The Runner's High
Monday, July 1, 2024
A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick. Prov. 17:22, TLB.
Feeling happy is certainly something we all strive for and deserve to enjoy. Unfortunately, some people rely on dangerous drugs to induce euphoria. Long ago I found that a good half-hour run produces the same results with much less risk.
The phenomenon is commonly referred to as the “runner’s high,” and most joggers feel it after about 30-40 minutes on the track. For some it takes longer, while others encounter it sooner. The sensation results from a natural narcotic produced by the body, called beta-endorphins. After a period of extended aerobic activity the body releases the chemical into your system, which acts as a painkiller and mood elevator. For the runner, the sense of exhilaration makes you feel that you could go on running forever. Some runners call it “catching your second wind.”
I often bring on this “runner’s high” while jogging, and it is physically and mentally energizing. In fact, it is often my most creative time. I find that my most inspired thoughts and insightful times occur while I am exercising. Whenever I’m confused, discouraged, or just in need of rejuvenation, I simply go for a run. Ideas pop into my head so fast I need a secretary bicycling beside me to write them all down. Why am I so creative while jogging and not while sitting behind a desk? I believe it is because of the energizing qualities of human motion and those wonderful beta-endorphins.
I actually know a psychiatrist who uses the jogging track rather than his office couch to counsel patients. Instead of letting them lie down while pouring out their woes, he takes them for a run while they talk.
“You’d be amazed how many patients feel great after our sessions,” he told me. “The truth is, most problems could be solved with a good run.”
Solomon tells us that a merry heart is like a medicine. What physiologists are now discovering is that the body already comes equipped with the medicine that produces a cheerful heart—endorphins. So when someone invites you to “get high,” tell them, “That sounds great,” and take them for a five-mile run.
What can you do to experience God’s natural “high” when you feel low?
Feeling happy is certainly something we all strive for and deserve to enjoy. Unfortunately, some people rely on dangerous drugs to induce euphoria. Long ago I found that a good half-hour run produces the same results with much less risk.
The phenomenon is commonly referred to as the “runner’s high,” and most joggers feel it after about 30-40 minutes on the track. For some it takes longer, while others encounter it sooner. The sensation results from a natural narcotic produced by the body, called beta-endorphins. After a period of extended aerobic activity the body releases the chemical into your system, which acts as a painkiller and mood elevator. For the runner, the sense of exhilaration makes you feel that you could go on running forever. Some runners call it “catching your second wind.”
I often bring on this “runner’s high” while jogging, and it is physically and mentally energizing. In fact, it is often my most creative time. I find that my most inspired thoughts and insightful times occur while I am exercising. Whenever I’m confused, discouraged, or just in need of rejuvenation, I simply go for a run. Ideas pop into my head so fast I need a secretary bicycling beside me to write them all down. Why am I so creative while jogging and not while sitting behind a desk? I believe it is because of the energizing qualities of human motion and those wonderful beta-endorphins.
I actually know a psychiatrist who uses the jogging track rather than his office couch to counsel patients. Instead of letting them lie down while pouring out their woes, he takes them for a run while they talk.
“You’d be amazed how many patients feel great after our sessions,” he told me. “The truth is, most problems could be solved with a good run.”
Solomon tells us that a merry heart is like a medicine. What physiologists are now discovering is that the body already comes equipped with the medicine that produces a cheerful heart—endorphins. So when someone invites you to “get high,” tell them, “That sounds great,” and take them for a five-mile run.
What can you do to experience God’s natural “high” when you feel low?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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