The nervous system is responsible for many actions in the body, one of which is releasing endorphins. When the body is under strain, neurological transmitters resembling morphine are emitted by the nervous system and act as the body’s natural way to manage pain. Running, although a very physical activity that exercises many other systems in the body, is also very closely tied to the mind and the nervous system. Specifically, exercise is said to boost mood. What are the connections between the physical aspect of running and the minds response to the activity? The nervous system responds to running by producing endorphins, which is commonly known as “runners high.”
Those of you who regularly run may be familiar with the feeling. I read an article in the New York Times that reviewed the science behind the runner’s high, and was able to show that there is an endorphin release that occurs after endurance training. Running is often thought to exercise four main systems in the body: respiratory, cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal. However, the science behind the runner’s high is now showing that the nervous system is affected by running as well. After a long run, scientists were able to prove that the body releases endorphins which travel to the brain, resulting in a natural high. Doctors used PET scans on the brain before and after a two-hour run to confirm this endorphin release.
So, why does this matter? I believe learning about the various health benefits that occur with running may encourage more people to engage in the sport. Running is often thought of as a stress reliever, and this story better articulates the science behind that. Running is not just for certain people, it is for anyone with a cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular, respiratory and nervous system. The health benefits that running brings to these various systems in the body is unmatched in other exercise activities. There is no doubt that running, and runners high, has everything to do with anatomy and physiology.
Kolata, Gina. “Yes, Running Can Make You High.” New York Times 27 March 2008.
Willett, Sara. “Runner’s High.” http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/sarah.html
I myself believe that the so called “runners high” does exist, and i would like to get more in depth with the science that takes place to provide legitimate facts that this runner high does take place in the human body. Although blood levels of one type of endorphin, called beta-endorphins, do increase during intense exercise, it seems unlikely that beta-endorphins actually do cause the “runners high”. this unlikeliness derives from the fact that it is almost impossible to measure endorphin levels in the human brain. Due to this fact the “runners high” has lacked solid evidence to support it. This is until German neuroscientist, Henning Boeker, developed a test to prove that the runners high truly does exist and that running does raise endorphin levels. To indirectly measure endorphin activity in the brain, the runners he provided for the test were injected with a radioactively tagged chemical. The reasoning was that if endorphins were released in the brain during exercise, the radioactive substance would be unable to bind to the opiod receptors because the receptors would already be occupied by the brains own natural opiods-the endorphins. Thus, the number of opiod receptors that did not take up the radioactive chemical would provide an accurate measure of endorphin activity caused by the long distance running.
Great comment Chris, I think this can really help my students understand how research and new techniques can improve our understanding of observed phenomena. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.