Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

This has been sitting in my Audible library for a while. I think I started it instead of Abercrombie's Heroes because I wanted to listen to more non-fic in an "eat more broccoli" sort of way.

THIS BROCCOLI IS DELICIOUS!!!

Ratey makes the case for exercise as a therapy for many psychiatric disorders based on neuroscience, good studies, and persuasive argumentation. He's not selling a panacea. He's not against treating disorders w/ pharmaceuticals, but he does show the evidence that exercise (both aerobic and more complex movements like martial-arts or dancing) create positive changes in brain chemistry and architecture.

It is persuasive, smart, and fun to read. Highly recommended.

Outstanding book. A bit dense in medical info and studies in places, but always to make he point being explained, so the book remains practical.

Exercise is recommended as it relates to issues of the brain such as: memory, learning ability, mood, depression, anxiety and more, all with examples and backing studies.

I'm glad I stumbled on this book.

Exercise is good for you- everybody knows that. But, exercise is also great for our brain- it promotes new brain cells growth, helps us concentrate, cuts down chances of developing dementia by 50%, and helps us fight a slew of conditions from ADHD to addiction. A combination of aerobic exercise in form of jogging or walking (as little as 30 min of jogging 2 or 3 times a week is enough to stay sharp) with an activity that’s demanding in terms of complex motor skills movements like yoga, ballet, or gymnastics is ideal for keeping our brain cells in good shape. Activities like tennis and squash are best, as they combine both the aerobic and the complex workouts.
If you don’t play tennis, a ten minute aerobic warm-up before a non-aerobic show more and skills based activity three times a week is probably enough to keep the brain cells in good order.
Ratey provides ample examples and case studies on positive effects of exercise in aiding learning and fighting stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, addiction, hormonal changes- both PMS and menopause, and aging.
It’s a very good book overall, but somewhat repetitive since it repeats the findings for each condition discussed. show less

Very interesting ideas, worth exploring. Written in a very accessible style, similar to Wheat Belly. Gives lots of drug-free/drug-minimum options for coping with a wide variety of emotional/mental health issues.

We all know exercise makes us more physically fit. Is it possible that exercise also makes us more mentally and emotionally fit?

In Spark, psychiatrist John Ratey makes a bold claim right on the book's cover: that exercise — specifically, aerobic exercise — can "supercharge your mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen your thinking, lift your mood, boost your memory, and much more."

It seems Elle Woods was right, though it's a little more complicated, and a lot more far-reaching than she thought.

(read the rest of the review here: http://mosaicsynapse.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-spark.html

Excellent book! Not only does exercise help prevent anxiety and depression, but it also helps reverse the effects of aging and grows your brain. You don't have to run, walking works too.

This book is so technical that I mainly used it to help me fall asleep (which is very important and good for you, according to the author and every clickbait news article). But yeah, exercise is essential to your brain health and you should be doing more of it. No surprises here.