Runner's high

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Runners can experience a euphoric state often called a "runner's high". LairigGhru-8246.jpg
Runners can experience a euphoric state often called a "runner's high".

The runner's high is a transient state of euphoria coupled with lessened feelings of anxiety and a higher pain threshold, which can come either from continuous moderate physical exertion over time or from short bursts of high-intensity exercise. The exact prevalence is unknown, but it seems to be a relatively rare phenomenon that not every athlete experiences. [1] The name comes from distance running, and it is alternatively called "rower's high" in rowing. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Mechanism of action

Current medical reviews indicate that several endogenous euphoriants are responsible for producing exercise-related pleasurable feelings, specifically phenethylamine (an endogenous psychostimulant), β-endorphin (an endogenous opioid), and anandamide (an endogenous cannabinoid). [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] However, more recent studies suggest that endorphins have a limited role in the feelings of euphoria specifically related to the runner's high due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier, placing more importance in the endocannabinoids instead, which can cross this barrier. [1] [4] [11] [12]

The release of endocannabinoids is greater during longer and more extreme periods of physical exertion, which is why the runner’s high is more associated with long distance running than sprinting. [13] Even when the amount of endocannabinoids released is similar, the deeper concentration and positive mood changes associated with running are more common among regular runners than occasional ones, and its prevalence seems to be independent from factors such as weight, sex and age. [14] New runners barely, if ever, report any positive feeling when running, relating a rather painful experience instead. [15]

Subjective experience

There are many different accounts of how the euphoric experience of a runner’s high feels to an individual. Many runners emphasize a feeling of lessened pain and antinociceptive responses during extreme exertion. [13]

The runner’s high is often characterized by feeling a dissolution of boundaries and restrictions related to time, space and body, leading to a sense of pleasure. [16] This allows runners to let go of their surrounding and immediate experience, and disassociate with the physical world to take a back seat.

Another common experience described by runners is a greater appreciation and association with the world around them as bodily functions related to running become a part of the subconscious. Heightened awareness, specifically of natural surroundings, relaxes the mind and leads the runner to experience a deep connection to the world around them. [15]

The runner's high is also prevalent in those who run directly after a long term injury, as the jump from a deep sense of bodily function and pain to a flow state could cause increased feelings of euphoria. [15]

Athlete experiences

Many top athletes have reported feeling the runner’s high.

Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter and world record holder in the 100 meter dash, spoke on his experience with runner’s high. Bolt attributed his euphoric state to his competitive nature and the experience of achieving a personal best, as well as the hard work put into achieving his goals. [17]

