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Posts Tagged ‘Runner’s High’

What is a Runner’s High?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

runners-high

Most trail runners have experienced it, some run just to attain it, while others have no idea what a “Runner’s High” is.  If you are a trail runner and have never experienced a Runner’s High then you need to run faster, push your body harder, and attain the point where you lose conscientiousness of what your body is feeling.

A Runner’s High can be described as an elevation of the senses while running, typically long distances and in a natural environment.  It is difficult for trail runners to describe the exact feeling (much like drug users) they get from a Runner’s High, but many equate it to the feeling of an orgasm.  Another good reason to go trail running.

Technically, a Runner’s High is associated with the release of endorphins in the brain.  Endorphins are any group of opiate proteins with pain-relieving properties that are found naturally in the brain.  The word endorphins comes from two parts: endo- and -orphin; which are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean “a morphine like substance originating from within the body.”  Knowing that human cells have receptors for this drug suggests that the body produces its own morphine like substances which it is believed can be released into the body by running long distances and gives trail runners the feeling of a Runner’s High.

While it is difficult to quantify exactly what feeling different trail runners get from this release of endorphins, it is agreed that there is a definite mood change.  The difference in Runners’ Highs can be a positive or negative one with differing levels of intensity.  Maybe that is why many trail runners become so Serious about Running, because they are the type of runners that get this intense positive feedback from running.

Whatever the science is and however your brain reacts to trail running, one thing is certain, there is a typical emotional feeling derived from trail running.  Everyone records their feelings differently but there is always a point during a trail run that your body changes.  So go out for a long trail run, and push to attain a close connection between your mind and body.  Let your mind take over while your feet are still moving, one in front of the other, and you are only aware of one thing…yourself.  Trail running is a free self-awareness seminar!

So say no to drugs and help keep the kids stay off the streets.  Get them running on the trails instead and let’s get hiiiiiiiigh together….on Trail Running.

Running and your Addictive Personality

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

A lot of people point to long distance runners as having addictive personalities.  While distance running and training do take a large amount of discipline, when does this discipline become an addiction?  There are many signs of an addiction, but the universal result of an addiction is when it becomes an overbearing aspects of your life.  This all consuming addiction leads you to neglect other portions of your life.  Distance running has fallen into this category for some runners.  They get up at 3 am to go for a run, often missing social activities from the night before.  Some distance runners may go to work exhausted after their morning run, hurting their productivity and career, much like an alcoholic who comes to work with a hangover.  Other distance runners have neglected their families by running races or long distance trail runs on the weekends, missing family events.  Worse yet, some distance runners take long trips to travel to destination races, resulting in them being away from their families and loved ones for a couple of days at a time.

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First off, part of the problem is that the “addictive personality” concept, that is often attributed to excessive distance runners, is inconclusive.  But, it is easy to compare the similarities between addicted runners and substance addicts.  For example, much like the substance addict, runners use running to relieve stress and eventually become dependent on it.  There are many runners that if they miss a day of running, the rest of their day is ruined and they may feel physically ill, not being able to function, much like the substance addict does.

There is also a physical similarity between substance abusers and running abuse.  Both activities release serotonin from the brain which gives you a heightened state or “high.”  In fact, many former substance addicts have turned to running to help them fight against their addiction.  But is running just replacing a negative addiction with a more positive addiction?  Is it merely changing how the addict gets their serotonin and their “high?”  For these individuals, running and exercise becomes a better alternative to their substance addiction, much like former alcoholics become habitual cigarette smokers.  So even though you don’t abuse substances could you be feeding your addictive personality with running?

There are multiple theories as to why some people may have a more addictive personality than others.  One is that it can be inherited, which seems to be most prevalent in alcoholics.  Maybe the same could be true for running, many children who run often have parents who are runners.  The addiction to running can also be cognitive or learned, meaning since you attain a “runner’s high” from running then you want to continue to do that activity to achieve the same feeling.  Other more logical reasons are availability and societies acceptance which makes running an addiction available to everyone.  Just like alcohol is abused more than harder to get and less accepted illegal drugs.

So how can you make sure your addiction to running doesn’t become an obsession?  You can become a female; on average Men become more easily addicted than Women.  If you are a Man then that probably won’t change, so if you can’t beat them, join them; Men that are married are less likely to develop an addiction.  If neither of these are an option for you then the best thing you can do is monitor yourself.  Often we begin an activity and continue to do it without stopping to think about the results.  Examine your running and decide if you are giving up too many other things in your life in order to continue to run long distances.  Unless you are making a living doing it, you are probably making some sacrifices to continue this passion for distance running.

Be careful, running is just like everything else in life, not healthy when done in excess.

Why Do You Have More Energy After Running?

Friday, April 24th, 2009

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All runners say the same thing, “When I’m tired, I go for a run and feel I have more energy when I’m done.”  This doesn’t make logical sense.  How can you get more energy by expending energy?  There are two main reasons.

Runner’s High: No, not like the runner in the picture above smoking something, it’s the euphoric feeling you get from running.  Attaining a Runner’s High makes you feel like you have more energy and highly positive feelings.  It is a mental state as a result from physical activity.

Technically, a Runner’s High is associated with the release of endorphins in the brain.  Endorphins are any group of opiate proteins with pain-relieving properties that are found naturally in the brain.  The word endorphins comes from two parts: endo- and -orphin; which are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean “a morphine like substance originating from within the body.”  Knowing that human cells have receptors for this drug suggests that the body produces its own morphine like substances which it is believed can be attained by running long distances and gives us the feeling of a Runner’s High.  It’s science.

