Sparked

John Ratey's new book Spark combines a look a two of my greatest interests - exercise and brain science. Ratey promises to "supercharge your mental circuits to brain stress, sharpen your thinking, lift your mood, boost your memory, and much more." How could anyone resist? He presents a compelling case for the positive effects of aerobic exercise on brain chemistry. While I agree with much of what he writes, there are some complicated issues that he does not address. I have written Dr. Ratey about these questions, but have yet to receive his reply. To state my position most clearly, I think he would do well to distinguish more explicitly between exercise and recreational activity. Find more on that in previous posts on Good Medicine.

Basically it comes down to this issue at the heart of his book: Ratey states that "the paradox is our that our wonderful ability to adapt and grow doesn't happen without stress - we can't have the good without the bad." He also offers that everybody's threshold for stress is different and admits that "there is no specific point at which scientists can say stress shifts from building up to tearing down." These are extremely important points and I think they are glossed over too quickly and easily in the final analysis of his recommendations. I agree that people need to move more than they do and that enjoyable activity has tremendous psychological and social benefits driven, at least in part, by the chemical changes in one's brain. However, causing the body to adapt requires hard work balanced with adequate recovery. Ratey gives lip service to resistance training and recovery, but neither is given the attention it deserves and requires. If everyone is unique, then generic admonitions to be more active certainly will not do. Again, like any medicine, exercise must be prescribed in a manner that suits a particular individual and accomodates the desired response. He states the importance of individuality in the book, but the rest of his writing contradicts it.

Here, in my opinion, is the biggest mistake in the book: "The process of getting fit is all about building up your aerobic base." This statement simply is not true. Sure, it is important to get your blood pumping but think about where that blood is going. Ratey, importantly, adds the brain to the list of tissues that benefit from exercise; however, he mostly overlooks the muscles. In personal correspondence, he did acknowledge the importance of resistance training for brain changes and he gives it a brief nod for preventing osteoporosis in the book. He recognizes that "even if you do all the aerobic training in the world, your muscles and bones will still atrophy with age." But he seems to fail to see the implications of this. First, it is the primary reason why people become frail and lose functional ability, including performing all that activity he is so fond of. Second, there is growing evidence, though Ratey seems not to have read this research, of the connection between healthy muscles (ie. ones that are not wasting away) and healthy brains.

Good news: a little activity can do wonders for your brain. Spark could be a great motivator for someone requiring a little extra motivation to get moving and stay strong. Beware, however, the generic recommendations. Injury and pain are real problems that often significantly limit activity tolerance and negatively impact quality of life. In other words, don't just do it; do it right!


You can also listen to Dr. Ratey at Brain Science Podcasts, one of my favorite sites on the net. Check it out.