Comment by guiambros | Hacker News Reader

Comment by guiambros | Hacker News Reader

I'm glad to see the article, but if you're interested in the effects of physical exercise over the brain in general - not only depression, but brain development, neuronal growth, memory retention, degenerative brain diseases - you should read "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" [1].

It's a great book, summarizing all the studies and discoveries around brain health and the link with body biochemistry and exercise over the past 50 years. Not the typical common wisdom of "exercise is good for you", but a more serious and deep analysis of why it is good, and what exactly it does to your brain, at a biochemical level.

As a person that always knew how much exercise is important for the body - but always hated exercising - this book gave a reason to pause and re-think my priorities.

If you care about your brain, read at least the sample chapters and see if you like it.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-B...

As a person who always hated exercising, too, I can tell you that it's just a matter of starting and then stick to it until "something" clicks and makes you crave exercise like you crave food or sleep. If knowing what's the neurological basis that makes exercise so useful for our body, is what keeps you going, that's great. But really, any reason will do. My reason: proving to myself that I have a stronger will strength than I used to think and believe for so many years. When I don't exercise (for me that means also practicing Ashtanga Yoga) for like a week because of external reasons, I experienced a deep slash of depression -- real depression, like seeing everything black, totally unmotivated self-loathing and so forth. Luckily, it's just a matter of getting a good hour of intense excercise and the day after I'm back on track. There's definitively something chemical going on there.

Thanks for the book suggestion

Can anyone comment if just walking counts for exercising?

http://www.fastcompany.com/3035004/the-future-of-work/how-ta...

Yes it does.

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/walking-for-exer...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/wa...

If you're particularly overweight or have joint/back or other health issues you may want to consult your physician about how to improve past a slower paced walk. But if your joints and heart are otherwise healthy, it's pretty good exercise for getting in better shape, losing/maintaining weight, and for getting to spend some time outside in the sun and fresh air.

Depends on how fit you are, I guess. I need to train at higher intensity to "feel" it as excercise. nonetheless, it's a great way for people to start, if it's not a solution for the lazy, like "hey I walked thirty minutes home from work, now I deserve my sofa"

> When I don't exercise (for me that means also practicing Ashtanga Yoga) for like a week because of external reasons, I experienced a deep slash of depression

Yep, that's the flip side. It helps fight depression, but it also has an addictive side to it. Fortunately it's really not as time consuming as you'd think, but taking a whole week off is almost out of the question

Does the book recommend a specific kind of exercise? What I mean is does it say aerobic or strength training or something is key?

It shows that exercise is great for the brain. Any exercise. Of course, there's different kinds of neurochemical reactions to aerobic vs. strength training, but in the end both have positive effects.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com