Product Description

A groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from the bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD.



Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.


In SPARK, John J. Ratey, M.D., embarks upon a fascinating and entertaining journey through the mind-body connection, presenting startling research to prove that exercise is truly our best defense against everything from depression to ADD to addiction to aggression to menopause to Alzheimer's. Filled with amazing case studies (such as the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois, which has put this school district of 19,000 kids first in the world of science test scores), SPARK is the first book to explore comprehensively the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run---or, for that matter, simply the way you think

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #355 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
Kick Up Your Heels Before You're Too Short to Wear Them Loretta LaRoche : "Every woman and man on the planet needs to read Spark. It will not only ignite their desire to exercise, but they will feel more positive and have energy to spare."

About the Author
John J. Ratey, MD, is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including Driven to Distraction and A Users Guide to the Brain. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Spark - the best book I read in years
If I had plenty of money I would buy up every copy of "Spark" on the shelves and give a copy to every Politician, Teacher and child in our nation and make them read it.

Trisha

Who needs to read this book? Everyone!
Modern America is in love with fitness. It seems that the quest for the body beautiful has reached epidemic proportions. However, most people only think about the physical benefits of exercise. It should come as no surprise that exercise is a good idea - for the body and the mind. Although marketing gurus would have us believe that everyone in America owns a Bowflex or an Ab-Roller, it seems that the result of our overly sedentary lifestyle has largely caught up with us.

Mind you, this is not a novel idea. Even Plato conceded, "Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical exercise save it and preserve it." This tome came to us from one of the very people who helped lay the philosophical foundation of Western culture.

Building upon this platonic idea that humans are genetically built to move, Dr. John Ratey provides an excellent development of the "why" behind exercise's importance. His book, Spark: the Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain provides enough scientific evidence to spark an interest in all readers.

Dr. Ratey includes a landmark case where a school in Illinois actually reversed a negative educational trend by incorporating an intense athletic regimen. His delving into the realities there demonstrates the connection between exercise and increased intellectual acumen. Many school districts, who are currently opining for the next "magical bullet" to fix their systems, might find their money better spent on heart rate monitors that prove their students are exercising in the right zone. This methodology worked wonders in Naperville, Illinois.

It seems that Dr. Ratey wants to destroy stereotypes of unintelligent athletes. Nothing could be further from the truth: more movement actually increases the brain's ability to learn. This book provides sufficient scientific detail to prove it - to a physician, teacher, or layman. Dr. Ratey, himself a clinical associate professor of psychiatry, has no intention to aim this work exclusively at the scientifically minded, however. Even the intermittent athlete can benefit from decreased tendencies toward stress, depression, or anxiety.

Armchair Interviews says: Who needs this book? Anyone who wants to be smarter - and understand "why" exercise can provide a kick start for the brain.

Review of Spark
The book documents very well the highly favorable impact of regular exercise on mental health. The fact that the author is a practicing psychiatrist lends credibility to the overall conclusion that exercise is good for you mentally as well as figuratively. Not being a scientist, I do not fully understand the author's quite technical explanations of how exercise changes the biology of the brain to make a person better mentally. Nevertheless, he is strongly convincing.

Anyone interest in the health benefits of exercise and the health risks of not exercising ought to read this book.

If you are already regularly active, the book will motivate you to be more so. If not, it should give you incentive to get off the couch.