If you’re looking to significantly improve your memory and learning ability, there may be a very simple way to do it … and it all comes down to timing, a new study is claiming.

Scientists found that aerobic exercise four hours after a memorization task improved people’s ability to recall that information, according to a Cell Press statement.

And it has to be four hours after the task, not right afterward — the timing is important, the study found.

Researchers think that it’s because of the fact that the brain processes new memories for a while after learning, and physical exercise appears to release certain brainc hemicals like dopamine and noradrenaline that seems to help the process along.

Scientists recruited 72 participants and gave them a series of 90 locations with pictures over 40 minutes to test their learning abilities. They split them into three groups, with one exercising right after elarning, another group exercising four hours later, and the final group not exercising at all. They did a stationary bike exercise for 35 minutes.

The group that exercised four hours after the learning exercise performed the best of all the groups.

“Our results suggest that appropriately timed physical exercise can improve long-term memory and highlight the potential of exercise as an intervention in educational and clinical settings,” the researchers conclude.

“It’s not yet clear exactly how or why delayed exercise has this effect on memory,” the statement reads. “However, earlier studies of laboratory animals suggest that naturally occurring chemical compounds in the body known as catecholamines, including dopamine and norepinephrine, can improve memory consolidation, the researchers say. One way to boost catecholamines is through physical exercise. Fernández says they will now use a similar experimental setup to study the timing and molecular underpinnings of exercise and its influence on learning and memory in more detail.”