
30 Minutes of Aerobic Exercise Supercharges Semantic Memory - laurex
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-athletes-way/201904/30-minutes-aerobic-exercise-supercharges-semantic-memory
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mettamage
I've learned this fact in my neuropsychology class from Prof. Dr. Erik
Scherder. He is nowadays semi-famous in The Netherlands even and spreads this
message as loud and as far as he can.

The thing that annoys me about research like this is: it may be true, but I
don't feel it. So to what extent is it really helpful?

That is until I had an accidental yet natural experiment that lasted for two
weeks.

For two weeks I cycled every odd day to my work and I went to my work by metro
every even day. It happened to rain every even day (and sometimes I decided to
go cycling anyway on odd days, despite it raining).

At some point, after about a week, I started noticing upon reflection that I
felt much better at work whenever I cycled. This reflection wasn't planned, I
simply wondered why I felt not as horrible as I usually do in similar
circumstances -- I was severely sleep deprived when I was reflecting on this.
Since I wasn't purposefully conducting an experiment and this wasn't on my
mind, I figured this showed the true strength of the effect. The second week I
started zooming in on this difference and really noticed it well.

I estimate that I was about 20% cognitively more performant and 20% more
emotionally stable. It didn't matter whether I had sever sleep deprivation or
not. It always felt like I was about 20% better.

So, if you want to experience it yourself. Cycle on odd days (for about 20-30
minutes) and go to the metro on even days. Within 2 weeks you should have
noticed a difference.

~~~
Mirioron
> _The thing that annoys me about research like this is: it may be true, but I
> don 't feel it. So to what extent is it really helpful?_

I think another important question with research like this is: "does it affect
everyone?" Something can be statistically significant over the population, but
that doesn't mean every individual in the population has that specific effect,
but I do expect an effect like this to be near universal.

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MobileVet
I started working out over lunch 2 years ago. I still hate actually working
out but I use Netflix while on the elliptical so I get through it.

This has completely removed the 2:00 lull that used to come after eating a
meal at lunch. I still eat after the workout but it doesn’t knock me out when
it is being digested.

I absolutely see improvements in cognitive abilities that afternoon versus not
working out.

~~~
dorchadas
> I still hate actually working out but I use Netflix while on the elliptical
> so I get through it.

Before I started running outdoors with a training program I actually _like_ (
_not_ C25k) I would always take my Kindle to the gym and read while I walked
at an angle on the treadmill or biked. Found I could easily go for hours this
way. It's quite a bit of a motivator.

~~~
gattilorenz
Out of curiosity, what's the training program you like?

~~~
dorchadas
Start out doing 30 seconds of running and 2 minutes of rest. Then it slowly
changes those so you're running more. If you Google None to Run, you can find
a pdf adapted to it, that has an extra day a week.

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freetime2
Often when work (or life in general) gets stressful, I’ll skip my daily
workout routine. This is a good reminder of just how counterproductive that
is. At the very least I should be able to get out for a 30 minute walk every
day.

~~~
stringfood
There is an old Buddhist quote

"Set aside 30 minutes a day to meditate, unless you are extremly stressed or
busy in which case set aside an hour"

~~~
steve_adams_86
I like this a lot. I think it's on point and worth remembering. The more you
let the busyness and stress take hold, the deeper that hole you're digging
gets...

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clumsysmurf
Where I live in the US desert southwest, the air is often foul from Ozone
(summer, afternoons) or particulates (monsoons, winter, business as usual). I
always wonder, if its worth exercising or not, or whats the optimal amount of
exercise given a certain amount of pollution.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
Hard to gauge. Air pollution has definitely been shown to blunt some benefits
of exercise, but I don't think we're at a point where anyone is even close to
having the numbers to sum up the overall effect.

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tenkabuto
> For this study, Smith and his UMB colleagues used fMRI neuroimaging to
> monitor the brain activity of study participants (ages, 55-85) and their
> ability to perform a memory task that involved identifying famous names on
> two separate days

Should we expect these results to accord with the experience of people younger
than 55-85?

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keyle
This is interesting but how was this not wildly known already? I feel I've
read plenty of articles summing up the same idea. Pumping more oxygen leads to
better performance throughout the entire body?

~~~
EForEndeavour
The goal of studies like these is to convert common knowledge into scientific
knowledge. It does make sense directionally, but it's still worth rigorously
studying it.

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blunte
Mix this with the studies that show individual and couple benefits from
regular sex, and I think we have a lot of motivation to "exercise" for 30+
minutes a few times per week.

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blunte
During periods where I regularly exercise, I find that I eat healthier (and on
a more normal schedule). The diet improvement probably provides mental
benefits as well.

