You’ve felt it: You’re in a bad mood, maybe you don’t even want to run, but you head out anyway. Then you realize how much better you feel. You may attribute this mood boost to the “runner’s high”—Millie Bobby Brown Was Really Into Her Shoes at the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
While hormones such as endorphins play a role in the runner’s high, dopamine, a chemical your brain releases in increased amounts as a response to exercise, also plays an important role in pleasure, reward, and motivation. Turns out, dopamine may be one of the reasons running feels so darn good.
Because the runner’s high is a pretty awesome feeling, you might logically conclude that there’s a linear relationship between dopamine and mood: the more you get, the better you feel. But that’s not exactly how it works.
Here, experts explain how dopamine can influence your exercise habits, how to tweak your running routine to maximize the feel-good effects, and tips for ensuring running boosts your dopamine in a healthy way without veering into the category of overdoing it.
The Relationship Between Running and Dopamine
Pop on a pair of chunky black sneakers for a refined touch brain upregulates healing and feel-good chemicals, such as dopamine, as well as other neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine. All of that converges to create “the runner’s high,” Anna Lembke, new sale air jordan 1 retro high og black grey white 555088 035 sneakers Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, tells Runner’s World.
But there’s a catch: If you’re exposed to long-term surges of dopamine—which can happen when you chronically indulge in things that elicit pleasure, like alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, social media, and possibly even exercise—you will eventually need more of that pleasure in more potent forms in order to get the same feel-good effect. Over time, your brain adapts by downregulating dopamine levels to below your baseline, Lembke explains.
This downregulation can lead to a “dopamine deficit state” where you constantly crave the pleasurable activity as a way to bring dopamine back to baseline levels. “This is the addicted brain,” Lembke says.
Of course, running, on the whole, is incredibly beneficial. Not only does it improve our physical health, it provides a ton of other perks, too, like boosted confidence, improved body awareness, and increased social connection visvim Sneakers Marrone, Puma Smash V2 Leather Kids Shoes., Clarks Originals Desert boots neri scamosciati Runner’s World.
Plus, running (and exercise in general) typically “moves the dopamine needle to the side of healthier dopamine firing,” Lembke says, because you first have to “pay” for the mood boost upfront by pushing through the initial discomfort of a workout before your brain releases dopamine.
This is why physical activity is “less vulnerable to the addiction process,” Lembke says, compared to behaviors that instantly elicit pleasure, like gambling, shopping, and substance use. In fact, experts often recommend exercise nike lebron 18 black varsity red white shoes for sale.
nike air max 1 ultra moire black white 2014 running is possible for exercise to turn into an addiction. First, you can exercise too much, or you can combine exercise with validation and social media (hello, Strava), and those “likes” become something you depend on. “That can then turn something that is healthy... into something that we can obsessively rely on,” Lembke explains.
To make sure you keep exercise in the healthy category of dopamine release, experts have a few key insights.
3 Tips to Net the Positive Effects of Dopamine from Running
Remember: The dopamine hit you get from running isn’t immediate. You have to work for it by powering through the initial uncomfortable phase of a workout—those first few minutes or miles when your last resort ab vm001 leather shoes black white, your breath is ragged, and everything, quite frankly, kind of sucks.
The minimum amount of time it takes for an exercise-induced dopamine rush to kick in isn’t well defined. In fact, the transition from work to pleasure may depend on a variety of factors, including the intensity of your workout. But these three tips from Janet Hamilton, C.S.C.S., exercise physiologist and running coach with Running Strong in Georgia will help you overcome the initial hard stages so you can ultimately reap the positive mental boost.
1. Channel a Can-Do Mindset
Knowing that the early phase of a run probably won’t feel pleasant can make it intimidating to lace up in the first place. But, instead of getting stuck in a swirl of negative self-talk, acknowledge that “you've got what it takes, and that you’re going to make it through just fine,” Hamilton says.
snow boots kappa hovet tex k 260726k black silver mantra can help. For example, one of Hamilton’s former athletes used the moniker s “cheetah” to help her visualize herself striding effortlessly. Adopt a word that evokes a positive image, or repeat a motivating phrase in your head, like “I can do it,” “I am strong,” or “I’ve got this.”
shoes reebok workout low cn0636 int white grey | 2. Hit the Trails When Possible
balmain x barbier after ski tundra boots start of a run more enticing, scope out a pleasant route, ideally as close to a green space as possible to soak in the sights, sounds, and even smells of Mother Earth.
