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Want to learn a new skill and actually remember it? We have some good news, courtesy of a new scientific study.

Let's give you the 3-part trick upfront, and then explain the genesis. In short, if you want to boost your memory during learning, here's your order of activities:

That's all there is to it. Writing in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory recently, researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark said they ran an experiment on 67 men between the ages of 18 and 35, in order to test their theory.

Some of them were required to exercise before working on a "fine motor task" that involved an unfamiliar computer game; others were told not to. After the test, some of the participants exercised; others were asked not to.

The result was that they had groups of four participants:

The results, as you can probably imagine: those who exercised at all did better at remembering the skills involved with the game during a follow up exam 7 days later than those who hadn't exercised at all.

And, those who exercised both before and after the task performed better a week later than everyone else.

"Our results demonstrate that there is a clear effect across the board. If you exercise before learning a skill, you will improve and remember what you have learned better," said study author Lasse Jespersen, a PhD fellow listed in movement in neuroscience. "The same applies if you exercise after learning. But our research shows that the greatest effect is achieved if you exercise both before and after."

Why does it work? The theory is simply that raising one's heart rate means more blood pumps through the brain during learning.

Co-author Jesper Lundbye-Jensen, who is the head of the movement and neuroscience section, explained the theory: "This is probably because physical activity increases the brain's ability to change, which is a prerequisite for remembering."

You can imagine real-life applications for this theory, I suspect.

It's something students might want to consider before classes, or that people who want to learn skills like playing musical instruments might want to try, or even that people who need to relearn mobility and other life skills after trauma might benefit from.

As I write in my free e-book Neuroscience: 13 Ways to Understand and Train Your Brain for Life, there's nothing more fascinating than the human brain, and the unexpected ways in which it works.

Memory and learning are at the top of the list -- even more so when the science suggests things that are not only effective, but simple.

A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta