The Reason Cycling Makes Us Feel Good

June 30, 2007 on 7:15 pm | In Health & Fitness |

If you’ve ridden a bike for very long you have probably experienced cycling’s version of “runner’s high”, that feeling of euphoria first described in the 1970s during the running boom. It has since been attributed to the release of brain chemicals called endorphins.

Now, according to a study from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, that dogma is being questioned.

This study found that “the same family of chemicals that produces a buzz in marijuana users may be responsible for runner’s high.” According to the study’s principal investigator, Arne Dietrich, the body releases cannabinoids to help it cope with the prolonged stress and pain of moderate or intense exercise.

This may help explain why we cyclists are always hungry too!

See the full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/11/marijuana.exercise.reut/index.html