This isn’t my usual type of book, but the title caught my attention and the subject matter intrigued me to no end. This book was informative, interesting, and encouraging, and I’d definitely recommend it.

A noted neuroscientist reveals groundbreaking research on how fitness and exercise can combat mental health conditions such as anxiety, dementia, ADHD, and depression, and offers a plan for improving focus, creativity, and sleep.

In this book, the author research about fitness and body positivity and raise some mental health issues and give us proper insight about it.
It was quite intellectual and acknowledging read for me.

I usually do not read self-help books, but the topic, along with a new year resolution to branch out into different genres, made me request this book.

This book is perfect for anyone interested in the ways exercise can improve their lives outside of their physical well-being. Heisz uses excellent data and statistics to make the case that exercise does more than keep one trim; but also helps reduce anxiety, prevents dementia, recover from addiction, and sleep better. Heisz expertly balances the science behind her claims with colloquial verbiage to make the read approachable to anyone. Also, Heisz gives workout plans and fitness advice for anybody looking to update their routine.

Overall, I would recommend this book for anybody interested in fitness, mental health, self help, and wellness who wants an informative data-driven read to help improve their physical and psychological well-being.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jennifer, Heisz, and Mariner Books for lending me this ARC!

This book was intriguing and inspiring enough that I set up my own exercise program based on her research to see if it would help boost my mood. I was specifically intrigued by her research around developing our capacity to make new memories when we link aerobic activity with learning something new. The results have been good. It’s too soon to know yet if this will produce long term gains. But I’m pleased with the early results and will go through the book again to glean more of the ideas she puts forth. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

I chose this read for the chapter on exercise and dementia. She had some pretty good data to support that lack of exercise is linked with dementia. I especially appreciated the data on sitting for long periods of time and it's link to memory. This is a good resource for anyone who wants to get started slowly and must have clinical data to motivate them.

If you aren't into exercising now, you may find yourself moving daily after reading this book.

Jennifer Heisz shares her research/findings on how physical activity benefits our mental health and packages it in a way that is easy to understand. Using real-world examples in all stages of life, this book resonates with a reader in a way that makes you want to take action. It explores how physical activity plays a positive role from childhood into old age and dives into the science of why exercise is so important for our brain's health (such as preventing dementia, recovering from addiction, focusing at work, and more). Following each section, Jennifer supplies a workout plan to put what you just learned into action. It may sound intimidating, but she makes it easy by including a range of difficulty plans knowing her reader may be in different stages of exercise.

I highly recommend this book to those looking for their 'why' behind exercising. As a person who likes to exercise myself, I still found this book fascinating and it gave me even more reason to keep on moving. Knowing the science of how physical activity affects the brain and body motivates in a way that hits close to home.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Jennifer Heisz for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The body positivity movement is so important, yet it has impacted how I view and feel about moving my body. For better and worse.

Similar to the sex positivity movement, if we look critically, we find areas that the movement ignores or even hinders. (That’s why I’m more aligned with the sex responsibility movement, which doesn’t shame ‘vanilla’ preferences and calls for accountability.) All that to say, I’ve had a hard time finding my why to exercise. I don’t want people to think I’m obsessed with or care about changing how I look. I don’t want to hear, “You’re beautiful just the way you are!” Cause I know, thanks.

Move the Body, Heal the Mind came into my life at the perfect time because now I have multiple whys for exercising: to improve my mental health, immune response, sleep, creativity, and more.

I have anxiety, depression, and OCD, so I was nervous about how this book would discuss mental illness, especially medication vs. exercise. Because my meds honestly saved my life. But I learned that, for many people who don’t respond to medication, low levels of serotonin isn’t the root cause for mental illnesses. Instead, inflammation in the brain, due to extended stress or sickness, is the root cause. But get this—mental health professionals don’t test for inflammation but instead treat all patients as if they have low serotonin. Wow, right? Turns out, no matter the cause, exercise helps both responders and non-responders.

Also, for those of you like me who have found it hard to stick to your health plan in the past no matter how much you plan, this book shows how it’s not your fault but your brain’s focus. You should definitely read more, but essentially, all your goals and planning is needed— until you start exercising. Then you need to focus on the experience.

If you’re looking for your why or find psychology fascinating, pick up this book!

Favorite Quotes

"Bigger is not always better when it comes to an immune response. Too much inflammation’s bad for the body, and the consequences range from trivial to tragic."

"When the brain’s inflamed, it metabolizes tryptophan, creating a toxic by-product that damages the hippocampus. This makes it harder to turn off the stress response, and this, creates even more stressed-out called and inflammation."