Kate Carter, Runner’s World commissioning editor and sub three hour marathon runner wrote of how her runner’s high experience helped to get her hooked on running after starting at a later age in life. Carter said her peak ecstatic experience from running was in knocking 20 seconds off of her marathon personal best. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 Nogrady, Bianca (8 April 2023). "Chasing the runner's high: the elusive buzz scientists are still figuring out". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ↑ Cunha GS, Ribeiro JL, Oliveira AR (June 2008). "[Levels of beta-endorphin in response to exercise and overtraining]". Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol (in Portuguese). 52 (4): 589–598. doi: 10.1590/S0004-27302008000400004 . hdl: 10183/40053 . PMID   18604371.
  3. ↑ Boecker H, Sprenger T, Spilker ME, Henriksen G, Koppenhoefer M, Wagner KJ, Valet M, Berthele A, Tolle TR (2008). "The runner's high: opioidergic mechanisms in the human brain". Cereb. Cortex. 18 (11): 2523–2531. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013 . PMID   18296435. The runner's high describes an euphoric state resulting from long-distance running.
  4. 1 2 Raichlen DA, Foster AD, Gerdeman GL, Seillier A, Giuffrida A (2012). "Wired to run: exercise-induced endocannabinoid signaling in humans and cursorial mammals with implications for the 'runner's high'". J. Exp. Biol. 215 (Pt 8): 1331–1336. Bibcode:2012JExpB.215.1331R. doi: 10.1242/jeb.063677 . PMID   22442371. S2CID   5129200.
  5. ↑ Cohen EE, Ejsmond-Frey R, Knight N, Dunbar RI (2010). "Rowers' high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholds". Biol. Lett. 6 (1): 106–108. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0670. PMC   2817271 . PMID   19755532.
  6. ↑ Szabo A, Billett E, Turner J (2001). "Phenylethylamine, a possible link to the antidepressant effects of exercise?". Br J Sports Med. 35 (5): 342–343. doi:10.1136/bjsm.35.5.342. PMC   1724404 . PMID   11579070.
  7. ↑ Lindemann L, Hoener MC (2005). "A renaissance in trace amines inspired by a novel GPCR family". Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 26 (5): 274–281. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2005.03.007. PMID   15860375.
  8. ↑ Berry MD (2007). "The potential of trace amines and their receptors for treating neurological and psychiatric diseases". Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2 (1): 3–19. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.329.563 . doi:10.2174/157488707779318107. PMID   18473983.
  9. ↑ Dinas PC, Koutedakis Y, Flouris AD (2011). "Effects of exercise and physical activity on depression". Ir J Med Sci. 180 (2): 319–325. doi:10.1007/s11845-010-0633-9. PMID   21076975. S2CID   40951545.
  10. ↑ Tantimonaco M, Ceci R, Sabatini S, Catani MV, Rossi A, Gasperi V, Maccarrone M (2014). "Physical activity and the endocannabinoid system: an overview". Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 71 (14): 2681–2698. doi:10.1007/s00018-014-1575-6. PMC   11113821 . PMID   24526057. S2CID   14531019.
  11. ↑ Fuss, Johannes; Steinle, Jörg; Bindila, Laura; Auer, Matthias K.; Kirchherr, Hartmut; Lutz, Beat; Gass, Peter (20 October 2015). "A runner's high depends on cannabinoid receptors in mice". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (42): 13105–13108. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11213105F. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1514996112 . PMC   4620874 . PMID   26438875.
  12. ↑ Desai, Shreya; Borg, Breanna; Cuttler, Carrie; Crombie, Kevin M.; Rabinak, Christine A.; Hill, Matthew N.; Marusak, Hilary A. (1 August 2022). "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Exercise on the Endocannabinoid System". Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. 7 (4): 388–408. doi:10.1089/can.2021.0113. ISSN   2578-5125. PMC   9418357 . PMID   34870469.
  13. 1 2 Matei, Daniela; Trofin, Dan; Iordan, Daniel Andrei; Onu, Ilie; Condurache, Iustina; Ionite, Catalin; Buculei, Ioana (2023-01-19). "The Endocannabinoid System and Physical Exercise". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24 (3): 1989. doi: 10.3390/ijms24031989 . ISSN   1422-0067. PMC   9916354 . PMID   36768332.
  14. ↑ Weiermair, Theresia; Svehlikova, Eva; Boulgaropoulos, Beate; Magnes, Christoph; Eberl, Anita (2024-08-28). "Investigating Runner's High: Changes in Mood and Endocannabinoid Concentrations after a 60 min Outdoor Run Considering Sex, Running Frequency, and Age". Sports. 12 (9): 232. doi: 10.3390/sports12090232 . ISSN   2075-4663. PMC   11435531 . PMID   39330709.
  15. 1 2 3 Jackman, Patricia C.; Allen-Collinson, Jacquelyn; Ronkainen, Noora; Brick, Noel E. (2023-07-04). "Feeling good, sensory engagements, and time out: embodied pleasures of running". Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 15 (4): 467–480. doi:10.1080/2159676X.2022.2150674. ISSN   2159-676X.
  16. ↑ Whitehead, Patrick M. (2016-10-17). "The Runner's High Revisited: A Phenomenological Analysis" . Journal of Phenomenological Psychology. 47 (2): 183–198. doi:10.1163/15691624-12341313. ISSN   0047-2662.
  17. ↑ Kirshner, Alex (2021-07-28). "Usain Bolt on Weed, Chasing the Runner's High, and Athletes Breaking His Records". www.mensjournal.com. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
  18. ↑ "10 things I have learned as a runner | PERFORMANCE | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
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