By April Moore, Assistant Director in Campus Recreation at Florida State University
On January 27, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr.
John J.
Ratey, who served as featured keynote speaker at the 2014 Jon C.
Dalton Institute on College Student Values, held February 6-8 in Tallahassee, FL.
All of the keynote speakers were interviewed before the event; however, I know Dr.
Ratey’s work has long been of special interest to NIRSA members.
For over two decades, the Institute, hosted by Florida State University, has focused on issues related to values, ethics, and character in college student development. This year’s theme of “Promoting an Ethic of Care: Student Well-Being as a Priority for Higher Education” was no exception and speaks clearly to collegiate recreation’s integral role in helping students reach a holistic and sustainable wellness.
Dr. Ratey’s thought-provoking keynote speech focused on how exercise and physical activity can positively influence individuals’ mental health—including the ability to manage and overcome depression and anxiety, to reduce stress, to help increase the ability to get adequate sleep, and to even help with knowledge retention.
Dr. John Ratey sat down with NIRSA member, April Moore, to talk about the influence of exercise and physical activity.Well known to many NIRSA members for his latest book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr. Ratey is regarded a leading expert on the brain-fitness connection. His work in neuroscience and psychiatry, examining issues ranging from aggression to ADHD, led him to discover that exercise was a reliable and consistent treatment. “Exercise,” he says simply, “increases our cognitive abilities.” In higher education, students often sacrifice wellness—be it exercise or sleep—in times of high stress. However, Dr. Ratey is adamant that, as counterintuitive as it may sometimes feel, taking breaks to exercise, even if just for a few minutes, will greatly pay off in the long run.
As an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, he has published over 60 peer reviewed articles and written eight books pertaining to neuropsychiatry. A highly sought-after speaker, Dr. Ratey has embarked on a world-wide mission to reengineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimal mental health.
In his pre-Dalton Institute interview, broadcast live on Google+ and open to questions via the hashtag #Dalton14, Dr. Ratey discussed supporting the health and wellbeing of students in higher education by using methods of accountability to keep patients motivated to continue exercising. He also spoke on specific aspects of wellness, ranging from sleep benefits to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), as well as his two upcoming books, which proponents of physical activity and fitness will be thrilled to read.
If you missed the live interview, you can still enjoy the audio recording. NIRSA members will find lots of useful information in this talk, especially as Dr. Ratey describes exercise as the best medicine for many of the ailments affecting students today—including mental disorders, lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression—as well as the best types of exercise to combat these conditions.
