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Top 30 John J. Ratey Quotes (2025 Update)

John J. Ratey Quote: “The amount of data in the world is doubling every few years, but our attention system, like the rest of the brain, was built to make sense of the surrounding environment as it existed ten thousand years ago.”

1. “The amount of data in the world is doubling every few years, but our attention system, like the rest of the brain, was built to make sense of the surrounding environment as it existed ten thousand years ago.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Chronic stress is linked to some of our most deadly diseases.”

2. “Chronic stress is linked to some of our most deadly diseases.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Just as anxiety can feed on itself, so can courage.”

3. “Just as anxiety can feed on itself, so can courage.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “The way you choose to cope with stress can change not only how you feel, but also how it transforms the brain. If you react passively or if there is simply no way out, stress can become damaging.”

4. “The way you choose to cope with stress can change not only how you feel, but also how it transforms the brain. If you react passively or if there is simply no way out, stress can become damaging.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Exercise is not an instant cure, but you need to get your brain working again, and if you move your body your brain won’t have any choice.”

5. “Exercise is not an instant cure, but you need to get your brain working again, and if you move your body your brain won’t have any choice.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Exercise Is Medicine,” so.”

6. “Exercise Is Medicine,” so.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “It’s about growth versus decay, activity versus inactivity. The body was designed to be pushed, and in pushing our bodies we push our brains too. Learning and memory evolved in concert with the motor functions that allowed our ancestors to track down food, so as far as our brains are concerned, if we’re not moving, there’s no real need to learn anything.”

7. “It’s about growth versus decay, activity versus inactivity. The body was designed to be pushed, and in pushing our bodies we push our brains too. Learning and memory evolved in concert with the motor functions that allowed our ancestors to track down food, so as far as our brains are concerned, if we’re not moving, there’s no real need to learn anything.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “What it means is that you have the power to change your brain. All you have to do is lace up your running shoes.”

8. “What it means is that you have the power to change your brain. All you have to do is lace up your running shoes.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Just as the mind can affect the body, the body can affect the mind. But the idea that we can alter our mental state by physically moving still has yet to be accepted by most physicians, let alone the broader public.”

9. “Just as the mind can affect the body, the body can affect the mind. But the idea that we can alter our mental state by physically moving still has yet to be accepted by most physicians, let alone the broader public.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “What makes aerobic exercise so powerful is that it’s our evolutionary method of generating that spark. It lights a fire on every level of your brain, from stoking up the neurons’ metabolic furnaces to forging the very structures that transmit information from one synapse to the next.”

10. “What makes aerobic exercise so powerful is that it’s our evolutionary method of generating that spark. It lights a fire on every level of your brain, from stoking up the neurons’ metabolic furnaces to forging the very structures that transmit information from one synapse to the next.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Hippocrates, who recommended that all people in a bad mood should go for a walk – and if it did not improve, walk again.”

11. “Hippocrates, who recommended that all people in a bad mood should go for a walk – and if it did not improve, walk again.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Getting older is unavoidable, but falling apart is not.”

12. “Getting older is unavoidable, but falling apart is not.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “The mental and physical diseases we face in old age are tied together through the cardiovascular system and metabolic system. A.”

13. “The mental and physical diseases we face in old age are tied together through the cardiovascular system and metabolic system. A.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “What is different about meditation and a number of other practices like talk therapy or exercise or sound nutrition is that we are deliberately shaping our brains, intervening in the building process. Someone once argued that there is no choice.”

14. “What is different about meditation and a number of other practices like talk therapy or exercise or sound nutrition is that we are deliberately shaping our brains, intervening in the building process. Someone once argued that there is no choice.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “A little is good, and more is better.” The best, however, based on everything I’ve read and seen, would be to do some form of aerobic activity six days a week, for forty-five minutes to an hour. Four of those days should be on the longer side, at moderate intensity, and two on the shorter side, at high intensity.”

15. “A little is good, and more is better.” The best, however, based on everything I’ve read and seen, would be to do some form of aerobic activity six days a week, for forty-five minutes to an hour. Four of those days should be on the longer side, at moderate intensity, and two on the shorter side, at high intensity.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “By showing that exercise sparks the master molecule of the learning process, Cotman nailed down a direct biological connection between movement and cognitive function.”

16. “By showing that exercise sparks the master molecule of the learning process, Cotman nailed down a direct biological connection between movement and cognitive function.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “From an evolutionary perspective, exercise tricks the brain into trying to maintain itself for survival despite the hormonal cues that it is aging.”

17. “From an evolutionary perspective, exercise tricks the brain into trying to maintain itself for survival despite the hormonal cues that it is aging.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “One small but scientifically sound study from Japan found that jogging thirty minutes just two or three times a week for twelve weeks improved executive function. But it’s important to mix in some form of activity that demands coordination beyond putting one foot in front of the other... Aerobic exercise and complex activity have different beneficial effects on the brain. The good news is they’re complementary.”

