Spark: The Revolutionary New Science Of Exercise And The Brain Quotes
"The more neuroscientists discover about this process, the clearer it becomes that exercise provides an unparalleled stimulus, creating an environment in which the brain is ready, willing, and able to learn."
"The essence of physical education in Naperville 203 is teaching fitness instead of sports."
"Learning requires strengthening the affinity between neurons through a dynamic mechanism called long-term potentiation (LTP)."
"Exercise elevates neurotransmitters, creates new blood vessels that pipe in growth factors, and spawns new cells."
"The body was designed to be pushed, and in pushing our bodies we push our brains too."
"Stress is such a malleable term partly because the feeling can span a wide emotional range, from a mild state of alertness to a sense of being completely overwhelmed by the push and pull of life."
"Stress is a threat to the body’s equilibrium. It’s a challenge to react, a call to adapt."
"Active coping moves you out of this territory. Instincts aside, you do have some control over how stress affects you. And, as Susan would agree, control is key."
"Exercise controls the emotional and physical feelings of stress, and it also works at the cellular level."
"Stress and recovery. It’s a fundamental paradigm of biology that has powerful and sometimes surprising results."
"What’s gotten lost amid all the advice about how to reduce the stress of modern life is that challenges are what allow us to strive and grow and learn."
"The fight-or-flight response calls into action several of the body’s most powerful hormones and scores of neurochemicals in the brain."
"Humans are unique among animals in that the danger doesn’t have to be clear and present to elicit a response — we can anticipate it; we can remember it; we can conceptualize it."
"Exercise works a lot like Prozac and our other antidepressants and antianxiety drugs."
"The best way to build [resilience] up is by bringing mild stress on yourself: using the brain to learn, restricting calories, exercising, and, as Mattson and your mother would remind you, eating your vegetables."
"Exercise training has been shown to lead to reductions of more than 50 percent in the prevalence of the symptoms of anxiety."
"Just keep in mind that the more stress you have, the more your body needs to move to keep your brain running smoothly."
"The more your life changes, the more you engage with the world, the more likely you are to put the anxiety behind you for good."
"Exercise can have an even more dramatic effect on milder anxiety."
"She came to recognize that there is a natural ebb and flow to her challenges and negative feelings, and to realize that she has to ride the waves — and that she can."
"Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada."
"Just because you don’t have all the symptoms of depression doesn’t mean you can’t feel better."
"Exercise reestablishes [the brain's] connections."
"Exercise is as effective as medication."
"Exercise alters the chemistry of the entire brain to restore normal signaling."
"Exercise is the way to divert those negative signals and trick the brain into coming out of hibernation."
"Exercise boosts levels of dopamine and norepinephrine."
"Exercise isn’t necessarily the only answer if you suffer from PMS, but it can dramatically reduce the symptoms and give you a handle on a part of life that feels beyond your control."
"It’s important to recognize your foibles, the better you can prepare for them. Develop militant vigilance in terms of scheduling and structure."
"Exercise is by far the best form of self-regulation we have."
"I’m talking about taking the lead in your own treatment: the more you know about how ADHD works, and the more you recognize your foibles, the better you can prepare for them."
"If you set up your environment in a certain way, you can corral your attention through your own actions and become more productive."
"Exercise helps the most with the mood swings. It takes the edge off and gets out that aggression that comes with the hormones."
"Exercise isn’t necessarily a cure, but it’s the only treatment I know of that works from the top down as well as from the bottom up, rewiring the brain to circumvent the addictive pattern and curbing the craving."
"The only universal advice for menopausal women is to ask your doctor. Whatever the answer, the contradictions put many women in a painful bind."
"For me, the idea that exercising while you are pregnant might have an impact on the future of your baby’s brain — that’s powerful."
"It’s almost like I’m in a fog before my period. I could take my ADHD medication, and it won’t do a damn thing. Exercise helps clear my head."
"Exercise sparks production of neurotransmitters and neurotrophins, creates more receptors for them in key areas of the brain, and turns on genes that keep the positive cycle spinning."
"The advice that surprises people the most is that it’s important to keep up exercise during pregnancy."
"If you get your body in shape, your mind will follow."
"A strong heart and lungs reduce resting blood pressure. The result is less strain on the vessels in the body and the brain."
"The most inspiring evidence of this comes from an urban health study called Experience Corps conducted by epidemiologists at Johns Hopkins University."
"Once you work up to an hour at a pace just above where you can carry on a conversation, you’re ready to add in moderate-intensity exercise."
"Every day is best but that even intermittent exercise works wonders."
"Exercise can become a self-reinforcing behavior that helps you trump your genes."
"If you miss a few days, or even a week or two, picture your hippocampus cranking out high levels of BDNF after just your second day back at it."
"Joining a team or setting a goal of doing a 10K charity run and training with a group of friends adds a sense of obligation, which can be a powerful motivator."