It turns out that cannabinoids are responsible for our runner’s high
Recently, a group of scientists found that our body’s natural cannabinoids are responsible for our runner high.
For a long time we thought that endorphins caused “runner’s high” – that feeling of happiness while running. But research over the past two decades has shown that endocannabinoids could instead be the main culprit behind that high.
A group of researchers from Wayne State University School of Medicine confirmed that endocannabinoids are actually the leading cause of runner’s high. Upon reviewing the literature, the researchers concluded that the endocannabinoid (eCB) system plays a large role in maintaining homeostasis. It turns out that when we run, our bodies produce natural cannabinoids and these molecules bind to our eCB system. As a result, we experience this lovely euphoric feeling when we step into our run.
What are the health benefits of our natural cannabinoids?
There are quite a number of studies that show that running offers us many health benefits. By running regularly, we can prevent many common diseases. Diabetes, heart attack, cancer, and high blood pressure are health conditions that we can avoid through exercise. It turns out that running also helps our mental health; Studies show that regular exercise is linked to less anxiety and fewer symptoms of depression.
The question now is whether our body’s natural cannabinoids are responsible for these health benefits. We do that endocannabinoids help with pain relief and reduce stress and anxiety. So there are some definite health benefits that endocannabinoids cause. However, the direct relationship between the eCB system and the health benefits of running remains somewhat unclear.
Photo by: Lucas Pezeta
The connection between medical cannabis and endocannabinoids
Since endocannabinoids and medicinal cannabis interact with our bodies in much the same way (via our eCB system), are there any similarities in the benefits of exercise and medicinal cannabis? For all we know about medical cannabis, many of its benefits overlap with those of endocannabinoids. For example, people who use medicinal cannabis report that it helps relieve pain and relieve anxiety. These are the same benefits we get when our bodies release endocannabinoids during a run. We can’t really replace physical activity with cannabis, but medicinal cannabis helps in a similar way.
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