At this point in the pandemic, your days might feel as though they’re getting longer and more repetitive. You might also find yourself having problems focusing. But instead of endlessly staring at your screen, you might want to try giving up and getting up — at least for a short while.
Taking a break to exercise has been consistently shown to have benefits on cognition. That’s according to Charles Hillman, the co-director of the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University in Boston. Hillman has been studying the relationship between exercise and cognition for decades and has generally found that making time for a 20-minute brisk walk can improve work performance and brain function.
Hillman and his colleagues have tested the mental effects of walking on children and young adults at their lab. Generally, they measure the effects of a single dose of exercise (which they’ve defined as ...
