[mudrockbestgirl]

I have no doubt that exercise is good for you, but I'm extremely skeptical about these kind of books. I haven't read this one specifically but from your description it fits this archetype of pop-science books that cite studies as proof. But studies, especially these kinds of studies, are no proof. It sounds like a huge collection of selection-bias based experiments, which already suffer from selection bias due to the academic system, spun into a narrative to sell a book to the general clueless population.

Again, I'm sure exercise is great for you (how could it be bad?), but given how difficult it is to get replication in these types of studies I wouldn't trust any of the specific results... I'd bet lots of money that, for example, "People learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster" is complete BS and not replicable.

[omniscient_oce]

I'm completely over self-help books now. Why pay $20 to be taught that water is wet in 200+ pages. Exercise is good, drinking water is good, sleep is good, et cetera. The exact percentage doesn't really matter.

[chegra]

You can think of self-help books as stocks and you are a venture capitalist. So books may contain zero value and add no benefits to your life, while others might provide information and advice that presents you with new information that adds thousand or even millions of dollars to your life. The winners pay for the losers. Valuable insights I have gotten from reading self help books:

1. The frequency of a habit matters more for the development of a habit than the intensity. My chess coaching motto came from this book: "Consistency over Intensity"[1]

2. Most people are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is considered the anti-stress mineral. A central symptom of the deficiency is insomnia. Personally, I started taking 250mg of magnesium supplement daily. [2]

3. Similarly, to the fight-or-flight response, there is pause-and-plan response. Your willpower can be increase by slowing down your breathing thus triggering the pause and plan response. This is something I do when I get intense cravings during my fast.[3]

4. Putting some tape over your mouth before bed can stop sleep apnea. Admittedly, I have stopped this(I will restart), but when I did, I had some of the most refreshing sleep.[4]

5. Another of my mottos, progress equals happiness came from reading self-help books. [5]

[1] - https://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-...

[2] - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-sleep-smarter-b...

[3] - https://www.chestergrant.com/notes-the-willpower-instinct-by...

[4] - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-breath-by-james-nestor

[5] - https://www.chestergrant.com/the-progress-principle-by-teres...

[omniscient_oce]

You just summarised a bunch of information I could have absorbed from an article, and in this case a single comment on hackernews. Buying and reading a whole book for that level of insight seems like a waste of time.

[chegra]

I wouldn't doubt that the specifics are incorrect, but the general picture is good. As a chess player, I can tell you I feel the difference between days I work out and days I don't.

[sammalloy]

The effect is explained by the increase in cerebral blood flow as opposed to sitting. I myself have experienced it. If you have a goal involving something creative, try walking for 20-30 minutes at a good pace before you attempt it. You’ll notice the difference in energy, germination of ideas, and attention and focus. It works.

[azmodeus]

I recommend you read Spark, I think exercise as a valid treatment for a number of mental health conditions is a good hypothesis worth exploring and experimenting.

I wouldn't take the results for granted either but I think it can be worth it to test it on yourself.