"Exercising muscles release special Ed cytokines called myokines . . . With consistent training, . . . the body becomes less inflamed."

"Exercise is medicine that we all need. And I do mean all of us. Not just drug-resistant non-responders, but responders too."

"Exercising more during the day helps us pay back our sleep debt faster so that we can wake up feeling more refreshed and recharged."

"By training your body to move more creatively, you train your mind to think more creatively."

"You can train to enhance both focus and creativity, but your training program must include unpredictability, cross-training, and play."

I usually don’t read this type of book but the cover caught my attention. The subject is very interesting and as I wanted to know more about it I asked for a copy.
There were some things I really didn’t understand at all because there is a ton of information about medical stuff obviously, that I am not familiar with, so it was a bit heavy to read.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the personal story of Jennifer.
I think this is a good welcome for those who want to start doing excersice because it sure does give crucial information if someone is reluctant to do so. Although this wasn't my cup of tea I believe that the right reader is going to benefit a lot.


Special thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC.

I was impressed by the research and the author made convincing arguments (with evidence) for her points. I definitely learned some things. I hope that an editor will take a look before publication. There were many mistakes in the advanced reader copy. There were sometimes several major typos on a single page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In this book, scientist and researcher Jennifer Heisz explores how physical activity can improve mental function in many categories - mental illness, memory, addiction, sleep, etc. Having always heard that exercise is good for you and being frustrated by it, I found the scientific breakdowns and reasoning to be super helpful for understanding. This book could also be an incredible guide for those who aren't currently physically active and need a place to start. A great resource!

"Move the Body, Heal the Mind: Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia and Improve Focus, Creativity, and Sleep" by Jennifer Heisz is an incredibly helpful book! If you deal with anxiety, depression, or sleep problems, this book will be very compelling. Filled with practical advice and a lot of scientific evidence, this book proves the importance and efficacy of exercise. While there were parts of the book that were a little too scientific for me, the majority of the book is easy for regular people to read and understand. There were even exercise examples at the back of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a new fresh take on exercise. I'm read quite a few books about exercise, optimizing your fitness, etc. but this is the very first one to incorporate in the neuroscience - aka the positive impacts of exercise on the brain. As someone with a background in neuroscience, I found it really interesting, and a new prespective/encouragement why to exercise daily. The book is easy to read, engaging, etc. Don't worry, you don't need to have a degree in neuroscience to understand it!

If you're looking for a good reason to get off the couch and strap on your running shoes, this is the book for you. The author writes in a straightforward, easy-to-read way, presenting the research around the benefits of exercise, and providing a plan to get the reader moving.
I found it a fascinating read, and very motivating. It made me want to keep active for years to come.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for providing an advance copy for an honest review.

Move the Body, Heal the Mind by Jennifer Heisz. Not your ordinary self help/exercise book. The author gives information and theory in a interesting and easy to understand manner. New methods to incorporate more movement into your life.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

A book that highlights the importance of physical activity not only for obvious reasons. People consider “falling apart” a natural part of living & aging. This book reviews ways for us to hold it together physically & mentally.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

What a great book to have and to share. Very helpful.

<i>Move the Body, Heal the Mind</i> is a startling look at our propensity for dementia and mental disease as a consequence of inactivity. As someone who is constantly battling depression and anxiety, I picked up this book looking for a playbook for these specific use cases. I needed a way to overcome brain fog and difficulty concentrating. What I found was much more.

Dementia is something that has always frightened me, but because it doesn’t run in my family, I never thought it was a personal risk factor. Heisz makes it clear that a sedentary lifestyle can actually create an environment conducive to the affliction, even for those who don’t have a genetic propensity. For those of us who spend most of our days in front of computers with very little activity, this is terrifying. Inactivity creates the conditions within the brain to not only inhibit our basic thinking and reasoning capacity, but also send us right down the path to dementia and more serious conditions.

Heisz provides a game plan, complete with exercises and workout plans, for working our way to ideal mental wellness through physical activity, which means staving off serious mental disorders. The most refreshing part of the book is the author’s honest account of starting life as one who avoided physical activity and how she changed her own perspective and worked her way towards being an athlete. The reader will easily relate to her and realize that even if they are starting from a place of inactivity, there’s a path forward.

The exercises the author includes in each workout plan are explained in detail and have accompanying photographs. However, a few of them were unfamiliar and I’ll admit a video tutorial would be helpful. However, most are easy to understand and appear easy to incorporate into a daily routine. Heisz’s research and cases for activity are motivation enough to get moving. Most of us at one time or another will experience brain fog or difficulty concentrating, but the idea that we could be setting up the conditions for dementia is all the encouragement I need to start a regular routine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner books for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest review.

