Those who experience the runner’s high will know that familiar euphoric or blissful post-run feeling. For many of us, it’s a motivator that keeps us running. Research reveals how running and exercise boost your mood and can improve a range of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and psychiatric disorders. We can find plenty of evidence-based reasons to put one foot in front of the other, including, for many of us, the runner’s high. Here’s what happens to your body and brain during a runner’s high.
What is the runner’s high?
The runner’s high is the sense of euphoria that helps you feel calm and relaxed after running a few miles. Euphoria refers to a positive or delightful, joyful feeling. The feeling can also help temporarily diminish discomfort from running a long distance. Many people also claim they feel less anxiety with the runner’s high.
This feeling doesn’t happen for everyone and is difficult to measure because it’s subjective. Those who do experience it typically have to exercise intensely or run for many miles to get to that point, and many people are unable to frequently engage in this level of vigorous physical activity.
What happens in your body and brain during a runner’s high?
Aerobic exercise and running prompt the release of endorphins into your bloodstream.
Endorphins
These chemicals are often called the ‘feel-good’ chemicals because they cause those feelings of happiness, joy, or just feeling a little better overall. They can act as natural pain relievers to help you run longer distances or power through more cardio.
Your central nervous system and pituitary gland naturally produce these neurochemicals that act on the same part of your brain as opioids, such as morphine. They’re released during exercise or during times of stress or pain. They’re also released after you start eating or having sex. More recent research points to endocannabinoids as another type of molecule that could be more involved with the runner’s high.
Endocannabinoids
Exercise prompts the release of endocannabinoids in the bloodstream. These molecules are small enough to cross your blood-brain barrier and act on receptors in your body’s endocannabinoid system, which is the same system activated by tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the active compound in cannabis.
Anandamide is a type of endocannabinoid often detected in high levels in the blood of people who’ve just finished a run. Studies show anandamide could trigger a runner’s high and short-term feelings of calm, euphoria, and lower anxiety. More conclusive research is needed in this area.
Concluding thoughts
Exercise has numerous benefits for your health, even in smaller amounts, so don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t workout intensely or run long distances today on a quest for that euphoric feeling. There are still plenty of reasons for us to exercise in a way that’s suitable for us. Not everyone gets this feeling, so for many, this quest could be unattainable and never-ending. Lots of us are content with the health benefits and the sense of accomplishment that comes after that refreshing run. Research shows running elevates your mood, and that’s enough for me.
