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While it’s important to spend your time at university focused on your studies, it is equally important that you don’t spend the time neglecting your physical health and wellbeing.

With new people to meet and new places to see, it’s easy to forget to make time to look after your health. However, exercise has many mental and physical health benefits which on top of helping you to stay healthy, can greatly impact your academic performance.

Here are five reasons why, as a student, incorporating exercise into your routine is essential.

1. Supports your mental wellbeing

University can be stressful. For some students, the combination of exams, essay deadlines, and other academic pressures can seem overwhelming and can often lead to feelings of stress, mental exhaustion, anxiety and even depression.

However, there is a tool that can effectively combat these symptoms, exercise.

When you exercise your brain releases natural chemicals called endorphins which help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, making it a useful way to help maintain good mental health while studying.

If you start experiencing signs of stress or uneasiness due to university pressure, find the time to exercise to help clear your mind and come back to your studies feeling refreshed.

2. Helps to keep you healthy

Leading an active lifestyle through exercise will bring forth numerous benefits to your physical health.

As well as the obvious health benefits of exercise, such as improving your physical fitness, exercise helps to reduce your risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure and even certain types of cancer.

In addition, regular exercise also contributes to improving your immune system. Research has shown that individuals who engage in exercise five or more days per week experienced a 40% decrease in respiratory tract infections such as the common cold.

This makes exercising a particularly beneficial tool for staying healthy and avoiding contagious illnesses such as the notorious 'freshers’ flu' during your time at university - giving you more time to focus on your studies and to have fun with your new friends.

3. Prevents procrastination

Even though it might seem unusual, scheduling exercise into your routine can help you manage your university work better.

When you establish a regular and consistent exercise schedule, you are forced to prioritise your time and choose how to properly manage it - including your time set aside for studying.

If you follow your schedule strictly, the practice of managing your time and committing to your obligations will become routine and can be later applied across both your academic and personal obligations, helping to strengthen your mental discipline and lowering any temptation to procrastinate.

4. Expands your social circle

Living an active life provides many opportunities to connect with other students and expand your social circle.

With plenty of student sports clubs , teams, and group classes readily available on campus, you can easily find like-minded individuals to bond with while enjoying activities that you love.

5. Improves your focus

While studying is crucial for success at university, spending too many hours buried in books or staring at a screen can leave you feeling drained, sluggish, and unmotivated.

Incorporating exercise into your routine can help to alleviate these feelings as, when you exercise, you increase your blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, resulting in improved cognitive function and higher concentration levels.

Engaging in regular exercise has also shown to significantly enhance memory function and attention span, both of which can dramatically improve your academic performance and help you stay focused.

Exercise can also help by improving your quality of sleep. Exercising naturally tires your body which helps set yourself up for a much more restorative sleep at night. In turn, this will help you to feel refreshed each morning and ready to take on your studies with renewed energy.

Incorporating exercise into your student life offers much more than just better physical health – it helps you to make new friends, perform better academically and improves your mentality and discipline.

Start your exercise journey today and see the dramatic impact it can have on your university experience.

Want to start getting active but not sure where to begin? Have a look at the different types of memberships available and find a plan that suits you.

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Sam Davis Content Contributor, Warwick Sport

Sam is a content writer and sport enthusiast with a keen interest in football, judo, and hockey.

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