Finding the motivation and the time to exercise might be difficult for most students, but it both improves mood and prevents obesity.

Getting exercise improves your mood. James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University says, “There’s good epidemiological data to suggest that active people are less depressed than inactive people. And people who were active and stopped tend to be more depressed than those who maintain or initiate an exercise program.”

In 2014, the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience found that exercising three times a week may help improve people’s moods. Imagine how much happier the world would be if people exercised daily. Unfortunately, The World Health Organization in a 2011 article said that about one in three people globally get little or close to no physical activity.

Due to the decline of physical activity, obesity and chronic disease rates have risen. Stacie Schmidt, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University, found that exercising regularly is a way to combat obesity by burning the excess calorie build up that would otherwise turn into fat.

So fight the urge to sit on the couch and watch tv while eating a snack. Get up and out of your house for some exercise, it could be as little as walking your dog to something more intense like playing a sport.

Getting exercise can get your brain moving and prepared for the school day. At Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, researchers tracked grades and physical activity habits of 266 undergraduates. The study found that the students who more frequently participated in vigorous exercise received higher GPAs.

Try to get an hour of physical activity every day, you will see the benefits in how you feel and hopefully in your grades.