Productive exercise
Lesa Lorenzen-Huber is the interim director for the Center on Aging and Aged at IUB's school of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
I don't get paid by the hour any more. For the last 11 years I have put my list of accomplishments on an annual Faculty Summary and met with my Chair for a review. I guess I've always done enough; the Chair has always decided to pay me for another year.
But could my annual Faculty Summary be more beefy if I didn't work out? I have always rationalized my work out time by saying that I'm more productive when I exercise. Maybe I'm only kidding myself. I decided to do a (highly unscientific) study last week. I didn't work out and at the end of the week I evaluated my productivity.
The week passed pleasantly enough. I did leave the office with a protestant-work-ethic glow every day, having spent 9-10 hours behind the desk. I followed up on things I don't usually follow up on. If you emailed me that week I probably answered. I explored some new areas I'd been interested in exploring. I crossed off more C List items (Things that are Urgent to other people and Things that are Easy To Do) but I made less progress on my A List (Things that are Important.) I didn't feel that same zest for a work challenge that I feel when I exercise and the A List items just looked too hard. Instead of "I can take this on," my attitude was more like "Will this ever end?"
As I evaluated my productivity, I realized/rationalized that neither the protestant-work-ethic glow nor my shortened C List would make my Annual Faculty Summary. I'm back to working out this week.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that exercise boosts production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which actually re-wires the brain, improves cognitive skills such as planning and paying attention, and postpones the brain tissue loss usually accompanying aging. If I needed ammunition for my rationalization that I'm more productive after I work out, I just found it. I'd better make time to work out. I need all the BDNF I can get.
Read about the BDNF study in Psychology Today, May/June 2004, pp. 57-58.
