SPARK by J.J. Ratey

Peace at last. Time for reflection about the past year, what we did well, what we could have done better and time to think about our priorities in the new year. For many, exercise will surely be on top of the list and come 1st January, the detoxes, the running and gym membership commitments will begin, only to be abandoned already around the 15th. This is because many of us still view exercise as a necessary evil, something we should do to look a certain way or because we are told it is good for us, but do we know why exactly?

If you are going to read one book this holiday season, I wholeheartedly recommend SPARK, an incredible book that takes on a different approach on the importance of exercise - from a neuroscience perspective. The author aims to "cement the idea that exercise has a profound impact on cognitive abilities and mental health." He explains in great detail how our body and mind are connected and how once we understand how the brain is wired, we can become our own electricians.

There is no way I could ever summarise all the wisdom in this book, so I am sharing some parts from the two chapters that left a particular mark on me. I hope that these lines below inspire you to read the book and change your life.

• The body was designed to be pushed and in pushing our bodies we push our brains too.
• Only a mobile creature needs a brain.
• The brain responds like muscles, it grows with use and it withers with inactivity.
• The brain is made up of 100 billion neurons that chat with one another by hundreds of different chemicals, governing our every thought and action.
• Most of the drugs used to improve mental health target one or more neurotransmitters (Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine). Exercise balances neurotransmitters along with the rest of the neurochemicals in the brain. Keeping your brain in balance can change your life.

The effect of exercise on LEARNING:

• Exercise spawns neurons and stimulation of environmental enrichment helps those cells survive. Neurons are born as blank stem cells and they go through development process in which they need to find something to do in order to survive. It takes about 28 days for a cell to plug into a network and if we don’t use the newborn neurons we lose them.
• In PE class brain cells are created, and it's then up to other teachers to fill these cells. PE class provides the brain with the right tools to learn and the stimulation in the classroom encourages those newly developed cells to plug into the network where they become valuable members of the signalling community. The neurons are given a a mission.
• One thing scientists know for sure is that you can’t learn difficult material while you’re exercising at high intensity because blood is shunted away from the prefrontal cortex. But after exercise the blood flow shifts back almost immediately and this is the perfect time to focus on a project that demands sharp thinking and complex analysis (this is why working out in the morning has a positive effect on our productivity).
• Research showed that aerobic exercise and complex activity (needing coordinating motor skills) have a different beneficial effect on the brain. Tennis is a good example. While aerobic exercise elevates neurotransmitters, creates new blood vessels and spawns new cells, complex activities put all that material to use by strengthening and expanding networks. The more complex movements the more complex the connections. Learning how to play the piano makes it easier for kids to learn maths. Learning forms of karate engage nerve cells throughout the brain.

The effect of Exercise on STRESS:

• Stress comes in many shapes and forms, from a mild state of alertness to feeling completely stressed out at the other end of the spectrum. If you if you are stressed out for too long then this is chronic stress and it turns the emotional strain into physical strain. Chronic stress can lead to mental disorders like anxiety and depression. Chronic stress can even change the architecture of the brain.
• The way we choose how to cope with stress can change not only how we feel but it can also transform the brain. Chronic stress results from the brain getting locked into the same pattern, typically pessimism or fear.
• We can literally think ourselves into a frenzy but we can also run ourselves out of that frenzy. Just as the mind can affect the body the body can affect the mind.
• Our average energy expenditure per unit of body mass is less than 38% of that of our Stone Age ancestors. Today we don’t have to spend much energy to find food and we certainly don’t have to use our brains to figure out how to get our next meal. There is a mismatch between our lifestyle and our genes, which means that in today’s world there is no outlet for all the energy buildup.
• Being alone is not good for the brain, it’s stressful to be shunned or isolated. Loneliness is a threat to survival. If you exercise or even just socialise you’re tapping into the evolutionary antidote to stress.
• Nobody regardless of their nature or upbringing will avoid the bad effects of chronic stress if there is no outlet for frustration no sense of control and no social support.
• Exercise is hugely underappreciated in medicine, especially in psychiatry. Doing something to avoid talking about our emotions is seen as acting out. The origin of the psychiatrist couch - immobilise the patient and force them to manifest their emotions verbally. Usually just the opposite is true, however, the idea that we can alter our mental state by physically moving has yet to be accepted.
• The more stress we have more or body needs to move to keep our brain running smoothly.

"You are built to move and when you do, you'll be on fire."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!