Why release endorphins

Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Endorphins are responsible for that feeling you get after a great workout, after eating a piece of dark chocolate, or after having a good laugh with a friend.

They are the chemicals in your brain that help you cope with pain and feel good overall. But how much do you really know about endorphins? Let's start with the term: endorphins. The name comes from two words: endogenous which means coming from the body and morphine the opiate pain reliever.

So it makes sense that endorphins are your body's natural pain reliever. But what are they exactly? Endorphins are a group of peptides that are produced by your pituitary gland and central nervous system and that act on the opiate receptors in your brain.

These neurotransmitters also sometimes thought of as hormones act to increase feelings of pleasure and well-being and also to reduce pain and discomfort.

Have you ever experienced a rush of endorphins? This typically happens in response to a specific event such as eating a certain food, engaging in a form of exercise, engaging in sexual intercourse, facing a stressful situation, or experiencing something physically painful.

For example, if you were out jogging in the woods and sprained your ankle, you might experience an increase in endorphins that would help you to limp out of the forest to safety despite your injury. Or, endorphins might explain why a group of people could lift a heavy vehicle off of an injured pedestrian after a traffic accident when under normal circumstances they could not fathom doing such a thing.

Endorphins are helpful and adaptive and nature's way of keeping us away from feelings of pain and moving us toward feelings of pleasure. Without your endorphins, it's likely that the world would seem a lot less colorful and your days would feel longer and like your "joie de vivre" was missing. Endorphins can have many positive effects in terms of your health and well-being. Imagine that you are on a vacation and are bitten by a snake, yet you don't feel any pain. Why would that be?

It's the protective effect of a surge of endorphins, allowing you to cope with the stress of the situation. Below is a list of some of the many benefits of endorphins. As you can see, the benefits of endorphins are numerous. In fact, getting regular exercise such as working out at moderate intensity for 45 minutes three times per week may be a good first option for those living with mild depression.

On the other hand, if you do not have enough endorphins, you may experience the following effects:. We also know that stress can impair your ability to create endorphins, such as experiencing abuse early in life.

What can you do to increase your natural endorphins? Contrary to what you might think, you don't need to run a marathon to get a runner's high or do something outrageous to boost your endorphins.

While it's true that higher intensity workouts will produce more endorphins than lower intensity workouts, there are still lots of different ways you can boost your endorphins without needing to cross the finish line after Below is a list of simple options that you can get started with right away.

Eat Dark Chocolate. Do you like chocolate? You're in luck. Eating just a piece of dark chocolate can help to boost your endorphins. Sexual Intercourse. When you have sexual intercourse, your body also releases endorphins. Create or Listen to Music.

Music isn't just for entertainment; it can improve your well-being and raise your endorphins. As purveyors of cardiology services , we know all too well the importance of stress relief for the body. So—how do you get your brain to release these endorphins and give you this natural high? Well, here are 7 ways to get that endorphin rush:. In addition to chocolate, the brain will also experience a spike in endorphins if you eat the most palatable food. Of course, regularly using food to release endorphins could become a battle of the bulge and require a visit to cardiology services, so use this endorphin-release method sparingly.

Raising your pulse—via exercise—is a weight fighting endorphin releaser, making it a better long-term strategy. Since exercise is a physical stress on the system, it encourages the release of endorphins to counteract the discomfort of aching muscles. Taking a long, hot bath can help soothe you after a stressful or tiring day. The heat of the water can help relieve tension and pain in your muscles, but it can also trigger the release of endorphins into your blood.

Besides helping you unwind, regular hot baths may also help decrease risk for heart disease and help lower your blood pressure. When bathing for wellness benefits, the longer the bath, the better. Why not light some scented candles or add some essential oil to combine bathing with aromatherapy for an additional endorphin boost?

Bring a book or put on your favorite show, or even just meditate in the warm water. One man shares how — and why — he learned to meditate even though he…. A new study looking into adverse effects from medication use found that anticoagulants and diabetes agents send a significant amount of adults ages 65…. We all experience pain. Fortunately, there are many ways to manage pain, whether that means treating the source of the pain or coping with the pain….

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. Get some exercise. Give acupuncture a try. Set aside time for meditation. Stop and smell the oils. Have sex. What Are Endorphins? When your body comes under stress or experiences pain hello, burpees , neurochemicals called endorphins are produced in the brain's hypothalamus and pituitary gland, explains J. Kip Matthews, Ph. D, a sport and exercise psychologist.

Endorphins, which are structurally similar to the drug morphine, are considered natural painkillers because they activate opioid receptors in the brain that help minimize discomfort, says Matthews. They can also help bring about feelings of euphoria and general well-being.

Read More. Chasing the Runner's High. The idea that exercise creates a huge endorphin rush entered popular culture soon after endorphins were discovered 40 years ago, says Matthews. Anecdotally, there were a lot of reports of the so-called 'runner's high,'" he says.

The Blood-Brain Disconnect. Yes, blood plasma endorphin levels do increase in response to stressors and pain, research shows. For example, a study found that the more severe pain someone experience post-surgery, the higher their blood plasma endorphin levels.

And research shows that exercise can have a similar effect, but research also suggests that endorphin levels might not increase at all until an hour after you've started working out.

Which doesn't explain why those minute HIIT sessions still leave you feeling awesome.