MOVE THE BODY, HEAL THE MIND: OVERCOME ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND DEMENTIA AND
IMPROVE FOCUS, CREATIVITY, AND SLEEP.

BY JENNIFER HEISZ

I was on the fence initially and reluctant to read this book and am so grateful to the Author Jennifer Heisz, PhD and Harper Collins Books which Mariner Books is a division of in Publishing
(I think and apologize in advance if I am wrong) that I did. Words cannot begin to express how lucky I feel to have stumbled upon what a life changing experience reading this book has been for me. I highly recommend reading this jewel of a book to everybody because it can offer so much current and crucial information on why it is imperative that we continue to exercise throughout our lifetimes and the perils if we don't. The reason that I had considered reading it was because I was hoping that it offered an explanation of why it has been so hard for me to begin incorporating a daily exercise regimen again into my own life. Even though I knew it was the best gift that I could give my body and mind during the most difficult time in my life. I was looking for that boost for myself to start to incorporate slowly running again because it used to bring me so much pleasure and clarity. I was at one time an avid runner and remember during my runs that I came up with my most creative thinking and problem solving during my runs. Now I have gleaned the scientific research conducted by the gifted and talented studies of Author Jennifer Heisz, PhD and numerous others of why that occurred. I will definitely prepare to make it a priority to either begin by either jogging and walking until running becomes effortless again, or I will take brisk walks. Walking can also bring the same rewards as running if it includes walking at a brisk pace and going for at least four miles I have discovered. I tend to think that if it is at a faster pace and if it covers at least four miles I have accomplished my goal. I have only walked my old running loop maybe five times maximum and all were done in April of this year with the goal of doing it everyday it didn't rain this Summer. Sadly, I was either too busy reading or cleaning or meeting with friend's and I let myself down for not following through. Now in October I plan on walking briskly alternating with intervals of jogging slowly then recovering by walking briskly or if that is too hard then jogging alternating with walking at a comfortable pace. What I found out from reading this book was that everyone who remains to not move the body by picking an exercise that they enjoy and doing it at least three times per week for a minimum of thirty minutes is at risk for potentially developing Dementia even if it's not in their genetic code if they are past the middle of their life. The information I learned was based on studies and neuroscience from which this Author who is herself is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University. She directs their Neurofit laboratory where she conducts research that examines the effects of physical activity on brain function and how it promotes mental health and cognition in all ages. Kinesiology basically means the study of the mechanics of body movement scientifically and addresses Physiological, Anatomical, Biomechanical, and Neuropsychological Principals and Mechanisms of Movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health include biomechanics and orthopedics; strength and conditioning; sport psychology; motor control; skill acquisition and motor learning; methods of rehabilitation such as occupational and physical therapy; and sport and exercise physiology. Studies of animal and human motion include measures from motion tracking systems, electrophysiology of muscle and brain activity, various methods for monitoring physiological function, and other behavioral and cognitive research techniques. I promise you that overwhelming and dry definition of kinesiology is not from the book. It is my own curiosity as to why this Author's conversational approach which she generously shares her own life experience examples along with studies conducted in her own laboratory as well as other secondary sources of neuroscience research studies which validate her narrative of how being sedentary can be harmful. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, CBS and BBC as well as the New York Times.

