running...

[anaraleon]

Endorphine's are wonderful creatures....so lovely. I've been really good about running everyday for the past five days and I'm starting to wonder why I've never been this good about it before. Everytime I come back I feel like I could conquer the world! I've also started taking long walks any time I have free time rather than just sitting around in

Comments

[groovyrooster]

A recent journal article claims that the endocannabinoid system in the brain is activated during moderate intensity workouts - which would account for the "exercise-induced analgesia" and possibly the psychological reward effects -- but I can't get the stupid article online because it is in Neuroreport and Duke hasn't gotten an online subscription to it - which is the main reason I go to the library every week - for that stupid journal. I digress..

SO it seems that you have to reach a certain intensity to benefit from the effects - and I would also say that you have to be enough removed from your surroundings and your mood to feel this. Exercise at the gym at Duke was always such an emotional thing for me. It was hard to watch dangerously thin women use the elliptical machines for 1 hour+ while getting frustrated over waiting to use the machine - it just put me too involved in my surroundings to reach that psychological state. And I could also see a good involvement with your surroundings as being able to take away from that - if you are always busy and spend a lot of your free time with your friends - then maybe you can't really completely let go and be more of an inner focused person at that time.

I would think that running would be the most likely of exercises to produce this sensation because it is a very personal exercise with high intensity and I feel like you have to be focused to take the time out to do it. Concentration... your body's capacities are taken over by the demands of running -- and not getting hit by cars and bicycles or mauled to death by random dogs and wild animals....or something like that.. =-)

When I get to a more healthy exercise place - I would really like to take up running...for the inner spirtuality and also feeling of highness -- the good thing for me there being ADDICTIVE -- addictive exercise sounds like a good thing.

[anaraleon]

I totally agree about the gym at Duke. I went there once a year to work out only to remember why I usually avoided it. Running definitly needs to be personal in order to be enjoyable. The only people watching me here are the soccer playing chinese boys...which somehow seems less intimidating ;) Not to mention chinese girls don't really work out much, so that adds to the charm.

Addictive exercise is good....very good.