Are you an EXERCISE ADDICT?

EXERCISE 'ADDICTION'

Are you one of those who gets an exercise high?

To be honest with you, yes, I’m...but in a good, healthy way.

Let’s see what’s really behind the “runner’s high’? And why do people get addicted to exercise?

Based on the latest insights from biology, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology, in her book “The Joy of Movement”, Kelly McConigal explains why and how our brain can get hooked on exercise in a way that resembles a DRUG ADDICTION - but with much more positive outcomes.

From a neurological standpoint, the drug that the runner’s high comes closest to is CANNABIS!!! Recent studies have shown that a long run, for example, greatly increases levels of endocannabinoids in our brain. These are a class of chemicals, and cannabis mimics the effects of them in the brain.

These chemicals (endocannabinoids, I cannot even pronounce this word :)), balance a lot of processes in our bodies, they lessen pain, boost mood, triggering additional feel-good chemicals and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and endorphins. They protect us against anxiety and depression. They also make us more social.

Curiously, when researchers first started studying the phenomenon of “exercise dependence” in the late 1960s, they ran into a big problem. No matter how much money they offered, they couldn’t find any regular exercisers willing to see what happens if they stop exercising for a while. Those who signed up tended to cheat and lie, pretending they hadn’t worked out when they had

This example illustrates the “persistence high” people get from working out how exercise can be likened to DRUGS. As drugs, it activates our brain’s REWARD SYSTEM in similar ways to drugs like COCAINE or HEROIN. This means that REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY can be just as addictive as those substances.

For people who describe themselves as exercise junkies, for example, missing a single workout can increase anxiety and irritability. Ask my husband… he knows exactly what I’m talking about here.

And after several missed workouts, many of them can even show signs of depression and insomnia.

There are some important ways in which exercise dependence differs from other addictions.

-It takes our brain longer to get hooked on exercise than on drugs.

-Yes, like other drugs it slowly changes the chemical structure of our brain. BUT instead of making us less sensitive to its positive effects, regular exercise makes us more sensitive to them. That’s why the more exercise you do, the better you feel about it.

We know the benefits of exercising are numerous.

Exercising builds not only muscles, it also builds our CONFIDENCE and SELF-ESTEEM because it fundamentally changes our perception of ourselves. Sure, you feel better about the way you look. But performing a powerful feat (a marathon or a half marathon for example), also sends a message to your brain that YOU ARE POWERFUL!

For Shawn Bearden, host of a popular podcast on ultrarunning, endurance sport, extreme physical hardship is a way to cultivate MENTAL STRENGTH that carries over other parts of his life.

High intensity exercise also stimulates bursts of myokine release (a class of proteins manufactured during physical activity) which boosts our physical and cognitive performance, alleviates pain, reduces depression and inflammation, and even kills cancer cells and protects our brain from some neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s!

Exercise keeps your brain fit. It increases bone density. Apparently, our bones release a hormone (osteocalcin) which promotes the production of certain neurotransmitters in the brain which boost our memory and help our mind stay sharp.

But remember when exercise is repeatedly overdone, when it becomes obsessive and causes dysfunction in your life, if your relationships start suffering, you become obsessed with your weight and your physique, you continue to exercise even if you’re injured, you are at higher risk of developing a behavioral addiction we talked about in our previous posts.

Conclusion:

Just move!

No matter your age, your fitness level, your physical constraints, find the right activity for you, at the right dose, and for the right amount of time ...