Exercise Euphoria and Exercise Addiction

Exercise Euphoria and Exercise Addiction Addiction Addictive Behaviors Print The Science Behind Runners High and What to Do If Youre Addicted By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on March 20, 2017 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on February 16, 2020 Arnold Media/Getty Images More in Addiction Addictive Behaviors Caffeine Internet Shopping Sex Alcohol Use Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery We all know getting and staying healthy through exercise can feel good, but sometimes it can feel so good that people who exercise might wonder, can you get high from working out? And if you can actually get high on exercise, like you can from drugs, is it good for you or bad for you? The short answer is that yes, you can get high from exercise. And while the feeling of getting high itself is not harmful, like with drugs, you can be harmed while under the influence of this high feeling, as you may be less aware of the potential and real harms to your body. There is also a risk of getting addicted to the high you get from exercise, which can also be harmful. Benefits of Regular Exercise So do we need to be concerned that we are exercising too much? For most of us, the answer is no. Typically, people who dont exercise much find exercise hard work at the beginning, and it is only after your strength, stamina, and skill develop that you start feeling good during and after exercise. Even for those who have developed a regular exercise routine, look forward to working out, and feel great during and after exercise, the majority of people dont get to the point where exercising too much is a concern. There is wide variation on how much pleasure people derive from exercise, peoples predisposition to addiction and peoples individual neurological makeup, and it has been noted by neuroscientists that one of the main reasons that people with the intention of increasing exercise eventually quit  is a lack of enjoyment. If anything, most of us would benefit from exercising more and increasing our enjoyment of exercise to reinforce a regular exercise routine. Most people do not need to worry about getting addicted to exercise and should try to exercise regularly. Exercise improves your bodys functioning in many different ways and offers many benefits such as:?? Exercise gives you energy and increases your resistance to fatigue, meaning that although your body is working harder when you exercise, over time, you feel less tired than you did before you started working out.Exercise makes your muscles stronger, improving your ability to do many different active tasks, and increasing your independence, as you are less likely to need help with physical tasks.Exercise makes you more flexible, increasing the variety of physical activities you can do, whether or not they are directly related to exercise.Exercise improves your endurance, meaning you can continue to be physically active for longer periods of time than you can when you dont exercise, without straining yourself or feeling uncomfortable.Exercise makes your body more efficient at physical tasks, meaning you can do them with less effort, and feel less tired afterward, than if you dont regularly exercise.Exercise reduces your risk of injuries, such as lower-back problems.Exercise helps you t o manage your weight and can help you to lose weight if you have put on too much weight.Exercise decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease.Exercise reduces your risk of type 2 (adult onset) diabetes mellitus.Exercise lowers your risk of depression and can help manage the symptoms of depression for those who have it.Exercise may decrease the effects of aging through improved functioning during regular tasks of everyday life.Exercise can help people overcome other addictions.??Exercise helps you to get a good nights sleep and can help with sleep disorders.?? Exercise Can Help With Avoiding an Addiction Relapse So, you may be wondering, with such a litany of benefits, what could be  the problem with exercise? It sounds like the more the better, and you cant go wrong. For most of us, this is true, but for people with a personal or family history of addictions, those with unresolved emotional trauma, or those who are particularly sensitive to endogenous opioidsâ€"the drug-like substances produced by the bodyâ€"there may be a risk in exercising too much. What Is Runners High? The good feelings that people get from exercise, also known as euphoria, is a well-recognized phenomenon, often referred to as the runners high.   The positive feelings people get from exercise can be a great natural way to motivate you to exercise more regularly, can fight depression, and can be helpful for people who are trying to recover from alcohol and drug addictions. The problem comes from the psychological process of addiction, which can occur in people who experience runners high and can potentially lead to exercise addiction. The runners high happens naturally when people participate in  vigorous exercises, such as running, swimming, or aerobic exercise. It is caused by changes in the body and brain that occur during exercise, which may be similar to the processes that happen when people take opioid drugs, such as heroin.  