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Euphoria. Zen. Trippy tunnel vision. Zero pain.
Sounds like the aftermath of a solid joint? Sure. But it’s also how runners describe that elusive beast known as the runner’s high.
You know, that moment when time melts, doubts vanish, and you feel like a gazelle on a spiritual awakening. About three-quarters of athletes claim to have hit this mental jackpot at some point.
For decades, scientists blamed endorphins, your body’s homemade opioids that kick in when you laugh, eat dark chocolate, or push through burpees. They assumed these were behind the floaty, pain-free bliss mid-run.
Cute theory, except for one tiny problem: endorphins can’t actually cross the blood-brain barrier. So while your blood might be soaking in them, your brain? Not so much. So what’s really lighting up your inner stoner during a good sweat session?
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Enter the endocannabinoid, your body’s DIY version of THC, the stuff in weed that gets you high. These little guys can cross into your brain, and turns out, they’re doing a lot more heavy lifting than endorphins when it comes to the runner’s high.
Back in 2012, researchers found that running mammals – humans and dogs, specifically – cranked out more endocannabinoids after hitting the treadmill. Then came the real mic-drop moment in 2015, courtesy of some lab mice and the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. When their endorphins were blocked, they were still chill. But when their endocannabinoids were blocked? It was a total stress party. Same went for humans: a 45-minute run under the influence of naloxone (which deactivates the endorphin system) didn’t kill their post-run high, but blood tests showed a boost in endocannabinoids.
So yeah, runner’s high is basically your body hotboxing itself.
“Endocannabinoid receptors are concentrated in the central nervous system and designed for the chemicals our bodies make,” says neuroscientist and runner Angela Bryan, Ph.D. THC, she explains, is just “an exogenous cannabinoid,” meaning it slots into those receptors “like a lock in a key.” No wonder a killer run can feel a lot like a very legal gummy.
But don’t think you can just stroll your way to transcendence. That same 2015 study showed that a chill walk doesn’t cut it – moderate-to-intense cardio is what flips the endocannabinoid switch. Think of it as nature’s incentive program: back in the day, if our ancestors didn’t enjoy the high of running, they might’ve bailed on the whole hunting-for-dinner gig.
“If that was horrible and felt awful and [we] didn’t want to do it, we might not have survived,” says Bryan.
Plus, the runner’s high isn’t just about feeling buzzed. It sharpens your vision, focuses your thoughts, and gives you the kind of Zen that would’ve been handy when chasing a large, angry antelope.
But here’s the catch: not everyone gets it. About 25% of endurance runners say they’ve never hit the high, no matter how many kilometres they pound out. Brutal.
Still, if you’re chasing that runner’s euphoria, there is a formula. Evolutionary biologist David Raichlen recommends working out at 70–85% of your max heart rate (there’s a calculator for that) for at least 45 minutes. That’s the sweet spot for endocannabinoid lift-off.
PUMA also reckons their sneakers are the best for getting you to the perfect runner’s high. The PUMA Nitro range is geared up to get you sweating in all the right ways:
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“One thing that we know is the better we get at it, the better it feels,” Bryan adds. “Start with walking, then walk farther. Start running, then run farther. Eventually, you’ll be able to do it long enough for the endocannabinoid system to kick in.”
Translation: keep at it, and one day, your brain might just reward you with its own in-house cannabis party.
[Source: Popular Mechanics]
