Book Review of "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain."
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
[Hardcover] by John J.
Ratey, MD and Eric Hagerman, Contributor 304 pages, $24.
99 ISBN-13: 978-0316113502 Nonfiction Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd 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.
Maybe such a strategy is the "missing link" for education in many different cities in the United States (or even the world).
Imagine what our country might look like if students pursued personal fitness and their performance was tied to their grade? How much more mental energy would be available? What might these students accomplish? What might this country accomplish? 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.
[Hardcover] by John J.
Ratey, MD and Eric Hagerman, Contributor 304 pages, $24.
99 ISBN-13: 978-0316113502 Nonfiction Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd 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.
Maybe such a strategy is the "missing link" for education in many different cities in the United States (or even the world).
Imagine what our country might look like if students pursued personal fitness and their performance was tied to their grade? How much more mental energy would be available? What might these students accomplish? What might this country accomplish? 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.
