how does the gym help w/stress?

Question

i know all these endorphins are released & i go everyday & feel more stable, but what else happens?

Answer 1

A 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). Studies in the early 1980's cast doubt on the relationship between endorphins and the runner's high. There were a couple of reasons for this doubt. The first was that when an antagonist (pharmacological agent that blocks the action for the substance under study) was infused (eg naloxone) or ingested (naltrexone) the same changes in mood state occurred that happened when the person exercised with no blocker. A second piece of evidence is much more simple. It turns out that scientists cannot make a runner's high occur in the lab with any certainty. This makes it very difficult to study much less prove that endorphins cause the runners high.

Answer 2

I think it helps to get your mind off of things. I used to be in martial arts, and when I had an awful day, I would tell my sensei a little about it, and then I'd get beaten up. Afterwords, I wouldn't think quite so much about it, or it wouldn't bother me as bad. I think it has to do with having all of your attention focused on one thing. When it's over, you still remember what you were upset about, but it's hard to get back to that level of stress without provocation.