Does Running Make You Smarter?

A funny take on whether running makes you smarter

In an article for the Asheville Citizen Times, Dr. Doug Milch, DPM provides some positive and negative effects of running.

Dr. Milch states that John Ratey, author “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain,” believes that exercise increases several chemicals, including brain derived neurotrophic factor, which has a beneficial effect on brain cells.

DOES running make your smarter? Judging by the gentle humor in his article, running certainly makes Dr. Milch clever!

I agree with Dr. Milch that running is addictive. He writes, “Try not running for a week. See if your family doesn't push you out the door with your running shoes.” This statement reminded me of my childhood.

If I was restless inside our house, my father would order me to go outside and “blow the stink out of you.” No doubt, this was because my body needed to be active for my mind to remain positive. More than 25 years later, if I feel myself getting cranky, I lace up my running shoes and head out the door to “blow the stink out.”

Do you get cranky if you don’t run regularly?