{"id":39768,"date":"2019-11-07T13:52:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T18:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=39768"},"modified":"2019-11-15T15:13:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T20:13:02","slug":"physical-activity-and-the-awareness-action-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/11\/07\/physical-activity-and-the-awareness-action-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Activity and the Awareness-Action Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"In the past week I have conducted an (informal) survey of first-year undergraduate students. Shout out to everyone who answered my umpteen questions, despite being generally overwhelmed with work! You have made possible the pursuit of truth.\r\n\r\nTwo broad categories emerged while I conducted my research (which involved a lot more laughter and bad jokes than I suspect research usually does): those who were previously active, that is, before university, and those who have never really been active, and find it increasingly impossible to start given the demands of university academics. The same reasons came up repeatedly:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>I\u2019m just way too tired.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>I don\u2019t have time (to exercise, or even to give thought <em>to <\/em>exercise and when I might do it).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>My commute is two (or more) hours long, and leaves me with very little free time.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>I go when I can but I\u2019m way too busy to go regularly.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>I use my free time for naps. (This is a real response and not one I made up).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Exercise? What\u2019s that? Do you mean <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Xerxes-I\">Xerxes<\/a>? (This I made up).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_39769\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39769\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1377.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39769\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1377-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The sun sets on a dark skyline, as seen from inside a bus.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1377-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1377-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1377-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One benefit of a long commute is getting to see the sunset from different parts of the city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAnd yet, all of the people I asked were very well acquainted with the <em>tremendous <\/em>benefits of being physically active. All of them mentioned the psychological benefits: your mood is better, you\u2019re more stress-resilient, and of course, it\u2019s better for your body. That\u2019s not all, though:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>People who exercise have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. (There\u2019s a high correlation between sedentary lifestyles and mental illness).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Exercise has been shown to be effective in the treatment of different kinds of mental illnesses. (In fact, exercise and antidepressants have much the same effect on the brain).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Better sleep.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>More energy throughout your day. (So, part of the reason one is too tired to exercise might be that one doesn\u2019t exercise to begin with).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Better self-esteem.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Slows neurodegeneration as you get older. (So it\u2019s anti-aging cream, but for your brain).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_39770\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39770\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1373-e1572663317492.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39770\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1373-e1572663317492-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"A red-and-gold tree in fall.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1373-e1572663317492-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/11\/IMG-1373-e1572663317492-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39770\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doing exercise outside is extra uplifting, because of trees such as this one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nNearly everyone I spoke to was unaware of the <em>cognitive <\/em>benefits, however:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Improves memory<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Enhances cognitive flexibility<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Increases the speed of information processing<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Improves attention and ability to focus<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nAll of these benefits come with two hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week, but it\u2019s also been proven that every little bit goes a long way. It\u2019s often a challenge to return to exercise after an extended period (or lifetime) of inactivity, so it may be wise to start small and build it up as the weeks go by. It helps to make it part of one\u2019s routine: for example, deciding to go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/kpe.utoronto.ca\/aboutstudent-outreach\/diversity-equity\">weekly voguing class on Wednesdays<\/a> after your math lecture.\r\n\r\nAs students with demanding academic schedules, it\u2019s difficult to prioritize the stuff we don\u2019t get graded on. Good health is something we all take for granted until it\u2019s gone, and we\u2019re left scrambling to make amends. It\u2019s a lot easier to make sure that nothing goes wrong to begin with- and human beings in general are not very good at that, which is why nobody did anything about climate change for a really, really long time. But the evidence is overwhelming: exercise will make you more effective at studying. If you\u2019re focusing better, then you\u2019re not reading the same page over and over. If you\u2019re retaining more, then you have less to do when you revise. Thus, the hours you spend exercising could actually save you a <em>significant<\/em> amount of time in the long run.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<u>Sources:<\/u>\r\n\r\n<em>Psychological benefits:<\/em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.karger.com\/Article\/PDF\/223730\">https:\/\/www.karger.com\/Article\/PDF\/223730<\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/europepmc.org\/articles\/pmc1470658\">https:\/\/europepmc.org\/articles\/pmc1470658<\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/Exercise%3A-a-neglected-intervention-in-mental-health-Callaghan\/18bc17cc52f9147188a66587f303e2ee7f8bbf4f\">https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/Exercise%3A-a-neglected-intervention-in-mental-health-Callaghan\/18bc17cc52f9147188a66587f303e2ee7f8bbf4f<\/a>\r\n\r\n<em>Cognitive benefits: <\/em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12576-013-0267-6\">https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12576-013-0267-6<\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110\">https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110<\/a>\r\n\r\n<em>Every little bit counts:<\/em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.utoronto.ca\/news\/breast-cancer-survivor-involved-u-t-prehab-study-shares-her-story-washington-dc\">https:\/\/www.utoronto.ca\/news\/breast-cancer-survivor-involved-u-t-prehab-study-shares-her-story-washington-dc<\/a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nIn the past week I have conducted an (informal) survey of first-year undergraduate students. Shout out to everyone who answered my umpteen questions, despite being generally overwhelmed with work! You have made possible the pursuit of truth. Two broad categories&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/11\/07\/physical-activity-and-the-awareness-action-gap\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Physical Activity and the Awareness-Action Gap&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/11\/07\/physical-activity-and-the-awareness-action-gap\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Physical Activity and the Awareness-Action Gap&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":393,"featured_media":39771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1758,7204,67],"tags":[86,259,1733,88,9307,1439,13498,138,27654,1734,10978,1933,571,85,1949],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39768"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39773,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39768\/revisions\/39773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}