at night than obviously you have more energy the next day.
Psychology Today explains this phenomenon, It can strengthen (link is external) circadian
rhythms, promoting daytime alertness and helping bring on sleepiness at night." (Breus). College
students are often defined by the fact that they sleep so irregularly. Some nights theyll sleep for

14 hours uninterrupted while other nights theyll only get 3 hours of sleep. This variety can really
mess with a persons sleep cycle. When someone falls asleep they start what is called a sleep
cycle, or different stages of sleep from light to deep sleep. Its not a good idea to wake up without
finishing a sleep cycle (90 minutes long), because you will wake up disoriented and most likely
not refreshed at all. Exercise during the day helps you fall asleep and complete all the stages of
sleep, especially REM sleep which is the final and most crucial part of the cycle because this is
where you dream and analyze the days activities. Sleeping is a major part of the college
students life and it can be improved through exercise.
These three examples are just a few of the many ways that exercise can improve your
life. Now that a case has been made for the benefits of exercise I want to take a look specifically
at which college students are exercising and how often they do it. From the research I did I found
that male college students exercise more than females over all (The exercise hook: It's different
for men and women). The main difference though is how consistent they are related to what
kind of workouts they do. Men who just exercise with cardio workouts (such as walking,
climbing stairs, using a stationary bike) are less likely to stay consistent with their exercise than
men who lift weights or woman who do any sort of exercise (The exercise hook: It's different
for men and women). So although proportionally more men workout woman are more likely to
stay consistent with their exercise. Studies also show that if woman have a better body image
they are more likely to stay consistent with their exercise. This effect does not seem to play a roll
in a mans likely hood to work out consistently (The exercise hook: It's different for men and
women). The exercise hook: It's different for men and women I looked into the topic of what

makes men and women exercise I was surprised that body image didnt play a huge factor in
whether or not men were consistent. Every guy Ive known has worked out specifically because
they want to have a better body image.
Exercise helps the college students memory, energy level, and sleep improve in huge
ways. Although some people may not believe they have much of a need for exercise because
they because they are not drastically over weight, everyone can benefit from it. College students
are in the prime of their lives and from the research that I did I can only identify ways that
exercise would help improve their lifestyles. Although it might be hard to start, I believe that
every college student should take a step towards a healthier life by setting some time aside for
exercise.

Works Cited

"Study: Physical Activity Impacts Overall Quality of Sleep." - National Sleep Foundation. Web.
29 Feb. 2016.

Breus, Michael J., Dr. "Better Sleep Found by Exercising on a Regular Basis." Psychology
Today. 06 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
Brown, Alyssa. "Americans' Desire to Shed Pounds Outweighs Effort." Gallup.com. 29 Nov.
2013. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
Godman, Heidi. "Regular Exercise Changes the Brain to Improve Memory, Thinking Skills Harvard Health Blog." Harvard Health Blog RSS. 2014. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
"IU News Room." The Exercise Hook: It's Different for Men and Women: : Indiana University.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
Webb, Marion. "Fitness Programs | Exercise As a Cure for Fatigue and To Boost Energy Levels."
ACE Fit. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.