One Word: Exercise

Psst—hey, you seem a little edgy lately. Ever think about exercising? If that expanding waistline isn’t motivation enough, do it to lower your stress.

Or to fight depression or anxiety.
Or to minimize PMS.
Or to feel more energetic and motivated.
Or to sleep better.
Or to stay sharper and improve memory.
Or to help stave off dementia.
Or to live longer.

Shall we go on? The latest research, detailed in John Ratey’s Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, shows that certain changes take place in the brain when you exercise. Not just “runner’s high” but physical changes. More new cells are created, connections between them are reworked, and various chemicals including dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (neurotransmitters that regulate your stress response, mood, motivation and more) increase—proof that human beings were built to move.

Do you have any idea what rats had to endure to get us all this information? If nothing else, exercise for them.