It is also proven to make you happier. If you’ve been working out or running regularly, you’ve already discovered it. No matter how good or bad you feel at any given moment, exercise will make you feel better. And it goes beyond just the “runner’s high”—that rush of feel-good hormones known as endocannabinoids (This is the great feeling after finishing a run or other excercise which can leave us feeling elated). A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers found that even a single bout of exercise—30 minutes of walking on a treadmill—could instantly lift the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive order.
Ever heard someone call running their “drug?” Well, apparently, it actually is pretty similar. A study done in Physiological & Behavior showed that running causes the same kind of neurochemical adaptations in brain reward pathways that also are shared by addictive drugs. So running is similar to a drug but so much better as there are no negative side effects.