A study from North Carolina State University found that just one hour of physical exercise can boost your GPA by 0.06 points and increase your chances of graduating by 49%, according to Edcor. Besides helping you maintain a healthy weight and reducing the risk of chronic diseases, exercising can also improve your academic performance.
If you’re an online student, you might miss out on the physical activities that traditional students get from walking around campus. That’s why it’s important to plan and schedule exercises into your daily routine. The good news is you don’t need an expensive gym membership to shed extra pounds, build strength, improve balance, and increase flexibility. An effective home-based yoga routine can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
We all know that exercising is crucial for better physical health, especially for online students who should be more proactive about it. Low-intensity physical activities can boost your energy levels, helping you fight off fatigue. Online learners often struggle with fatigue due to long study hours and less movement. Spending one to three hours a week on activities like yoga, aerobic exercises, dancing, or anything that involves both your upper and lower body can help lower the risk of depression and heart disease.
Yoga not only improves conditioning and strength but also stabilizes a healthy heart rate and enhances cardiovascular functions. When you’re pursuing an online degree, you spend a lot of time staring at your laptop or desktop. Long hours studying slides can be draining, unlike traditional students who attend lectures in person. And if you spend your free time watching movies or chatting on your phone, your eyes aren’t getting the rest they need. Taking a few minutes to do yoga can help reduce eyestrain from prolonged screen time and prevent headaches from extended studying.
Exercise doesn’t just benefit your physical health; it also boosts your memory. When you work out, the levels of dopamine, epinephrine, and protein in the brain increase, improving your problem-solving skills due to enhanced memory. Intensive exercises like jogging, brisk walking, and aerobics increase blood circulation to the brain, promoting cell growth which is essential for learning. The best part? Just 20 minutes of exercise can improve your concentration in class.
Study breaks are essential for maintaining motivation and productivity in your academics. While it might be tempting to relax on the couch, doing so won’t increase your productivity or motivation. Exercise is a fantastic form of study break as it keeps you alert and energized by boosting blood flow throughout your body. Intensive exercises also release stress-related toxins that affect your brain and nervous system, and high stress can lead to muscle tightness, making you feel tired and sore. Simple stretching exercises can relax your muscles, leaving you feeling rejuvenated, which translates to better productivity and motivation for academic tasks.
Adding exercise into your daily routine is key to improving your academic performance. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot on a gym membership. With various DIY workouts and yoga exercises, you can stay fit without leaving home. All you need is the right equipment and some dedicated time to exercise.