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New research suggests that just five minutes of low-impact exercise immediately after a learning session improves the memory of young women, but not men
Students’ retain more knowledge if they exercise after studying / photo: shutterstock.com
Exercise has long been recognised as beneficial for the body and brain. It’s also well established that what a person does immediately after learning can have a big impact on how much he or she remembers. Now, researchers have made a discovery that combines both observations, in a new study that shows that women who engage in a brief session of light physical exercise straight after a learning task are able to recall learned material more accurately than women who do not exercise after learning.
“If we had simply found that exercise before learning improves memory, we might have just chalked this up to an improved ability to pay attention while learning,” says lead researcher, Steven Most, from the University of New South Wales in Australia.
He adds: “However, to me, the impact of exercise on memory consolidation – that is after learning – is particularly interesting because it suggests that exercise affects the actual molecular processes that support memory formation within the brain.”
Smart exercise In the study, which involved 256 male and female undergraduate students, participants were asked to do no exercise or five minutes of low-impact cardiovascular exercise before memorising pairs of names and faces. Each student’s recall of the name-face pairs was tested 24 hours later. Recall was also tested when physical activity was performed after learning and on the same day as the learning task.
Concerned that faces may be more easily remembered than neutral objects, Most and his team then repeated the experiment using abstract shapes instead of faces in the learning task.
Gender differences The results showed that women who engaged in mild physical activity after learning did significantly better in memory recall tests than those who did not exercise, but the same was not true for men. Physical activity also had no impact on a student’s ability to recall learned material when exercise was done before learning.
According to Most: “The thing that surprised us the most was that the effect consistently emerged among the women in our study and not the men. I’m not convinced that this is a true sex difference, and I’d like to see if exercise induces similar benefits among men under somewhat different experiment conditions.”
Although the researchers say the difference seen between men and women may not be as significant as the current data suggests, they do believe that the overall finding, that exercise can improve memory, is valid.
Most explains: “This study contributes to a rapidly growing pool of evidence that indicates that physical exercise is not only important for physical quality of life but also mental quality of life. Incorporating regular exercise into your routine has been shown to improve cognitive function broadly. In our case, we found that inserting even short bursts of exercise immediately after learning might be a useful way to enhance memory. Move your muscles, move your brain!”
* Most, S et al. Evidence for improved memory from 5 minutes of immediate, post-encoding exercise among women. Cognitive Research: Principles and implications, 23 August 2017.
New research suggests that just five minutes of low-impact exercise immediately after a learning session improves the memory of young women, but not men
Students’ retain more knowledge if they exercise after studying / photo: shutterstock.com
Exercise has long been recognised as beneficial for the body and brain. It’s also well established that what a person does immediately after learning can have a big impact on how much he or she remembers. Now, researchers have made a discovery that combines both observations, in a new study that shows that women who engage in a brief session of light physical exercise straight after a learning task are able to recall learned material more accurately than women who do not exercise after learning.
“If we had simply found that exercise before learning improves memory, we might have just chalked this up to an improved ability to pay attention while learning,” says lead researcher, Steven Most, from the University of New South Wales in Australia.
He adds: “However, to me, the impact of exercise on memory consolidation – that is after learning – is particularly interesting because it suggests that exercise affects the actual molecular processes that support memory formation within the brain.”
Smart exercise In the study, which involved 256 male and female undergraduate students, participants were asked to do no exercise or five minutes of low-impact cardiovascular exercise before memorising pairs of names and faces. Each student’s recall of the name-face pairs was tested 24 hours later. Recall was also tested when physical activity was performed after learning and on the same day as the learning task.
Concerned that faces may be more easily remembered than neutral objects, Most and his team then repeated the experiment using abstract shapes instead of faces in the learning task.
Gender differences The results showed that women who engaged in mild physical activity after learning did significantly better in memory recall tests than those who did not exercise, but the same was not true for men. Physical activity also had no impact on a student’s ability to recall learned material when exercise was done before learning.
According to Most: “The thing that surprised us the most was that the effect consistently emerged among the women in our study and not the men. I’m not convinced that this is a true sex difference, and I’d like to see if exercise induces similar benefits among men under somewhat different experiment conditions.”
Although the researchers say the difference seen between men and women may not be as significant as the current data suggests, they do believe that the overall finding, that exercise can improve memory, is valid.
Most explains: “This study contributes to a rapidly growing pool of evidence that indicates that physical exercise is not only important for physical quality of life but also mental quality of life. Incorporating regular exercise into your routine has been shown to improve cognitive function broadly. In our case, we found that inserting even short bursts of exercise immediately after learning might be a useful way to enhance memory. Move your muscles, move your brain!”
* Most, S et al. Evidence for improved memory from 5 minutes of immediate, post-encoding exercise among women. Cognitive Research: Principles and implications, 23 August 2017.
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth, on the northeast coast of Saint Barthélemy in the French
West Indies, is offering a programme of ocean-inspired yoga classes between 8-14 June to
celebrate Global Wellness Day (GWD).
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi, in Malaysia, has revealed a schedule for Global Wellness Day
(GWD) that includes guided rainforest walks, mindful movement and guided coastal meditation
experiences.
