extreem exercise question

D

Dr sharp

Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
299
I rode my mt bike 16 miles today and afterward felt almost drunk. Does exercise dump seritonian into the brain in enough of a quantity to make you feel almost high. also does it happen every time you exercise hard? I never knew that feeling lasts for hours,...crazy huh? i might just start exercising on a regular basis. :eek:
 
I never knew that feeling lasts for hours,...crazy huh?
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know about hours... but...

Runners call it "hitting the wall" or "breaking through." On my Nordictrak, it takes about 35 minutes. Then, I go through about ten minutes of very tough going. I'll almost collapse. The physical pain is real, I feel I'm exhausted, my vision just gets dark. But, if I can get through that ten minutes, it's like the sun coming back up. The pain goes away, I get my energy back, everything is great. I feel great. And I can go on for an hour or more easily. But getting through those ten minutes is very difficult.

My secret is to put on some thumping rock music, Petra or the Newsboys or some such thing, and just hold on to the music and sing along. It's as if the music is pulling me through time to get me to the other side.
 
It's probably not so much Seratonin as the Dopamine being triggered by endorphins. Serotonin is more the deep sense of contentment you get from a long easy walk, ride etc. But hey, lets not split hairs. Like any addictive chemical the impact lessens with repeat doses and it requires more to generate the good feeling.

I find that I'm more Serotonin calm and less dopamine high after working out nowadays - but it's still good.
 
Dr sharp said:
I rode my mt bike 16 miles today and afterward felt almost drunk.
Click to expand...

Firstly: Well done!

Secondly: What you have experienced is known as "The Bonk" or "bonking." (Note: Bonking means something completely different in the UK ;) )

"Carbohydrate, in the form of blood sugar, is also major fuel for the brain. Glycogen stored in your liver, is release into your blood stream to maintain your blood sugar level. If your blood sugar drops too low, you will feel tired, lightheaded, weak and have great difficulty concentrating, and in cycling terms you will "bonk"."

"Carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in muscle and liver cells. On a normal diet there is enough glycogen to support 2 hours of aerobic exercise before the bonk occurs."

There are many sources of info on this phenomenon on the Web. The first one I found (from which the first quotation is an excerpt) is here.

The second excerpt is from this site which has more technical info.

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
If your blood sugar drops too low, you will feel tired, lightheaded, weak and have great difficulty concentrating, and in cycling terms you will "bonk"."
Click to expand...
And if you're diabetic, there's an extra effect after that: collapse, coma, ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top