Effectiveness of Studying When Coupled with Exercise-Induced Arousal

The basis of learning is knowledge of discrete information such as terms and definitions that can be developed through memorization. A strong knowledge base is something students strive to develop through self-directed study. Little research has investigated the role of simultaneous exercise and memorization on recall ability with a delay in recall of at least 24 hrs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an exercise bout on memory by requiring participants to recall words 24 hrs after exposure to three different interventions: memorization while cycling, memorization after cycling, and memorization without cycling. 21 physically active young adults completed the crossover design in randomized order. During testing sessions, participants were given a unique list of 100 words and were instructed to memorize as many words as possible. They returned 24 hrs later to recall the words. The average number of words recalled for each intervention were: memorization while cycling, 51.5 ± 19.8 words; memorization after cycling, 45.1 ± 22.4 words; memorization without cycling, 45.7 ± 23.3 words. Mixed-measures ANOVA revealed that exercise did not alter recall ability (p = 0.121). However, statistical contrasts showed that the number of words recalled following memorization during cycling was higher than number of words recalled during the other interventions (p = 0.043). The results indicate that exercise has no adverse effect on memorization ability. Simultaneous memorization and exercise produced a greater ability to recall words than memorization after or without exercise.