Exercising regularly or practicing a sport comes with a ton of health benefits. However, a new study published in the journal PLoS One and featured on ScienceDaily.com reports that good physical health may also improve cognitive performance.

Researchers asked 28 young men of varying physical abilities to participate in a series of tests designed to measure sustained attention, time-oriented attention, and time perception. Some of the volunteers were highly active (11 of them were members of the Andalusian Cycling Federation for Under-23s, three were students of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Activities of the University of Granada), while others showed low physical aptitude.

Based on the results, those who were in good physical condition showed better sustained attention compared with those who lived more sedentary lifestyles. The more physical group also appeared to have faster reaction times.

While this is certainly a great motivator for people who are used to living sedentary lives, researchers say that this is merely a preliminary study. More tests need to be done before they could confirm their findings.

(Photo by Renato Peroni via Flickr Creative Commons)