Spark by John Ratey | Book Review
Spark by John J. Ratey explores the impact that exercise has upon the brain and highlights it as one of the most powerful tools to optimise brain function. This was the August book for the Nourished Book Club and it took us on a journey to find out the countless ways that the brain impacts our brain health and overall wellbeing.
If you need help getting motivated to move your body and start exercising, I recommend getting your hands on this book because it is undeniable just how good for us exercise is.
Drawing on evidence from a number of studies that assess the diverse impacts that exercise can have on our brain and different areas of our life, John proves that exercise really is a ‘wonder drug’.
With chapters on the effect that exercise has on learning, stress, anxiety, depression, attention deficit, addiction, hormonal changes and ageing, it can be seen just how much exercise can do to support and improve our health.
John suggests that the point of exercise is to ‘build and condition the brain’ and that ‘building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially just side effects’. Not to mention all of the other amazing ‘size effects’ that he discusses over the course fo the book!
As humans we were born to move and he discusses that the inactive lifestyle that has become so ‘normal’ and accepted is causing our brains to shrivel. In his words ‘inactivity is killing our brains’.
Among other things, exercise has a profound impact on cognitive abilities and mental health and throughout the book he discusses that it:
Improves our general mood and mindset
Can be as as effective at treating depression as some medication
Increases our ability to learn and retain information
Improves our attention and memory
Causes us to have more creative ideas
Has a positive impact on self esteem and our social skills
Balances our neurotransmitters
Some of the above is done by the way that exercise increases levels of important neurotransmitters that impact our thoughts and emotions, these being serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. It can also increase levels of neurotrophins, which build and maintain the circuitry of our brain.
Exercise also decreases our stress levels and can reduce depressive symptoms, which is incredibly important as toxic levels of stress erode the connections between nerve cells in the brain and chronic depression actually shrinks certain areas of the brain. Another way that exercise supports the growth of our brain and prevents it from the shrivelling that inactivity can cause.
Referring to exercise as “Miracle-Gro for the Brain”, John Ratey points out that due to the increase of BDNF through exercise, it nourishes brain cell growth. BDNF stands for ‘Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor’ and is important for the survival of our neurons, as well as their growth. It can cause our neurons to sprout new branches and facilitates learning. ‘BDNF gives the synapses in our brain the tools they need to take in information, process it, associate it, remember it and put it into context.
“Exercise provides an unparalleled stimulus, creating an environment in which the brain is ready, willing and able to learn…Aerobic activity is an indispensable tool for anyone that wants to reach his or her full potential”
It’s clear that we have the power to change our brain and exercise can be a useful tool in this process, supporting us in becoming the best version of ourselves. If you don’t have an exercise routine yet, I hope this has convinced you of it’s important and it is something that you’ll start to incorporate daily, going forward.
It is suggested that we get 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day to see big improvements in our brains, mental health, mood and cognitive function.
There is so much I could say about my learnings from this book and if you’re interested in diving deeper and learning more about the science of exercise and the brain and all of the studies that have been done into this, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this book.
Now, it’s time to get moving!
Next up, the September Nourished Book Club book Open Wide by Melissa Ambrosini shifting our focus from exercise to the topic of love, relationships and sex. This book is a must read for women and men alike. You can grab your copy here to join in and read along.
