Rensberry.com
I recently finished the outstanding book written by John Ratey called, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. As both a medical professional and an active person who loves to exercise, I found this book enlightening, encouraging, and inspirational.
I learned the connection between fitness and attention spans, education, and academic performance. The author broke down neurotransmitters in a simple way that I have never seen so well described before. I loved reviewing the physiology of the brain as Dr. Ratey walked me through.
I found how running reduces anxiety through seven ways: (p106)
None of these are a surprise to those of us who run.
I learned of evidence showing not only does exercise increase norepinephrine but more complex exercise does more! This is perfect for those with ADHD like me....It is better to dance than to walk.
Exercise can combat addiction. It can help people regain control. It helps with PMS - raising tryptophan and thus serotonin in the brain. By balancing dopamine, norepinephrine, and synaptic mediators like BDNF it modulates the effects of hormone changes.
Another interesting effect exercise has on the body is regarding aging. Exercising helps us age - we maintain cardiovascular fitness, fight cancers better, and maintain cognition longer. Dr. Ratey provides a list of how he claims exercise keeps you going as you age: (p233)
The three pillars of a healthy lifestyle: (p238)
Interval training was also discussed. Increased intensity was shown to improve congnitive testing results and learning abilities immediately afterward. This is from increases in BDNF and norepinephrine. A single sprint for 30s was shown to generate 6x increase in HGH peaking 2hrs after the sprint. HGH, as he describes, burns belly fat, layers muscle fiber, and pumps brain volume!
All in all, I highly recommend this book to all.