Here's what the strange euphoria that sets in after aerobic exercise really is.
If you’ve ever cheered on a group of exhausted marathon runners with big smiles on their faces, you may find yourself wondering why they look so happy. As it turns out, there is a phenomenon called the “runner’s high” which floods the brain and body with feel-good chemicals.
The term"runner's high" probably originated sometime in the 1970s during the United States' first recreational running boom, according to reporting by the Chicago Tribune . How are endorphins related to a runner's high?As the character Elle Woods famously remarked in the 2001 film"Legally Blonde,""Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands."
When scientists began to take a closer look at the chemicals coursing through runners' bodies, they found a whole slew of lipid chemicals — called endocannabinoids — and neurotransmitters that hadn't previously been associated with exercise percolating in various tissues. Like endorphins, endocannabinoids can influence mood. But unlike endorphins, these chemicals can cross the blood-brain barrier.
In addition to endorphins and endocannabinoids, exercise also releases the"feel-good" chemical dopamine, a heavy-hitter for the body's reward system, related to motivation and why some people are more motivated than others. This pleasure inducing neurotransmitter is also released when you win the lottery, orgasm or take a bite of an ice cream sundae.
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