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 Well I guess not in this case because only . 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 actually working on it(Brown). While the statistics from America as a
whole 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 candidates. They have a much more flexible schedule than they did in 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 wWe 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.

During my research I found that memory is greatly affected by exercise. It surprised me

that a physical activity such as working out could actually do something in your brain.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 oneI have never met a student who didnt
wish they had a better memory when it came to class material. 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 or, remember how to solve homework problems.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 In layman terms Godman is
saying 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
have time 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 to improve your health; thatis 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, kicking a
ball around with people, going to a yoga class, 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 people dont have energy due to their lack of exercise and they dont exercise because they
dont have enough energy.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 an individualone 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 of sleep

that you get, but also the quality of that sleepthe sleep that you get. During my research I read
that by exercising just 150 minutes a week (2 and a half hours) sleep can improve by 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 a week
could actually dramatically change your sleep schedule greatly affect your sleep. This also means
that if youre sleeping better at night than obviously you have more energy the next day. This
information about sleep further proves my second point of an increased energy level. Psychology
Today has a great explanation of 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 or anywhere in between. This
variety can really mess with a persons sleep cycle. When someone falls asleep they start what is
called a sleep cycle, which is the or different stages of slumbersleep that you go through once
you have fallen asleepfrom light to deep sleep sleep. This variety can really mess with a persons
sleep cycle. 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, in
particular 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 sleep Now 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. In my research 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 womenwoman 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 stick 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 When 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 physical
activityit. College students are in the prime of their lives and from the research that I could only 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.