An endorphin rush can be quite an intoxicating experience. It can be overwhelming when you are suddenly being overcome with a wave of euphoria and relaxation. This makes you wonder, how endorphins are generated in the body during exercise?
Endorphins generate in your hypothalamus and anterior pituitary gland in response to moderate to vigorous exercise. Their production increases after 15-20 minutes of exercise and are felt primarily after the cessation of activity as the blood’s stress hormones decrease.
How Endorphins are Generated
It is a beautiful Friday afternoon and you decide to go for an afternoon run. It has been a long and stressful week at work and you want to destress. You are seeking the intoxicating feelings of the runner’s high that all too often leave you in a state of euphoria and deep relaxation. About 20 minutes later you arrive back at home. You pushed yourself extra hard and the above average intensity of your run pay off.
A sudden rush of mood-boosting energy makes you start to feel great. Being a curious person, ask yourself how endorphins are generating in the body during exercise.
Endorphins are generated via a complex process that occurs in the brain soon after you start to exercise. Acute physical stress and pain as a result of an intense workout stimulates your hypothalamus to release messenger molecules to your anterior pituitary gland.
Both, the hypothalamus, and the anterior pituitary gland increase endorphin production, which release via your nerves and travel into blood stream. Once they reach their target tissues, they bring about their desired euphoric effects.
Primary Effects of Endorphins
When we talk about endorphins, we typically refer to the type of endorphins called beta-endorphins. Beta endorphins are the most powerful type responsible for the feelings of exercise euphoria and masking pain. You can find beta-endorphins both in the central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord), as well as the peripheral nervous system (nerves exiting from the spinal cord).
Endorphins receive their name from being part of the family of endogenous opioids. The term endogenous refers to a chemical produced by your own body. Opioids refer to pain-relieving chemicals that bind to opiate receptors. Therefore, a runner’s high producing significant amounts of endorphins can create natural pain-reliving effects on body and mind.
Endogenous opioids are more potent than morphine when it comes to its ability to mask pain. Research also shows that they have a positive effect on the dopamine system (SOURCE).
The Endorphin Release Mechanism
Let us dive a little deeper into how endorphins produce in the brain and how they improve mood and feelings of relaxation (source).
Research shows that a few different potential mechanisms trigger the release of beta- endorphins (SOURCE). The mechanism appears to be dependent on the type of exercise you perform. Below, I have summarized the primary mechanism of endorphin production. Please be aware that there may be different triggers for this response.
During and following intense bouts of physical exercise your heart rate and blood pressure start to increase to keep up with the demands of your muscular system. The brain interprets these changes and a stress response initiates. Most of the stress response initiates in a brain gland called your hypothalamus.
Your hypothalamus, besides the production of certain hormones itself, is responsible to produce signals to other hormonal glands to increase the production of stress hormones in response to the “threat” that your body is currently experiencing (i.e. the act of exercising).
The anterior pituitary gland, a small, bean-shaped gland is situated immediately underneath your hypothalamus. It interprets this information and produces the hormones as signaled by your hypothalamus.
Your hypothalamus and anterior pituitary gland are connected via a specialized portal blood system to facilitate their communication. Your anterior pituitary gland then produces endorphins, which make their way to target tissues via nerves and your bloodstream. Once they reach their target tissues, they produce their effects. Effects include improvements in mood and the masking of pain.
These effects are more significant following your exercise session. This is when your body’s stress response is not as powerful anymore. To learn more about endorphins and the best way to reproduce them, check out this article.
Endorphin Release Mechanism: Summary
1. Physiological parameters (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, pain) increase as a response to intense exercise to keep up with your muscle’s demands.
2. Your hypothalamus (brain gland) interprets sudden increase in physiological parameters as a threat and increases signaling for stress and endogenous opioid hormone production.
3. Your anterior pituitary gland (situated right underneath the hypothalamus) receives this information and increases production of stress hormones + beta endorphins in the brain.
4. Stress hormones and beta endorphins circulate in blood stream and reach their target tissues.
5. Decrease in stress hormones following termination of exercise, whereas beta endorphins are not broken down quite as fast.
6. Experience feelings of the endorphin rush.
Important Tip*
If your body’s stress response is too large it can cause severe fatigue following your workout. This often leads to you not feeling the positive mental effects of the endorphin rush. Thus, an important part to consider during your workout is how challenging you make it for yourself.
