Here’s a possible strategy to boost memory—exercise four hours after you learn something. In a study published in the July 11, 2016, Current Biology, researchers found that exercise after learning may improve your memory of the new information, but only if done in a specific time window.
In the study, 72 subjects learned 90 picture-location associations—mentally linking an image with new information in order to improve recall—over a 40-minute period. They were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group exercised immediately, the second exercised four hours later, and the third did not exercise. The exercise routine consisted of 35 minutes of interval training on a fitness bike at an intensity of up to 80% of maximum heart rate.