Running Makes You Happy

  If I have to choose one book to help solve your personal problems, I will recommend the above book Spark. I listened to the audio version of this book twice and am reading a paperback version now.

  This book states that most of our problems, including academic performance, leaning disabilities including ADHD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, alcohol/cigarette/substance addiction, hay fever, personal relationships, could be cured by simply start a regular exercise that suit your goals. For example, running for 30 minutes per day, six times a week, would significantly improve study/work performance, elevate your mood, as well as improving your physical health and appearance. The book quotes many scientific research and introduces several success stories of the highschools in Illinois that adopt intensive PE classes to improve students' academic performance significantly. As I was reading these success stories, I recalled that the best grades of my highschool to graduate school grades were all obtained during the period when I was doing regular cardiovascular exercises. So I was pretty much convinced with what this book says.  

  Drawback of this book is that this book focus too much on physical exercises. It does not refer to other factors governing the performance or mood of individuals, such as nutrients intake or other daily habits. The benefit of exercises, as this book provokes, would not bear a substantial fruit if balanced diet and moderation of (better still, minimizing) alcohol and other substance intakes are ignored or looked down.

  Nonetheless, this book is a powerful motivator of starting and keeping regular exercises, and I recommend everyone to read it.

Shuji

Posted on Friday 11 May 2012