
The Physical Sacrifice of Thinking (2015) - laurex
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1359105314565827
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hirundo
> The overall findings showed that low-need-for-cognition individuals were
> more physically active

"Need for cognition" may translate into the vernacular as "easily bored." So
easily bored people find exercise more tedious and do less of it. It has that
effect on me. And consistent with their conclusion, cogitating via wildlife
tracking, orienteering, audiobooks, podcasts or conversation makes exercise
more tolerable for me.

Being chased by a bear would also result in decreased boredom, increased
cognition and a sudden interest in vigorous exercise, but it would probably
not be as long lasting. Being chased by an imaginary bear is likely more
sustainable.

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thechao
Weight lifting, specifically complex lifts with heavy weight fully engages me:
if I don’t do the exercise correctly, either; (1) the bar doesn’t move; or,
(2) I will hurt myself. I have focused, exclusively, on lifts of type #1.
Things like squat, deadlift, bench press, etc., with moderate-heavy weight do
the trick.

~~~
jakeinspace
I enjoy weightlifting and powerlifting as well, but I can't say it's ever
maximally mentally stimulating. Yes, I have to concentrate in a way, but it
doesn't feel like I'm thinking deeply or quickly, as I might while playing a
team sport like basketball. Most of the mental effort is in concentrating on
my muscle contractions, feedback from my nerves, and mental preparation before
the lift.

Now that I type this out, I'm realizing that weightlifting (in an appropriate
setting/mood) is not dissimilar to meditation.

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landonxjames
That revelation came to me when I was talking to a friend who is very into
yoga. It turned out that he and I received similar benefits from yoga and
powerlifting respectively. They both improved our mind-body connection and had
strong calming effects.

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tempestn
I just got into (light) meditation over the past few months, and I've found
the practice has made working out more pleasant. In the past I always made
myself do it, but it was more of a struggle to not want to be done and doing
something more mentally stimulating. I think the meditation has helped train
me to make the most of the experience and not be craving more stimulation (at
least, as much as before).

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vichu
The full paper can be found here:
[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsd...](https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkcnRvZGRtY2Vscm95fGd4OjFlYjU2ZDQyNjgwMzY3MDg)

Also probably worth mentioning that this paper is from 2015.

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Errorcod3
Where physical activity effects cognitive abilities, explain those who have no
physical means? Obvious example: Hawking

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Evan_Hellmuth
I wonder how they measured "need for cognition" in individuals.

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ASpring
In the Materials section: "To assess participants’ level of NFC, we used the
NFC scale (Cacioppo et al., 1984)."

It's a pretty well-accepted standard scale.

~~~
alexandercrohde
[http://www.midss.org/sites/default/files/ncogscale.pdf](http://www.midss.org/sites/default/files/ncogscale.pdf)

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fourier_mode
So, Alan Turing was an outlier?

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tejtm
walled

~~~
dredmorbius
[http://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105314565827](http://sci-
hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105314565827)

