Runner's High A Spiritual Thing? Nah, It's Just Chemicals
Say it ain't so! But that euphoric high you get from running is all chemical, not the least bit spiritual. According to a new survey, apparently that sense of freedom and joy we get from running is not just from endorphins but from a hormone called leptin (which also supposedly causes us to lose -- or not lose -- weight, but that's a story for another day). The "runner’s high" phenomenon is also caused by dopamine, an important neurotransmitter for motivation, newswise.com reports. "We discovered that the rewarding effects of endurance activity are modulated by leptin, a key hormone in metabolism. Leptin inhibits physical activity through dopamine neurons in the brain," Stephanie Fulton, a researcher at the CRCHUM and lead author of an article published today in the journal Cell Metabolism , tells newswise. Secreted by adipose tissue, leptin helps control the feeling of satiety. This hormone also influences physical activity. "The more ...