Although this may seem far-fetched, researchers have found that endogenous opioid production occurs during intense aerobic exercise.??  So the physical processes of opioid use disorder and exercise addiction may be closer than you might think, as the bodys own endorphins are important in initiating both types of addiction. The euphoria you feel during and after exercise is not harmful. While its often referred to as runners high, these feelings can also occur with other forms of aerobic exercise. Like with the high that people get from taking opioid drugs, the runners high feels exhilarating, easeful, and comfortable. If you experience a runners high, you may cease to notice pain, or become comfortably numb. You may  experience an overwhelming sense of well-being, even if this does not reflect reality. You might continue exercising even though you know the physical activity is causing problems.?? For example, you may not be bothered by feeling too hot or too cold, and may even have a sense that these things dont matter, feeling a kind of invincibility, that you have superhuman strength and resilience, and can do anything and come out on top. Of course, these physical things all do matterâ€"people who get high on heroin and people who get high on exercise are just as vulnerable as anyone else to becoming ill from being over- or under-heated, or from the injuries that pain usually prompts us to take care of. People experiencing a runners high have been known to continue to engage in exercise or sports, even with serious injuries, such as broken bones. At the time, they either didnt notice they were hurt, or it didnt seem to matter. The Key Features of the Model of Addiction The Science Behind Runners High Scientists have studied the runners high, in order to understand the opioidergic mechanisms of the runners high in the human brain, and to identify the relationship of these drug-like chemicals, which occur naturally in the body, to the euphoria or high that people experience when they engage in intense exercise. Researchers have found a relationship between the number of opioids in the brain and the athletes mood.?? The level of euphoria was significantly increased after exercise. The findings of this research support the opioid theory of the runners high and suggest region-specific effects in frontolimbic brain areas that are involved in the processing of emotional states and mood. Research indicates that the brains of people who exercise excessively get exposed to high amounts of drug-like opioids, creating an intense high. The desire to experience the feeling again drives them to continue to exercise in excess. How to Know If Youre Developing an Exercise Addiction It is fine  to take pleasure in exercise. In fact, it is encouraged. Most of the time, this will not be harmful, and it will do you a lot of good. It is also fine for you to think about how you can improve your technique, or excel in whatever form of exercise or sport you are engaging in. Where it becomes problematic to gain pleasure from exercise is when it becomes your main focus in life. If you enjoy exercise, you should enjoy other aspects of life as well. If exercise is the only activity you enjoyâ€"with the exception of other addictive activities, such as sex, eating, work, TV, and of course, alcohol and other drugsâ€"you may be focusing too much on the high you get from exercise to the detriment of other areas of life. Are you enjoying a full social and/or family life? If all of the people you enjoy spending time with are exercise buddies, you may be taking it too far. This is particularly the case if you know that you have problems in your primary relationships, for example, with your parents, your partner, or your children, but you arent addressing these problems because you are focusing too much on escaping into exercise. If youre concerned about the possibility of having an exericse addiction, ask yourself the following questions:Do you feel you cant cope without the high you experience from working out?If you need to stop exercising, either because you are busy with other priorities, or because of a physical illness or injury, do you feel depressed or anxious? Perhaps it might be important to note that there are other conditions that can lead to too much exercise. Excessive exercise can also be frequently seen in those with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia and can co-occur with food addiction.?? What to Do If You Are Addicted to Exercise If you think you might have an exercise addiction, keep a record of how much exercise you do, and when, as well as your mood before and after exercising, and when you are unable to exercise. If, after a week or so, you are noticing a pattern of using exercise for a runners high that you dont think you can cope without, talk to your doctor and relay your concerns outlined in the  mood and exercise diary. Your doctor can refer you to a mental health professional, who can help you to get your exercise under control, and help you to find joy in other aspects of life. What Is Exercise Addiction and Are You at Risk?