Reports of new studies have found what might be the primary reason as to why people experience what is called “runner’s high.” It seems as if there is much more to the process than most thought. Runner’s high is simply defined as a sense of euphoria after a long state of exercise. For many years now people assumed that only endorphins released by the body after a workout was responsible for a runner’s high, but it does not seem as if that is the case. New studies suggest that endocannabinoids may also be part of the equation.
Let’s take a look at what is known: running typically boosts β-endorphins found in the blood which was the original molecule associated with the running high feeling. Now it seems as if endorphins are too large to diffuse from the blood to the brain. Therefore, researchers at University of Heidelberg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Gutenberg University and Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry are on the hunt to find exactly why molecules play a role in producing a runner’s high.
A trial was set up with mice that were not allowed to run and mice that ran about 6.5 km on a wheel for five hours. The two mice were compared and it looked as if there were fewer signs of anxiety and less pain sensitivity for mice that had ran 6.5 km.
It turns out that mice that ran had higher plasma levels of endocannabinoid compounds than mice that did not run. It turns out that “running was not associated with changes in anandamide levels in cerebrospinal fluid and several brain regions.” Further results showed that drugs that had blocked the endocannabinoid receptors were apparently hindering the runner’s high that is felt. This hindering was not seen in drugs that had blocked the endorphin receptors.
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