Written By: Upneet Pansare | Updated : September 18, 2018 9:28 AM IST
Do aerobic exercises like stationary cycling at work © Shutterstock
A new study from Japan, a country known whose people are known to be workaholics, has revealed that short bouts of aerobic exercise that doesn't require much concentration, can go a long way in helping recharge your brain at work. Lead author Keita Kamijo, assistant professor, sports sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, told Reuters Health that 'simple exercise is better than cognitively demanding exercise during working hours.' For the study, the researchers asked 28 men to perform tasks that challenge working memory. Working memory refers to memory as it is used to plan and carry out behaviour for processing tasks they're working on.
According to Reuters, 'the men took the working-memory challenges before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after three different test periods on three different days. The test periods were assigned in random order and lasted 25 minutes each. In one, the men simply exercised on a stationary bike. In another, they performed a cognitive task while sitting on the bike, but they didn't exercise. And in the third, they did both at the same time: they exercised on the bike and performed a cognitive task.' The results of this exercise were evident just after 30 minutes. Kamijo said to Reuters that they expected to see 'improvements in accuracy and reaction times on the working memory challenge after both periods in which the men exercised on the bike.'
This agrees with several research studies in the past that talk about the positive effects of all kinds of exercise. A previous study published in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review says that aerobic exercise benefits cognitive function such as switching between tasks, and selective attention and working memory. It also said that 'fitter individuals scored better in mental tests than their unfit peers.' An aerobic exercise regimen has several more mental benefits than classes in, say, toning or stretching, says the study.