18. “One small but scientifically sound study from Japan found that jogging thirty minutes just two or three times a week for twelve weeks improved executive function. But it’s important to mix in some form of activity that demands coordination beyond putting one foot in front of the other... Aerobic exercise and complex activity have different beneficial effects on the brain. The good news is they’re complementary.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Far from being hardwired, as scientists once envisioned it, the brain is constantly being rewired. I’m here to teach you how to be your own electrician.”

19. “Far from being hardwired, as scientists once envisioned it, the brain is constantly being rewired. I’m here to teach you how to be your own electrician.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “One of the first symptoms of depression, even before your mood drops to new lows, is sleep disturbance. Either you can’t get up or you can’t get to sleep or both.”

20. “One of the first symptoms of depression, even before your mood drops to new lows, is sleep disturbance. Either you can’t get up or you can’t get to sleep or both.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Intensity was particularly important in his case because of the evidence that only rigorous exercise alleviates sensitivity to the physical arousal of anxiety.”

21. “Intensity was particularly important in his case because of the evidence that only rigorous exercise alleviates sensitivity to the physical arousal of anxiety.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “If everyone knew that exercise worked as well as Zoloft, I think we could put a real dent in the disease. Reading.”

22. “If everyone knew that exercise worked as well as Zoloft, I think we could put a real dent in the disease. Reading.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “For a short time, one or two hours, stress does wonderful things for the brain,” Sapolsky told the conference. “More oxygen and glucose are delivered to the brain. The hippocampus, which is involved in memory, works better when you are stressed for a little while. Your brain releases more dopamine, which plays a role in the experience of pleasure, early on during stress; it feels wonderful, and your brain works better.”

23. “For a short time, one or two hours, stress does wonderful things for the brain,” Sapolsky told the conference. “More oxygen and glucose are delivered to the brain. The hippocampus, which is involved in memory, works better when you are stressed for a little while. Your brain releases more dopamine, which plays a role in the experience of pleasure, early on during stress; it feels wonderful, and your brain works better.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “After a stressful event, we often crave comfort food. Our body is calling for more glucose and simple carbohydrates and fat... And in modern life, people tend to have fewer friends and less support, because there’s no tribe. Being alone is not good for the brain.”

24. “After a stressful event, we often crave comfort food. Our body is calling for more glucose and simple carbohydrates and fat... And in modern life, people tend to have fewer friends and less support, because there’s no tribe. Being alone is not good for the brain.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Humans cannot be born with fully formed brains simply because the resulting head would not fit through the birth canal. Rather, our brains are built and formed after we are born, like a ship in a bottle, a process that takes fifteen, maybe twenty years.”

25. “Humans cannot be born with fully formed brains simply because the resulting head would not fit through the birth canal. Rather, our brains are built and formed after we are born, like a ship in a bottle, a process that takes fifteen, maybe twenty years.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “People think of exercise in terms of physical health, but not mental health,” says Jennifer Shaw, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Brookline, Massachusetts, who is a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School.”

26. “People think of exercise in terms of physical health, but not mental health,” says Jennifer Shaw, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Brookline, Massachusetts, who is a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “The more we build these networks and enrich our stores of memory and experience, the easier it is to learn, because what we already know serves as a foundation for forming increasingly complex thoughts.”

27. “The more we build these networks and enrich our stores of memory and experience, the easier it is to learn, because what we already know serves as a foundation for forming increasingly complex thoughts.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “What I aim to do here is to deliver in plain English the inspiring science connecting exercise and the brain and to demonstrate how it plays out in the lives of real people. I want to cement the idea that exercise has a profound impact on cognitive abilities and mental health. It is simply one of the best treatments we have for most psychiatric problems.”

28. “What I aim to do here is to deliver in plain English the inspiring science connecting exercise and the brain and to demonstrate how it plays out in the lives of real people. I want to cement the idea that exercise has a profound impact on cognitive abilities and mental health. It is simply one of the best treatments we have for most psychiatric problems.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Genes determine our risk for a disease, but our lifestyle and environment can either trigger or suppress those risks.”

29. “Genes determine our risk for a disease, but our lifestyle and environment can either trigger or suppress those risks.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Like synaptic plasticity, “neurogenesis is clearly involved in our interactions with our environment, both emotionally and cognitively,” says neuroscientist Fred Gage, of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.”

30. “Like synaptic plasticity, “neurogenesis is clearly involved in our interactions with our environment, both emotionally and cognitively,” says neuroscientist Fred Gage, of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Indeed, in a 2007 study of humans, German researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise, and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF. Along with that, people with a gene variation that robs them of BDNF are more likely to have learning deficiencies.”

31. “Indeed, in a 2007 study of humans, German researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise, and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF. Along with that, people with a gene variation that robs them of BDNF are more likely to have learning deficiencies.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “About 20 percent of older adults who break a hip die within a year.”

32. “About 20 percent of older adults who break a hip die within a year.”

— John J. Ratey

John J. Ratey Quote: “Students would be assessed on effort rather than skill. You didn’t have to be a natural athlete to do well in gym.”

33. “Students would be assessed on effort rather than skill. You didn’t have to be a natural athlete to do well in gym.”

— John J. Ratey

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