"Accumulating research demonstrates that acute exercise can enhance long-term episodic memory. "

"When exercising, molecular responses (e.g., upregulation of neurotransmitters)
that aid in memory function are increased, and thus, increase the likelihood of observing improvements in memory. Our results suggest that a 20-min bout of exercise, followed by a rest period of up to 15 min, may be sufficient to enhance long term memory performance."

Loprinzi, P.D., Roig, M., Tomporowski, P.D. et al. Effects of acute exercise on memory: Considerations of exercise intensity, post-exercise recovery period and aerobic endurance. Mem Cogn 51, 1011–1026 (2023). 

"The results of the study are clear-cut: learning a foreign vocabulary while performing a concurrent
physical activity yields better performance than learning the same vocabulary while being
in a static situation."

"Physical activity is supposed on the one hand to favor synaptic plasticity and on the other hand to increase the availability of specific neurotrophic substances in the brain, such as BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) that facilitate learning."

Liu F, Sulpizio S, Kornpetpanee S, Job R
(2017) It takes biking to learn: Physical activity improves learning a second language. PLoS ONE 2(5): e0177624.

"The effect of studying during exercise is beneficial compared to the combined effect of studying after or without exercise. 

Moderately-intense cycling may also create a beneficial environment for encoding of memories."

"This result strengthens the implications for students who desire to multitask by reviewing course materials during a workout."

Zabriskie HA, Heath EM. Effectiveness of Studying When Coupled with Exercise-Induced Arousal. Int J Exerc Sci. 2019 Aug 1;12(5):979-988. 

"Exercise can make you smarter, happier and have more neurons depending on the dose (intensity) of the training program."

"Adult neurogenesis might be a physical substrate for hormetic responses to exercise on cognition and mood, and that the growth factors (IGF1 and BDNF among the main key factors) mediating actions of exercise on AHN, may be potential candidates to mediate this response curve, together with ROS."

Gradari S, Pallé A, McGreevy KR, Fontán-Lozano Á and Trejo JL (2016)
Can Exercise Make You Smarter, Happier, and Have More Neurons? A Hormetic Perspective. Front. Neurosci. 10:93.

Watching videos while you exercise can help you exercise longer

[Even if you HATE exercising]

"The use of either self-selected music or video distraction during exercise resulted in a similarly more pleasant exercise experience while still allowing for the exercise to be done at an intensity that would support fitness and health benefits. The use of distraction stimuli may assist an individual in overcoming feelings of discomfort and unpleasantness commonly elicited by exercise and frequently offered as reasons for discontinuation of exercise. The results of this investigation suggest that the addition of music or video distraction during exercise may allow an individual to focus their attention on the distraction rather than on unpleasant or uncomfortable feelings related to their exercise. This may lead to a more pleasant exercise experience and potentially impact future exercise adherence.

Using distraction during exercise might be an effective behavior modification technique for facilitating ongoing exercise participation."

Miller PC, Hall EE, Bailey EK. The Influence of Various Distraction Stimuli on Affective Responses during Recumbent Cycle Ergometry. Sports (Basel). 2016 Mar 23;4(2):21.

"Compared with inactive individuals, adults accumulating 150 min/week [22 min/day] of non-occupational moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity had 31% and 29% lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively, whereas the risk difference for total cancer mortality was 15%."

Garcia L, Pearce M, Abbas A, et al Non-occupational physical activity and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality outcomes: a dose–response meta-analysis of large prospective studies British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:979-989.

"Physicians should unequivocally incorporate physical activity into their own daily routine, for their own health benefit, and to become an exercise role model, more confident in prescribing exercise to their patients."

"Physically active physicians and other health care providers are 1.4 to 5.7 times more likely to provide physical activity counselling to their patients."

Green A, Engstrom C, Friis P. Exercise: an essential evidence-based medicine. Med J Aust. 2018 Apr 2;208(6):242-243.

"If CPD systems are explicitly designed to encourage health care providers to engage in healthy lifestyles, it will benefit not only their own wellbeing but also will enhance their patient counselling practices in preventative medicine.

The importance of this cannot be overemphasized as benefits are expected for health care providers, their patients, and health systems."

Babenko O, Ding M, Koppula S. (2019) MedEdPublish 8:21

"Physically active Primary Care Providers (PCP) are more likely to advise their patients to be as active as them. Thus, getting PCPs to be physically active may be a critical component in increasing Physical activity and exercise patient consultations."

Lee AK, Bt Muhamad R, Tan VPS. Physically active primary care physicians consult more on physical activity and exercise for patients: A public teaching-hospital study, Sports Medicine and Health Science, 2023,