So even though you have expended a lot of energy running you feel better.  Think of it like consuming alcohol.  Alcohol is a depressant and should make you tired, but it also releases endorphins, giving you the feeling of more energy.  That’s why there are laws for how late establishments can serve alcohol, because people would be able to stay there forever consuming it.  Likewise, this is why alcohol is served 24 hours in Las Vegas, NV; it’s the endorphin capital of the world!

Runners are Healthy: The other reason runners feel better after exercising is the secondary behavior of typical runners.  Runners typically engage in healthy activities because they know they have to run and need to be fresh for it.  Therefore, they usually get better sleep, eat healthy, and engage in less unhealthy activities which gives them the ability to recover quicker, feeling the benefits of running sooner after the run.  The more you run, the healthier you will be, the better your body is able to recover, giving you are great feeling after every run.  The more you run the more energized you feel after running.  I’ll post the regression later so you can really see the relationship.

You can’t make running love you, but you can teach your body to love running.  Go ahead and teach your body how to love again.  It’s been a while.

Get High Off of the Environment

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

runners-high-enviroment1Since we have cleaned up the environment around us by picking up trash and repairing trail runs, what do we do with the environment now?  I mean, we can run in the middle of it, but what else is an environment good for?  Well, it has been hypothesized that you can get high off of nature.  No.  Not what you are thinking.  In the extensive studying of the Runner’s High, many have found that the environment plays an important role in attaining this euphoric state.  A Runner’s High can be described as an elevation of the senses while running, typically while running long distances.  It is difficult for runners to describe the exact feeling (much like drug users) they get from a Runner’s High, but many equate it to the feeling of an orgasm.  Humph.  Well there you go.  The physical explanation of  a Runner’s High is that it is the release of endorphins to the brain.

Runner’s have described attaining a feeling of invincibility and superior performance by their environmental surroundings while running, leading to a Runner’s High.  Consider this, while out on a long run, alone and the only other thing around you is Ms Nature, you connect with her more deeply.  You are more aware.  This deep connection allows your senses to be greatly enhanced, making you more in tune with your body and what it is feeling.  As you become more aware of yourself, you begin for feel the euphoric state of a Runner’s High.  It is almost as if you can feel each extra endorphin, above the normal levels, being released to your brain and then the feeling of your brain receiving them.  Well, almost is the key word here.  Although I am pretty in tune with my body, I’m not sure if I have made it to the level of feeling individual endorphins yet, hopefully, someday.  I bet David Blane feels individual endorphins.   I assume Chuck Norris can feel them too.

The role the environment plays in attaining a Runner’s High does make sense when you think about it.  For instance, when it is more sunny out you are more likely to be happy and enjoy yourself, moving your mood closer to attaining the Runner’s High.  Compare that to a day that is dark, cloudy, and cold and you are running an unknown routes.  You are not as open to the environment.  You are not open to anything other than getting to your final destination and out of the weather.  You are not appreciating what your environment has to offer.  Go trail running!

That actually brings up another great point for the runner’s life.  Enjoy where you are (and love the one you’ve got for that matter).  If it is cold and raining outside when you go for your run, appreciate it.  How often is it that you get to just be outside in the rain?  Usually you are cramped in an office or curled up on the couch dreading leaving it when it is cold and rainy outside.  You never get time to enjoy the moisture in the air.  Remember when you were a child and it rained, you loved it, you played in it.  Love it again.  Stop blaming it on the rain, no matter what you do, go ahead and put that blame back on you.  You are the only one that can decide how you feel about your environment.  Appreciate where you are.

Cold weather, I still don’t appreciate it.  I’m working on it.  The problem is that the colder it gets the more clothes I put on, so I really never get to feel the cold for it’s most important attribute, being cold.  Maybe I should start dressing down.

Running Cures Depression; Just Think How it Can Cure a Bad Day.

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

There are plenty of races to benefit a cause, usually to help find a cure for some type of disease, but what about finding a cure for the everyday blues? Everyone has bad days, what is the best way to deal with them? Some may pop open a beer, I run…then I pop open a beer as a reward for accomplishing my goal.

Some Physical Fitness and Obesity Treatment Consultants believe that running or jogging is the best way to cure depression, or “a lot of bad days in a row” for our purposes here. A study found that depressed patients who had done regular exercise had a better result compared to other patients who just relied on the traditional psychological medications to cure depression. According to the chemical imbalance theory, low levels of the brain chemical serotonin lead to depression and depression medication works by bringing serotonin levels back to normal level. Perhaps the exercise helped these patients because of the release of endorphins we get when we attain a runner’s high, worked like depression medication does to offset the low levels of serotonin. I’m not a doctor though, just a runner that is in tune with his body and mind.

The study also found that patients who had done their regular exercise were found to have gained more self confidence, more happiness and a feeling of accomplishment. Self confidence from starting on a run that seemed impossible at the onset, but actually wasn’t as bad as they expect, can really help you realize other aspects of life that may not be as bad as they seem. There is nothing better to cure a negative attitude than to disprove your own perceptions of a difficult situation. Once you are done with that run, you are happy that you accomplished your goals. I’ve found accomplishing goals I set for myself gives me a lot of happiness. Whether your goal is to run a marathon or be a contestant on the “Price is Right,” (I’ve done both) there is no greater feeling than accomplishment.

In conclusion, go accomplish something and stop worrying about things that seem insurmountable, like a long, steep hill in the middle of a 20 mile run.  Just run straight up it!