copyright & licensing

all content © VM (Vicky) Brasseur and licensed under CC BY-SA

Originally posted on 12 Jan 2023

1 minute read

Libraries are great for picking up random titles. It’s so much cheaper than an impulse purchase.

To be honest, I expected to return this one unread. I don’t like self-help books and was pretty surprised to see I’d picked this up in the first place.

It turns out, this is more science than self-help, which is much more my speed. It’s a book by a neuroscientist about the research into the chemical effects of exercise on the brain, which is pretty interesting stuff. Heisz does a pretty good job of keeping it low on the jargon and high on the context, so the hard science is quite understandable for people without PhDs in this stuff.

The content is all interesting and pragmatic, but my one qualm is that by the end exercise comes across as a cure-all rather than an important part of an overall healthy lifestyle. This was especially the case in the the final chapter, which felt like it had the least supporting research and the most “it worked for me so it’ll work for you” vibe.

Despite that, overall it was a good read and a lot of good current science about the many ways that the body and mind cooperate to keep everything operating well.