How a Half-Hour Jog Improves Your Motor Skills

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There is a large body of research confirming the positive effects of running and exercise in general on mental performance, but this is not the only bonus we get from running. It turns out that a simple half-hour run will not only make you, but improve your fine motor skills!

A recent one, published in PLOS ONE, showed that jogging for half an hour improves motor skills.

The task that the subjects performed was called the Sequential Visual Isometric Pinch Task (SVIPT). You lightly squeeze the force sensor between your thumb and forefinger, and the harder you squeeze, the further the cursor moves across the computer screen. The task is to move the cursor as quickly and accurately as possible to five locations that are located in different places on the screen. In 4 sets of 30 attempts, the speed and accuracy of the task were measured.

As a result, it turned out that the subjects performed better on the task after a 30-minute run at a moderate pace immediately before testing. Participants who rested for an hour after running continued to perform better on the task, but still not as well as the first group. The most noticeable improvements were not in cursor speed, but in accuracy.

The second part of the study consisted of a 4-day experiment, during which participants completed the same tasks, but on the fourth day no one ran before completing the task. As a result, the same group of runners performed better, although they did not have a half-hour run before testing. This proves that running not only provides temporary improvement in motor skills, but in general increases the accuracy and speed of your movements and reactions.

How does this happen? Researchers offer two main theories: psychological and neuroendocrine. Psychological theory suggests that exercise simply helps you feel energized and focus better. The neuroendocrine model attributes this beneficial effect to increased levels of chemicals such as brain neurotrophic factor, serotonin, dopamine, and so on. Both versions have something in common, but the researchers suggest that the neuroendocrine theory is more consistent with the fact that the effect disappears after an hour of rest.

The data obtained can be used to rehabilitate people who have suffered a stroke. And yes, if you have to participate in a video game tournament or need to do some work that requires good coordination of movements, accuracy and speed, you should go for a half-hour run before that.;)