For most of my life I have been an active person which I am embarrassed to say that since 2017 I stopped except housework and errands or visits with friends. I had an unexpected life circumstance that is one of life's most stressful events occur and I forfeited a one year purchase of my gym membership which was paid for in advance as well as paid in advance sessions with a personal trainer. Additionally, I sacrificed for both of my son's who did not own their own vehicles the use of my brand new car which left me landlocked everyday. At that time I also got rid of my treadmill and stationary bike because my oldest son didn't like that my treadmill was in the corner of the kitchen and my stationary bike was in the corner of the living room. I live in a climate of New England that has always been famous for its four seasons but at the time being has consisted of two Winter and two months of Summer. But to be perfectly honest with you since 2017 I have been using reading a book per day as a way to distract myself from the pain by one thing happening after another. Also I always put my family before myself deriving at feelings of warmth and pleasure by putting their needs before my own. I realize that in doing so all of the time it isn't healthy but it is a hard habit to break. Family will always mean everything to me but I need to start challenging the unconscious belief that I must always put their needs before mine. I knew on some level that exercising would help me to cope with the emotional pain by naturally boosting my serotonin and dopamine levels in my brain because of my lifetime experience of enjoying physical activity. I used to schedule my running, weight training, step aerobics first by doing what this Author suggests by keeping track by happily attending a group class or running by using a calendar to log my runs writing down how many miles I went each day. What I mean to say is that I put exercise on my daily schedule planning what classes I wanted to take after my first son was born by planning ahead and starting with building my endurance slowly by taking beginners classes to step aerobics. This book reinforced what I had already known that if I didn't keep to the schedule by starting where I was at and doing it in a group or class that taught me the beginners version done with upbeat music which I picked things that I enjoyed I probably wouldn't have stuck with it for so many years. My body was so deconditioned after sedentary pregnancies for which I was sick 24/7 for my entire pregnancies. But since I was younger I had more muscle from my childhood, teens and early twenties I went from not being able to stand and frost my husbands birthday cake to a runner who ran ten miles per day. The author encourages you to start where you are at. She encourages being given your Doctor's permission before starting her helpful regimen. After recovering from giving birth both times if I didn't belong to a gym I ran outside year around preferring the colder temperatures because I had running shoes, running clothes and always overheated stripping away layers. If I belonged to a gym I attended the classes by either writing them down ahead of time on a calendar--the old fashioned paper kind. I always felt better after taking a class that I enjoyed or after a run. I was an avid reader but found that my concentration levels were greater after I picked up a book after exercising and showering which I attributed to the oxygen my brain gained during my workouts. The Author goes into explaining why exercise is so important and uses easy to understand descriptions of the brain's anatomy and the biochemical changes that take place in the brain using up to date neuroscience. She uses her own life experiences from being sedentary to completing her first triathlon after vigorous training during 2017. She had made a goal to get stronger for her New Year's resolution for 2017 and she succeeded. She gives composites of people as she explains the concept of why it is critical to incorporate an exercise regimen and how it can be beneficial if you choose an exercise that you enjoy. She helped me tremendously by beginning the book by sharing that it is hard to stick to a new exercise routine by naming the First Chapter: The Reasons It's Hard To Exercise where she quotes Arthur Ashe who said "Start Where You Are. Use What You Have. Do What You Can." This will help me because due to my age I am and the trauma that I have suffered I have gone from being fit to only being able to go on brisk walks outside and it is frankly too cold to walk outside now October to about April, 2022. I don't own a treadmill as I always did since my early thirties. There aren't any gyms that offer the classes that I used to enjoy as they are now closed. But I can research gyms that are maybe in nearby communities that would offer beginners classes if this pandemic ever ends. But due to Covid 19 and the Delta Variant I can't do my group classes even though I have been vaccinated since April 9, 2021. I have lost my cardiovascular fitness to the point where I can't do more than a brisk four mile walk which I have last done several times over in April during the Sunshine. I am in what the Author refers to as a helpless mindset when she discusses her section on Mental Health. Today I am taking hours to write this review when I should be doing my four mile walk. But since I will start where I am I will take several short brisk strolls around the neighborhood. I can walk up and down my stairs inside. I am taking action because I will feel better and in reading this book it has changed my life. I hope that it isn't too late to start walking and jogging again outside because sitting for hours reading without taking a break could put me at risk for Dementia later in life. Even if it isn't in my genetic code the Author compares not exercising as equal to developing Dementia later in life from my sedentary lifestyle. That I have been doing by my reading from morning until night without moving around every two hours except to use the bathroom until dinner as I have become an empty nester. I stand the best chance of exercising outside alternating walking with jogging this Winter. I had all Summer to go on walks and buy my new running clothes but since I thought I didn't need exercise because I am thin my outlook has dramatically changed by reading this groundbreaking book. I have discovered that by sitting when not doing housework and reading until dinner my sedentary lifestyle could lead to Dementia even if it's not in my DNA. By not exercising I have become weaker losing muscle mass and heart muscle. The author states that by not moving the body is equally as harmful to the mind and body as smoking is. I have never smoked in my life but I know that it causes cancer. Both of my parent's each died suddenly from Bone cancer. I also suffer from insomnia which she stresses can be cured by exercise. I have stressors that could be counter balanced by training my body again to regain my heart muscle by walking and jogging with the goal of running outside again. The Author states that in our busy lives unless we schedule a time for exercise we are too busy or too tired and we won't do it which correlates to the time in my life when I scheduled my life around my workouts because I felt worse on my one day off from it. Throughout this short book this Angel of an Author presents the latest research highlighting the incredible interplay between the mind and body that can be harnessed by exercise to transform your life.