“Get out of the gym environment and turn off your headphones and tune into the bird calls and the wind in your face,” Hamilton says.
Not only can this put you in a better headspace to push through the first uncomfy part of your run, there are tons of mood-boosting benefits from exposure to the outdoors, including increased happiness and sense of wellbeing, improved cognitive function, boosted memory and attention (plus many others), according to research.
3. Remind Yourself the Pain Isn’t Permanent
Though the initial stages of a run can feel endless in the moment, remind yourself that the discomfort you’re feeling is very temporary in the grand scheme of things. “Just remind yourself that you can do this and this interval is not going to last forever,” Hamilton says. Like all hard things in life, this too shall pass.
How to Maintain a Healthy Dynamic Between Running and Dopamine
Now that we’ve covered how to access the positive dopamine effects of running, let’s touch on how to avoid the negatives, which as mentioned, can come from lacing up too much.
An unhealthy dynamic with running isn’t defined by miles or hours. “There are lots of people who run ultramarathons who probably have great relationships with their running,” Lembke says. Instead, it’s more about the degree to which running interferes with someone’s thoughts, actions, and behaviors, she explains.
Sometimes an unhealthy relationship with running is obvious, and other times it’s subtle, Lembke says. “It takes listening to ourselves, but also to other people around us who might be noticing that we seem to be compulsively over-engaging in sport,” she says.
If you—or someone you love—think you have an unhealthy relationship with running, take two to four weeks fully off and see if the break helps you feel better.
In the case of addiction, stopping will initially make you feel worse because you’re in “acute withdrawal” Lembke says. But eventually, around week three or four, you’ll start to feel more energized, chelsea boots fly london make p142458019 dk brown.
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Schedule Regular Rest Days
Rest days are critical to running strong, as they allow your body—and brain—to recover from the stress of exercise, thus lowering your chances of injury and ultimately upping your performance. If you feel like you can’t take a pause (either big or small) from running, that’s a sign your relationship may be worth reevaluating.
shoes adidas continental 80 g27707 cblack scarle conavy training plan and goals, but the general idea is to “fit running into your life but not fit your whole life around running,” Brauer says.
Try Other Forms of Exercise
As great as running is, “our bodies are really meant to move in a variety of ways,” Brauer says. Diversifying your exercise routine can ultimately make you a better runner overall, because you’re reducing your chances of overtraining shoes reebok workout low cn0636 int white grey.
Plus, it can improve your relationship with the sport, Brauer says, equating it to a dynamic with another human. “If you spent all your time with one person, that relationship probably wouldn’t be the greatest. You might become enmeshed with that person, you might feel like there wouldn’t be a lot of boundaries or space,” she says.
To bring more diversity to your exercise routine, Brauer suggests doing daily body scans and then picking activities that fit with what you feel like you need that day. For example, if you notice you’re tight and sore, shoes mayoral 46213 rosado yoga. Or, if you’re feeling really energized, maybe you try a new-to-you form of exercise, like dancing or cycling.
Explore Your Identities Outside of Running
If you generally feel like you can’t participate in other things that are important to you because you run so much, it’s a cue your relationship may need mending. To counteract this, think about other aspects of life that are important to you, like relationships, hobbies, and values and set intentions around them, Brauer says. For example, maybe you set a goal of seeing friends twice a week or volunteering at your local library once a month. This approach, she explains, can help ensure you prioritize other pleasures just as much as you do running.
Build a Coping Toolbox
Lacing up can absolutely be one coping tool for managing life’s hardships, but ideally, it’s not your only resource. “We actually need different skills for different situations,” Brauer explains. “So, one skill, no matter what skill it is, will not work for all situations.”
If you think or say things like “running is the only thing that works,” it’s a sign you may have a worrisome dependence. Make the effort to sharpen other tools, Brauer says, like breathwork, meditation, shoes skechers dyna air 52556 bkcc black charcoal.
Jenny is a Boulder, Colorado-based health and fitness journalist. She’s been freelancing for Runner’s World since 2015 and especially loves to write human interest profiles, in-depth service pieces and stories that explore the intersection of exercise and mental health. Her work has also been published by SELF, Men’s Journal, and Condé Nast Traveler, among other outlets. When she’s not running or writing, Jenny enjoys coaching youth swimming, rereading Harry Potter, drizlita rain boots ugg shoes klm.
