Running High

The NY Times came out with an interesting article this past Thursday. It discusses the notion that exercise, particularly running, can induce a sort of euphoria, or "runner's high". Personally, I didn't need a study to confirm this for me, but after years of trying to explain myself to non-runners, it's nice to have some evidence-based data to back me up.

So, finally, the real reason why we feverously sign up for every road race we can find, buying the latest running clothes and sporting the newest in treadmills!

Supposidly, a German study, reported in the journal Cerebral Cortex, found that running creates a flood of endorphins which are associated with mood changes. These chemicals are the brain’s naturally occurring opiates. During intense exercise, their release have the ability to change an athlete’s mood. Typically occuring 60-90 minutes of steady exercise, runners find themselves in a mental state of relaxation partnered with a mild pain cessation.

Further yet, recently a British research team reported early findings suggesting that moderate exercise also increases the PEA levels for most people. PEA, or phenylethylamine, is another brain chemical that improves a person's mood. They argue that this increase causes the rapturous mood. And because depressed people tend to have low PEA levels, the researchers say there now is an explanation of why exercise has a natural antidepressant action. Apparently, even moderate exercise raises levels of this brain chemical that can drastically improve a person's mood.

Either way, here's another reason to do long distance training. Not only might it make you happy but it can give you a nice buzz, man.