Written by: Kevin Cann
We live in a world of chronic stressors. We do not get enough sleep, we do not get enough sunlight, we are surrounded by fake foods, and are constantly worrying about our jobs, money, and family life. Most of us tend to be very bad at managing this stress. Instead of practicing deep breathing, mindful meditation, or yoga a lot of us go to the gym and beat ourselves up or go for a long run. Exercise is a stressor as well, and too much of it will continue to throw us down the stressed out rabbit hole. What many may not realize is exercise is also addictive.
In my nutritional practice I encounter adrenal issues quite frequently. One of the recommendations I give clients while addressing the adrenal issues is to refrain from doing any intense exercise. This is to give the adrenals some rest and let the nutritional therapy do its thing. This tends to be the biggest hurdle in the treatment protocol. The reason is the addictive qualities of exercise.
Kenneth Blum’s Reward Deficiency Syndrome states that we will become addicted to any substance or activity that balances out our biochemistry. Exercise affects this biochemistry in a few ways. When we exercise, our fight or flight response is activated. Norepinephrine gets released and frees up glucose from energy stores, and increases heart rate. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that is part of the catecholamine group. It plays a major role in appetite regulation and energy levels. Just like with insulin and other hormones, if we are constantly in a state of fight or flight, and norepinephrine is constantly being released, we will become desensitized to it and constantly need more. This eventually will lead to a deficiency. If exercise boosts norepinephrine and balances us out biochemically we can become addicted.
Many people reading this might say, “Isn’t this a good thing?” Remember exercise is a stressor; we want the right amount of it to come back stronger. Too much or too little and we are going to run into health problems as Hans Selye showed in his General Adaptation Syndrome experiment. I wrote about the effects of prolonged exercise on neurotransmitters here, http://robbwolf.com/2012/12/05/neurotransmitters-prolonged-exercise/ .
When you have reached the “runner’s high” you have run too far! Another neurotransmitter released during exercise is our endorphins, and their role is to blunt pain. This is why the run is so difficult up to that point in time when you experience the runner’s high. The more you run from that point the more damage you may be doing. At times life can be pretty painful. It is the job of our endorphins to buffer this pain, and the pain can be both physical and emotional. Are you they type of person that cries easily or are you overly sensitive? If so, you may have an endorphin deficiency. The runner’s high would then balance you out biochemically and you run a high risk of becoming addicted to exercise.
Ever realize that memories all typically have strong emotional ties? That is because when we enter the fight or flight response the endocannabinoids get released and they control our memory (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/02/10/1200742109.full.pdf ). They also play a role in mood and appetite. They are the reason some people get the “munchies” after smoking marijuana. They also play a role in physiological homeostasis. They have been identified in drug addiction as a major role player in drug seeking. They are what is responsible for the poor moods people feel when they are withdrawing from their addictions (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21798285 ). Their chronic release may lead to seeking out more and more exercise.
The endorphins and endocannabinoids also increase dopamine signaling (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-compass-pleasure/201104/exercise-pleasure-and-the-brain ). This is the pleasure seeking piece of our brains. Dopamine is our hunt and reward neurotransmitter that is responsible for memory, focus, and energy. If you wake up tired, or have energy dips throughout the day, crave salty foods, and suffer from mood swings, chances are you have a deficiency. This is where the reward of running long miles or working out intensely comes into play. According to Blum, dopamine deficiency leads to sugar cravings (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02850224 ).
As we exercise more, the need for calories also increases. We usually do not match this increased energy need with an increase in caloric intake. Within hours of being in a low calorie state our body will down regulate our thyroid. The thyroid hormone T3 is responsible for producing our catecholamines and therefor affects norepinephrine, dopamine, and indirectly serotonin. This can lead to decreased neurotransmitters and decreased energy and mood (http://robbwolf.com/2012/10/19/thyroid-depression/ ).
Neurotransmitters are implicated in almost every disease. It is important for people to understand this concept and how exercise affects these pieces. Our adrenal glands control our fight or flight response and directly affect the thyroid gland. We need to let them rest while we heal with nutrients. Also, we need to control the level of neurotransmitters being produced while we are correcting them with specific amino acid therapy. This is the fastest way to turning everything around and getting our moods and health back on track.
Cliff says
Seems like a great article…but I only run occasionally so a tad over my head! But have forwarded a link to a friend of mine who I think just runs too much!…& makes it more annoying as he has his ‘RunKeeper’ linked to Facebook so every day I get to see when, how etc….
Amy B. says
For people who are curious about neurotransmitters and the effects they have on addictive behaviors particularly when it comes to food, I can’t recommend the work of Julia Ross’s highly enough. Check out her book The Mood Cure. I think it speaks more to women than men, but all the concepts certainly apply to men, too.
All addictions seem to be related to imbalances or deficiencies in neurotransmitters, and it seems like they call create some kind of high, whether it’s from overexercising, shopping, gambling, or, more commonly these days, even playing video games. You do get the high, but there’s the inevitable low, too…with exercise maybe it’s adrenal exhaustion, if it’s shopping eventually the credit card bill comes, gambling you could lose…well, pretty much everything if it’s bad enough.
Rob & Gregg have talked about this on the podcast a couple times when it comes to overtraining. When people write in and mention that they’re running 40+ miles a week or something, I love when they ask that person to think about what they’re running *from.* When you have to spend “x” amount of time in the gym, or hitting the pavement, or the pool, or what-have-you *every day,* you have to wonder what’s going on your life that you’ve gotten to the point where that’s the only thing that gives you that positive rush. It’s not fun to examine our lives that way, but very helpful.
Tomas says
Great post. I totally agree.
I know that when I don’t exercise I don’t feel myself. Not only that, the addiction takes over in the form of guilt and depression….Much like addicts.
Kelly Yamauchi says
Hi Kevin,
This article is very interesting. I never thought exercise can also be a stressor. When I’m so stressed out from work, I do intense workouts. It makes me feel good. I felt so much relieved. I think I’m addicted to it. It’s better to do workouts than to drink alcohol to relax myself.
Rosa says
So true. I wish I could knew, and also got to understand / accept this sooner. I suffered from depression in the past and all the dopamine, adrenal issues, I believe that truly applies to me (mood, cravings, hypoglycemia…). I’ve been doing HIIT workouts for the past year and a half in such a high, intensive way once I discovered them, that I was actually getting weaker and sick at some point (I went from an extreme – not having a healthy training routine – to the other). Now that I finally realized that, I’m giving my body the deserved, healthy break he’s seeking (strength workout, more rest and pauses, lower frequency…)
Grace says
I can totally identify with this article. I don’t run but I do high intensity workouts about 6 hours a week. I also hike regularly (20KMS of hill walking). I recenty decided I needed to add more so I’ve started swimming 2 mornings a week before work. The thing is, I am now starting to get injuries and I’m becoming exhausted but the high I get from working out out weighs this. I find it difficult to regulate my mood and cope with my job if I don’t exercise. My 3 weeks holiday this year consisted of climbing Kilimanjaro so I didn’t even give myself a break. I have to say the article worried me a little as I don’t want to change the way I work out so don’t like when I’m challenged about it.
Alison says
Very interesting points I totally agree with. As a busy and active parent, I can partly relate to the sense of exercise addiction and it becoming a stressor, but I always assure myself that I don’t push too much. I always agree that we should listen to ourselves. Well, I guess everything is a matter of balance.