New Study Confirms It: If You Work Out Today, You'll Perform Better Tomorrow

You know exercise is good for our long-term health, but did you that working out today will improve your performance at work or school tomorrow?

We all know that exercise is good for us. Aside from the obvious benefits to physical health, research shows that working up a sweat reduces anxiety and depression, boosts cognitive performance and even slows aging.

These alone are pretty compelling reasons to get to the gym. Yet, long hours and exhausting responsibilities make it harder to dedicate time to working out when other things call.

However, a new study on the benefits of exercise may change your mind. The study, conducted by a pair of business professors out of Hong Kong, show that exercise has immediate, measurable benefits for you at work.?

You don't need to wait long to see the benefits of exercise

Everyone knows working out is good for you,?but is it good for your performance at work or school? If exercise makes your mind and body work better, it seems reasonable to guess that exercise would make you better at your job or school, too. But this new study is among the first to test the idea directly and rigorously.?

To do so, the team tracked the exercise levels of 200 volunteers over ten days using fitness trackers, while also monitoring their performance at work based on both self-reports and evaluations by superiors. The data confirmed that not only does exercise help you stay physically and mentally fit long-term, but it also helps you perform better at work the very next day.?

The authors' writeup of the results on Harvard Business Review?is packed with jargon like "resource caravans" and "homeostatic feedback,"?but here's the bottom line: If you exercise today, you'll likely sleep better?tonight. As a result, you'll wake up with greater energy and concentration and fewer aches and pains tomorrow -- at least, once you're in the swing of a routine --?and that translates directly to measurable improvements in performance and creativity at work.?

Exercise isn't just good for you long term. It will improve how you do your job the literal next day.