How to stimulate endorphins?

Question

Lately, haven't been anywhere NEAR that good old-fashioned "runner's high". Is it just age, or is there some other way to spur endorphin production?

Answer 1

Maybe you need to address the other areas of your life. Getting enough sleep? Eating well? Also, perhaps you need to change your running regimen in some way.

My husband loves weight training, he says he gets an endorphin rush from it. I get my little 'sparkling brain' feeling every morning from walking briskly for 4 miles. But not if I'm tired.

Answer 2

Scientists debate whether specific activities release measurable levels of endorphins. Much of the current data comes from animal models which may not be relevant to humans. The studies that do involve humans often measure endorphin plasma levels, which do not necessarily correlate with levels in the CNS. Other studies use an opioid antagonist, usually naloxone, to indirectly measure the release of endorphins by observing the changes that occur when any endorphin activity that might be present is blocked.

Capsaicin (the active chemical in chili peppers) also has been shown to stimulate endorphin release. [1] Topical capsaicin has been used as a treatment for certain types of chronic pain.

The placebo effect has been linked to endorphins. In one study, a volunteer received pain by a compression cuff on his arm. In the first trial, no drug was administered and the patient showed signs of pain including facial grimace, increased blood pressure, and sweating. During the next trial, the physican informed the volunteer that he would be injected with morphine and that he would feel no pain. The morphine was injected, the pain compression repeated, and this time the volunteer showed and reported no pain. The morphine and compression was repeated several times. Then, the volunteer was unknowingly injected with a saline placebo, but still reported no sign of pain, though the last time he was unmedicated the signs of pain were obvious. In a last test, the patients’ ‘morphine’ was actually an injection of naloxone, an opioid antagonist. Even though the volunteer believed the shot was morphine and expected relief, the endorphins’ effect was blocked by the naloxone injection and the volunteer displayed the same signs of pain as the first unmedicated trial. (Groopman 169)

Another widely publicized effect of endorphin production is the so-called "runner's high", which is said to occur when strenuous exercise takes a person over a threshold that activates endorphin production. Endorphins are released during long, continuous workouts, when the level of intensity is between moderate and high, and breathing is difficult. This also corresponds with the time that muscles use up their stored glycogen and begin functioning with only oxygen. Workouts that are most likely to produce endorphins include running, swimming, cross-country skiing, long distance rowing, bicycling, aerobics, or playing a sport such as basketball, soccer, or football. However, some scientists question the mechanisms at work, their research possibly demonstrating the high comes from completing a challenge rather than as a result of exertion. (Klosterman) (Altman) There is some recent evidence that endogenous cannabinoids are responsible for "runner's high", rather than endorphins. (Endocannabinoids and exercise, by A Dietrich and W F McDaniel, May 4, 2004 bjsportsmed.com)

In 1999, clinical researchers reported that inserting acupuncture needles into specific body points triggers the production of endorphins [2]. In another study, higher levels of endorphins were found in cerebrospinal fluid after patients underwent acupuncture. In addition, naloxone appeared to block acupuncture’s pain-relieving effects. However, skeptics say that not all studies point to that conclusion, and that in a trial of chronic pain patients, endorphins did not produce long-lasting relief. (Margolis 140-141).

The good feeling one gets from eating chocolate, smiling, laughing, sunbathing, being massaged, meditating, singing, listening to one's favorite music, or having an orgasm is partially attributed to the release of endorphins. [3]

Answer 3

chocolate and crying ?