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 lose 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 lose weight, are actually
doing anything about it. Thats not quite half of the people who are actually working towards this
goal As you can see, only half of the people who want to lose weight are exercising (Brown).
While the statistics from Americans as a whole are surprising I want to look specifically at one
population of people: college students. If anyone is going to workoutwork out I believe college
students are the most likely. They have a much more flexible schedule from high school their
high school days where they were in class for 7 hours a day 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 in order for people to understand that this is something
we should find time for.
While doing my research, the one area that I found, which surprised me the most was how

exercise effects the memory. Although some people are more focused on academics than others,
everyone would agree that the purpose of college is to gain a higher education. 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, remember how to
solve homework problemsthats due, or the fact that you have a 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,
they would love to have better memory, but they still dont want to have to exercise.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 or, 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 This is an oxymoron excuse 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 it iss 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. Its not leg day just
because you walked to EPIC. Two and a half hours of moderate-intensity is the suggested
amount of exercise per week if one wants to raise increase their energy levels (Web). So walking
to class every day is not necessarily enough of a workout, but if you add a swim or some time30
minutes on the treadmill than you most likely will see an improvement in your energy level over
time.
Whether in the 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 affect your sleep. This also

means that if youre sleeping better at night than obviously you have more energy the next day.
So to some degree sleep helps improve my second point of an increased energy level.
Psychology Today explains this phenomenon, It can strengthen (link is external) circadian
rhythms, promoting daytime alertness and helping bring on sleepiness at night." (Breus). The
average college student has very irregular sleep patterns. 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 slumber. Waking up Its not a good idea to wake up without
finishing a sleep cycle (90 minutes long) is not advised, 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.
Following my research for memory, energy level, and sleepNow that a case has been made for
the benefits of exercise I wanted 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.
consistent they are in relation 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 p Proportionally more men
workout than woman, but 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 rolel in a mans likely hood likelihood 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 incredible
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 It might be hard to start, but 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.