Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

by John J. Ratey

Within the schools, he’s invited teachers in other subjects to get involved: English students use the heart rate monitors during public speaking, and math students use the data to learn how to graph.

“Because it suggests that if you’re in good shape, you may be able to learn and function more efficiently.”

Humans are unique among animals in that the danger doesn’t have to be clear and present to elicit a response—we can anticipate it; we can remember it; we can conceptualize it. And this capacity complicates our lives dramatically.

The more the amygdala fires, the stronger it gets.

Your heart rate or breathing might increase for an unrelated reason, and when you sense this physical arousal, that awareness alone can trigger a state of anxiety or panic. You lose control because you feel like you’re going to lose control. If you begin to fear the fear—whether it’s mental or physical—anxiety can quickly spiral out of control.

I told the young man that the A-number-one thing he needed to do was exercise with somebody. That goes for anyone who is panicky. It offers a sense of safety, but it also increases levels of serotonin immediately, just from being around another person.