And the study also revealed, disappointingly, that you probably need to run pretty far to experience a runner's high. This research has one obvious caveat, however: Mice aren't humans. These findings suggest that the mice's elevated endorphin levels had little to do with their post-workout buzz. But when they blocked the effects of the endocannabinoids, the symptoms of the mice's runner's highs disappeared. When they blocked the endorphins, nothing happened - the animals remained more relaxed and pain-tolerant. To measure the effects of each chemical individually, the researchers gave the mice drugs that blocked the effects of each. And unlike cumbersome endorphins, anandamide can smoothly make its way from the blood to the brain.įor the 2015 paper, researchers at the Central Institute of Mental Health at the University of Heidelberg medical school compared the effects of endorphins and endocannabinoids on mice as they ran on running wheels. Anandamide is a type of endocannabinoid, a chemical that's part of the system that moderates the psychoactive, feel-good effects of marijuana. Levels of a chemical called anandamide also increase when you exercise, according to a 2015 study in mice and a small 2004 study in people. Instead, scientists think the effect can be attributed to other chemicals in the body that produce similar pain-relieving and happy feelings. Because endorphins can't get through, it's unlikely that they are the sole chemical responsible for the feelings associated with vigorous exercise. The blood-brain barrier is key to keeping the brain safe, since it stops certain pathogens and molecules from passing from the blood into the brain. The problem with the endorphin explanation is that they're very large molecules - so large, in fact, that they can't move from the blood into the brain. Some researchers assumed these chemicals must also produce the sense of euphoria we feel after a workout.īut recent studies in mice suggest that endorphins actually might not have anything to do with the runner's high. The idea that increased levels of endorphins are responsible for that post-workout happy feeling came out of 1980s research that showed endorphin levels in the blood spiked after prolonged exercise. But it's actually more complicated than that.
You've probably heard it get chalked up to a rise in endorphins, the "happy" chemicals that induce feelings of pain relief and pleasure.
So where does this this so-called " runner's high" come from? There's possibly no better feeling than the calm and happiness that follow the completion of a long, tough run. (The cause of a runner's high might not be as simple as "endorphins make you happy."Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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