Exercise vs drugs?

[devilsnight]

Why is exercise different from a drug? It increases dopamine levels, just like drugs do. Is it simply because it's healthy for you, and drugs aren't?

Does regular exercise change your brain chemistry? I'd imagine that daily dopamine boosts from exercise would do so. Since starting to work out last year, I feel shit on the days I don't do any exercise.

I mean people advise others not to take drugs because they increase dopamine levels which can fuck you over if you want to stop taking them, but natural things which feel nice also increase dopamine levels?

I know this sounds kinda dumb, but to me exercise seems to be a healthy, natural, minor drug. I wonder if any studies have been done on long-term regular exercise and changes in brain chemistry.

 

[Space Firebird]

I was coming over here to post on this very subject.

Exercise seems to me to make W/D's worse.

 

[neversickanymore]

exercise is allot like a drug.. and it can become and addiction. but i think there is some major differences between the consequences of a "natural" nero process compared to an outside chemical induced neural process.. I major one i would consider is an underlying function of dopamine. Dopamine is there to reward of course, but I think it also serves as kinda a chemical marker of a solution, among many other things.. so in other words if you experience a problem and the associated emotion that drives us to solve that problem, then when we solve that problem we get a rush of dopamine and feel good . So now we have a problem that is then grouped with similar problems by their emotional association, so fear problems are likely lodged with other fear problems.. then when we experience fear again the brain is likely to sift first through previous fear problems logged as solved with a dopamine response and even drive thought through emotion and memory recall towards a known solution. But when we circumnavigate the system with the addition of a chemical, we then have a problem associated with a particular emotion that is still unsolved but has know been logged as solved with a solution that unfortunately is all tied up with tolerance. So in other words we have lodged a potentially deadly progression as a solution. The more we log the use of a deadly substance as a solution the worse off we are.

I feel the big difference between exercise and drug use is a multi fold difference .. first the neurochemical process associated with exercise has already been built into our mechanism, and such it doesn't carry the neural changes that are associated with the introduction of a separate chemical, so the processes flow more natural.. for instance the introduction of amphetamine produces a dopamine release but IT ALSO prevents the natural reabsorption, where as i would guess that the dopamine released during exercise is allowed to be taken back up in a natural fashion. also it has been shown that there is production, release, and realignment of these important neurochemicals towards a good base line, where as with allot of drug use there is release and nero deregulation of the same substances.. one takes the puzzle apart and looses pieces while exercise seems to build the pieces and put it back together. Second there are many positive benefits associated with regular exercise.. many health benefits that accompany the exercise and as these are well known we shan't need to explore them. But with all processes that can be addicting to much exercise can be incredibly destructive.. I think the wilco guy ran so much after cleaning up that he developed stress fractures in each leg.. So I think exercise is an incredibly powerful weapon in the fight against drug addictions, but as with all pleasurable things it is really important to develop a balance and look at the activity honstly when its pusiete becomes really involveed.


EXERCISE AND MOOD

Exercise and Depression

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

Excellent post NSA.

Exercise is indeed drug-like in regards to the dopamine reward you get from it, but you have to put effort in for it, unlike drugs. You will always feel a million times better if you've put the effort in to induce the reward and more motivated to continue exercising.

 

[Space Firebird]

I'm thinking that during the w/d's exercise actually speeds things along and that is why I felt worse.
(I exercised every other day, which is why I noticed, the days "off" were milder).
Exercise days would leave me feeling worse when I was trying to go to sleep that night.
Hiked 10 miles yesterday at 9000-9700 feet, no withdrawals last night, just good old pain.

 

[devilsnight]

thanks for the post and the articles neversickanymore.

I found another nice article on this...for others who are interested: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fitness/2011/01/gym_rats_and_dope_fiends.html

it confirmed all my thoughts (exercise basically acts exactly like a (relatively mild) drug to the brain... we can develop tolerance to it and even experience withdrawal symptoms from it), but at the same time I agree with the article's conclusion (the last paragraph):

Knowing a bit of neurochemistry doesn't tell you whether an activity is harmful or beneficial. To take just one of many examples, falling in love might lead to dopamine release, and an unexpected breakup could produce very real feelings of withdrawal. Do we wring our hands and wonder whether love is an addiction?

It would be silly—and very unhealthy—to avoid exercise on account of its habit-forming properties. But we shouldn't ignore the facts. A regular exercise program may improve your mood and prolong your life. It may help you quit smoking and keep your wits about you as you age. That doesn't mean it's unreasonable to weigh the bad against the good, however. I try to go to the gym three or four times per week, and I get a little annoyed when I can't make it. That's OK; the downside is worth it.

It's one of the few "drugs" where the pros of "taking it" massively outweigh the cons. Not only the health benefits, but as NSA pointed out we work for the dopamine release when we exercise...so in that sense it's fundamentally different and psychologically healthier...and while the chemical release from exercise mimics drugs...it doesn't damage our brain chemistry like other, stronger drugs.