ADD/ADHD: Book Review, Beyond Meds – The Exercised Brain

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August 17, 2008
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September 2, 2008
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Help for ADD/ADHD Beyond Meds:
Many want to change their brain, and also want non-medication alternatives for ADD/ADHD treatment. So many ask for
comprehensive brain fixes that work for a lifetime – this one is a keeper. Ratey has done it again.

Brain and Excercise

Brain and Exercise

If correcting ADD/ADHD issues arises as even a remote concern, you will much appreciate this excellent new book that scores a direct hit on the new science of brain physiology: Spark – The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey. This is a book for therapists, and for the public.

John Ratey is a psychiatrist at Harvard [with an interesting blog for Spark] who was coauthor [with Hallowell] of Driven To Distraction [an ADD/ADHD classic] and wrote another favorite of mine, User's Guide To The Brain, – wherein he does a great job of explaining brain function with many of
the brain specifics we see in SPECT brain imaging consultations.

Consider these Chapter Headings:

  • Stress
  • Cognition – anyone interested in memory?
  • Anxiety
  • Depression – BDNF see below
  • ADD/ADHD, with much on medications
  • Addiction – impulse disorders
  • Women's Health
  • Aging

All of us should be thinking about, and recommending exercise for brain health from childhood on. Ratey clearly demonstrates important brain connections with comprehensive research, all within that readable, common-sense style so characteristic of his previous writing.

My own favorite topic in Spark, BDNF [Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor] – a kind of internal brain fertilizer that helps brain cells grow, and is directly encouraged by exercise! – see the Spark notes on page 42.

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2 Comments

  1. Dr Charles Parker says:
    September 1, 2008 at 5:39 PM

    Gina,
    When you weigh in girl, you are a heavyweight! Thanks so much for closing that door… I hadn’t quite seen it swing open so wide, but you are so correct.

    Too many look for a way around the simple, making it inevitably so much more complex.

    The real answer resides in bringing together previously limited views – an unhappy result of trying to find only one answer to the complexity of ADD/ADHD.

    For you readers: Please note that Gina is a super journalist and author, and I will be reviewing her book tomorrow – the missive is set for about noon EDT.

    You can review her book, “Is It You, or Me or Adult ADD?” here:

    http://astore.amazon.com/cpbks-20/detail/0981548709/102-3592208-6520968

    Thanks Gina-

  2. Gina Pera says:
    September 1, 2008 at 4:24 PM

    Spark is a very inspiring book for everyone–ADHD or not. After we discussed it at a local Adult ADHD support group, two of us came hobbling in to the next meeting with sports injuries! (One of them was me.)

    I’d just like to add….Dr. Ratey specifically says that for many adults with ADHD, exercise won’t take the place of medication. It can, however, reduce the need for medication.