Whenever a 12thie tries to sneak out and play, their mother taunts, “Board ka saal hai, kuch padh le varna kahi admission nahi hoga”. If parents could have their way, we would be shipped off to a jail called school for two years where we study 18 hours, on energy pills if our bodies can’t take it, and slept for 6. But since schools teach for only 6 hours a day, the parents think it is their responsibility to fill the rest of our day by making sure we’re glued to our study tables. And this can have some harmful effects on the body.
Lack of exercise can make our body obese and lethargic. This, in turn, causes the mind to not work as efficiently and reduces the amount of information it can process. This phenomenon is literally called Brain Fog.
The logic is simple: Lack of exercise doesn’t help you study more; it causes you to study less.
Exercise: Day One
You might cry that with school homework, tuitions and on the top of that, coaching classes and their homework, you do not have any time to squeeze out for exercise. Perhaps you will be more willing to reschedule your timetable when you read about the benefits.
- Taking out an hour each day to make your body sweat will cool down your body temperature and leave you feeling accomplished. This will, in turn, make you more motivated to reach your daily goals when you sit down to study.
- Your stamina will be given a boost too so you can manage the billion tests you have to give without feeling burned out.
- Playing your favorite gully sport with your neighborhood friends will also satisfy your inner need of social interaction for the day. We all know how dull school can be in high school.
- Playing is a cooperative task so it will help take your mind out of obsessive competition for a while
- If you have tuition in the evening, use your cycle to travel there. This will improve the blood circulation to your brain and the rest of your body. More blood means more oxygen to the cells which has healthier written all over it. Also, cycling in the morning will fill up your lungs with clean air.
- Exercising will help burn some extra energy during the day so you can get a good night’s sleep. A nice long sleep will give your mind, time to create new storage facilities for what you’ve learned during the day. It is also why it is suggested to not pull all-nighters. They are highly inefficient if you want to remember what you read a week ago.
- As your body loses fluids, you will drink more water, lots of it. “Your brain works best in a nice bath of fluid. Dehydration (which can happen before you ever feel thirsty) decreases cognitive function (From the Head First Series)Pro-Tip: Do you feel sleepy at a good workout? Have some Tang/Rasna/Nimbu Pani or Bananas immediately after your workout session to recharge your energy reserves. This surge in energy will prepare you for hours of revision.
- It is a basic human fact that WE LEARN EVERYWHERE. When you play outside, you will learn passively. Your motor skills will improve, you’ll be better at hand brain coordination; you’ll become more attentive which will help you find the tricky exam questions.
But you already know all this, didn’t you? These are all science facts that scrape an article every week in the Newspapers. You’re scared. You’re scared that you won’t complete your syllabus if you do these “time wasting“activities.
Don’t be scared, bachha. Exercise for a week. You’ll see how the quality of your studying improves. If it doesn’t work, go back to your formal routine. But, we guarantee that it most certainly will!