About 15 percent of heart attack survivors and 25 percent of stroke survivors develop PTSD. Every year about 800,000 Americans have a heart attack, yet only one-third of them follow through with rehabilitation, and those who do struggle to make regular exercise part of their daily life. The heart attack sufferer that has developed PTSD and who worries about exercising to the point of not doing it puts them in real danger. The anxiety about getting the physical exercise that could prevent a future heart attack isn't followed because the heart attack sufferer equates the symptoms that the body feels due to vigorous exercise that done safely which will make the heart stronger is avoided. From avoiding these side effects that a gradual exercise regimen done slowly and safely to a recovering heart attack suffered who now has developed PTSD as well feels the trauma of getting the exercise that he/she needs, which puts he/she at an ever greater risk of having another heart attack.

I will back up to give a small explanation of the power of anxiety. "It distorts the mind and disables the body. We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. And when the mind is fixed with fear and the brain is infused with adrenaline, the world becomes endowed with danger. The outcome is absolutely destructive and has the potential to derail everything we attempt to do. We all experience anxiety from time to time. It's the brains natural response to stressors and believe it or not, it can help us deal with stressful situations by keeping our mind focused and alert. The problem is that anxiety goes from zero to a hundred within seconds. When it gets to one hundred, we are no longer responding to the situation at hand but to our own feelings of vulnerability. This creates a fearful reaction that is disproportional and over exaggerated. The mind can't focus; it's too worried about what could go wrong. The body can't fight; it's too weak from all the tension and pain. One in three of us will experience anxiety like this at some point in our life. Some of us live like this all the time. The most common anxiety disorders include: Generalized anxiety disorder: Excessive and exaggerated worry about every day events for no apparent reason. Panic attacks: A sudden and intense fear that triggers a severe physical reaction when there is no real danger or threat. Phobia: An intense fear or aversion to a specific object or situation that may be harmless. Social Anxiety: An intense fear of being negatively judged or scrutinized in a social setting even when it's not true. Worry is our enemy here, and it is causing us to suffer needlessly."

Exercise can heal the permanent on switch of anxiety and turn it off. The quote above is used to illustrate why heart attack sufferers fear any form of exercise that in order to grow stronger you must kick up the intensity slowly for short intervals and gradually increase them over a period of time. These higher thresholds of perceived rates of exertion need to be done using the talking test. This new talking test is radically different than how I was taught. I am going to trust it because the last twenty percent of the book is filled with scientific research from the current studies to follow up studies on participants twenty year's later. In the back of the book the Author provides illustrations of a suggested exercise followed with written text on how to safely step by step perform it. Most of them I recognized from being taught to me in weight training. Some I had never heard of.

I have not touched on some of the most important sections of this book. I will guarantee you that this book has something that everybody of all ages can relate too. My final verdict is that physical activity through a regimented exercise program benefits people of all ages starting with children into old age. I thought that I knew all of the benefits but the truth is I learned a lot and it has drastically altered my viewpoint. A body needs exercise. This is not only the best self help book that I have ever read, it has convinced me that my quality of life depends on it. It not only surpassed it's purpose to motivate me to start to exercise daily. It has changed my life. It was enjoyable and presented factual information that I hope will make my twilight years as independent for as long as I live. This is the best book that I have ever read regarding exercise. This is easily the most important book that I will ever read. This book should be read by everybody. My weaker body in just five years of stopping exercising is a wake up call. The information in this book is a wake up call. I just hope that I can reverse the damage that my sedentary lifestyle has done. I will return to this as my handbook to gain back the cardio muscle that has weakened and hope that I have not done my mind and body irreparable damage. A huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Jennifer Heisz for writing the neuroscience of moving the body, the reasons why and for translating it to make it easy to understand.

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

A huge debt of gratitude to Net Galley, Jennifer Heisz, Shara Alexander at Harper Collins and Mariner Books Publishing for generously providing this highly informative and the most important book that I have read via ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. It is life changing! All opinions are my own.

#MovetheBodyHealtheMind #JenniferHeisz #MarinerBooksPublishing

This book gives interesting scientific information about exercising. The author explains how exercise can reduce stress or addiction or depression. She also explains why it is so hard to exercise and how to overcome the lure of a sedentary lifestyle. Although we already know the benefits of exercise, this new insight may help us create a better and more efficient exercise plan. The author also proposes different exercise plans, according to our goals or health problems. That are photos at the end of the book that picture different type of exercises and a very detailed know-how.

I haven’t had great luck with health and wellness-type books lately but this one will stand out as a favorite. Whether you haven’t exercised in years but want to start or you’re a fitness fanatic, there’s something for everyone in this book. I definitely learned a few things! It would also make a great coffee table book that you could refer back to. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!