Higher intensity workouts are favorable for the production of endorphins (source). However, exposing yourself to the stress response for too long and with too vigorous of an intensity can prevent your from reaching the exercise high.
How Endorphins Mask Pain
The release of endorphins masks pain in your body through various mechanisms. The mechanisms we currently go by are the Gate Control Theory and Brainstem Modulation.
Once your beta-endorphins release from the brain, they can bind to different parts of your central and peripheral nervous system. It can, for instance, bind to your spinal cord and inhibit the activation of nerves transmitting signals of pain towards the brain. This process is called the gate control theory, where the binding of beta endorphins to the spinal cord “close” the gate towards the brain regions involved in pain perception.
In addition to “closing the gates”, beta endorphins can also decrease the descending pain signals from the brainstem.
Benefits of Endorphins
- Feelings of Euphoria: Significant levels of endorphins in the brain bring about intense feelings of euphoria. When repeating regularly, this leads to better emotional health. This intoxicating feeling improves energy levels, decreases stress, and creates a less worrisome state of mind. You are more likely to make health-conscious decisions throughout your day. Additionally, you minimize feelings of anxiety and depression. Promote good brain health and brain function by exercising regularly (SOURCE).
- Pain Relief: An increase in endorphin levels can significantly decrease the perception of pain. This can provide you with a sense of comfort by acting as opioid drugs, similar to the effects of pain medications.
- Regulates Stress Response: Endorphins play a role in how you perceive the negative effects of stress in the short and long-term (SOURCE).
- Other: There are many more benefits of endorphins. For an exhaustive list check out this reference (SOURCE).
How to Facilitate Endorphin Release by the Brain
Regular physical activity has an overall positive effect on boosting your mood. This can have enormous benefits on your mental health, as well as overall well-being.
The Canadian Physical activity Guidelines is a guide composed of an analysis of 1000+ high-quality research papers (source). They suggest to perform at least 150 moderate-vigorous minutes of exercise each week (source). The guidelines suggest that this is required to maintain good health and take advantage of the health benefits that exercise has to offer.
Why not develop a routine that consistently promotes feelings of euphoria? This is what we focus on here at Endorphun. Check out our blog page to find out more.
Best Type of Exercise to Facilitate an Endorphin Rush
We most commonly use aerobic exercise to recreate an endorphin rush. We typically refer to it as the runner’s high. However, many forms of exercise can effectively reproduce it.
As long as you are able to create a stress response from exercise, increase your heart rate and do not challenge yourself too far below or above your high intensity threshold, you should have no issues getting there via other types of exercise.
Best Workout Length to Facilitate an Endorphin Rush
When it comes to optimal amount of exercise to achieve the feelings associated with an endorphin rush, research suggests that roughly 20-30 minutes should be sufficient. However, research also shows that it is more about the intensity of exercise than its duration. High-intensity exercise in particular appears to increase endorphin production, assuming that there has been an adequate warm-up prior (source).
Learn more about how you can recreate an endorphin rush through both aerobic exercise and strength training. Read my articles on exercise-induced euphoria, as well as how to recreate a runner’s high.
Effects of Your Genetic Predisposition
Your genetic predisposition has a large impact on your ability to create an endorphin rush. Some individuals have no issues producing one, whereas others have to put in much more work. The fact that you are here reading this article likely means that you have experienced one before. This means that you may be more genetically inclined than some other people would be!
Other Ways to Increase Endorphin Production
Research shows that certain food intake (e.g. the consumption of a piece of dark chocolate and hot sauce), as well as sexual behavior can also increase endorphin release in the brain among many others. To explore further ways to increase endorphin production click here.
Conclusion
Endorphins are your body’s own euphoria-inducing and pain-relieving chemicals primarily produced by your brain’s glands called the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary gland.
Increases in physical pain and the stress response as a result of exercise (as well as other mechanisms, which appear to differ based on the type of exercise performed) trigger the glands to secrete great amounts of hormones.
Once they are circulating through your nervous system and bloodstream, they can help to mask pain by blocking the transmission of pain signals down and up the spinal cord and create feelings of pleasure and euphoria.
With regular exercise of sufficient intensity and duration (~20-30 minutes, or less), you can take advantage of the positive effects that these brain chemicals can have on your mental health, in addition to the other benefits of exercise.
Autumn
Love how Endorphun utilizes science as a basis for a positive exercise experience! I find I am reaching not only reaching, but exceeding my goals with this mindset!