To Improve Your Memory, Get Moving ... Or Take a Nap
Scientists have unlocked new secrets for boosting memory retention: One involves breaking a sweat, and the other involves taking a snooze.
Exercising about four hours after you learn something can improve how well you remember it, according to a small study published in the journal Current Biology this month.
Of course, working out on the regular has long been associated with enhanced memory and thinking skills. The new findings, however, offer a specific time window for taking an acute advantage of this association, said Guillén Fernández, a co-author of the study and professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour in the Netherlands.
"In addition, it might lead to additional studies optimizing the delay and intensity of post-learning exercise to achieve best study success, which might be relevant for education," Fernández said. In other words, the study supports the idea that after-school sports can help students retain what was learned in the classroom.
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Published on CNN June 29, 2016