Every run is a "journey."
Already March 21, always relates the date to the spring equinox, for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, although the equinox was yesterday this year.
I started thinking about astronomical cycles and how living beings respond to them. For example, just a few days ago, the Palo Verdes began to flower, and buds are also starting to appear on the desert Cardos.
But suddenly a thought occurred to me...
HOW THINGS OCCUR TO ME WHEN I'M RUNNING.
I mean, it's not unusual that in my daily life, I start wandering, on the terrace of the house, or when I'm in the pool it happens to me, Rebeca laughs at me a lot when she sees me talking to myself. But when I run especially long runs, it doesn't fail.
Several reasons come to mind, for starters it may be that the rhythmic nature of running induces a meditative state, allowing the mind to flow.
Something also important to me is the variety of landscapes that I pass through while I run, I am fortunate to live in a place where there are very beautiful views on my routes.
Both of these things allow you to reduce stress and anxiety, which also stimulates thinking more freely.
But I think the most important thing is the cocktail of substances that the nervous system produces after a while of exercising. Let's look at some.
Serotonin plays a very important role in regulating mood, sleep, and appetite. It has an important role in promoting calm and relaxation. Some studies suggest that it plays a role in the ability to switch between different tasks or thoughts. With all this, it is not strange that some relate it to intuition.
Endorphins, let's just start with the name, when neurophysiologists found that the body produced these substances they named them like this, "endo" comes from within, interior, "orphines" they took it from the word morphine, since these substances have a similar effect to morphine and other opiates. Opiates have their effect because they bind to the receptors on neurons where endorphins act. So, like opioids, they decrease anxiety and stress, increase mood and motivation, speed you up, improve concentration and focus, and all of this stimulates divergent thinking.
I remember, many years ago, when I started running, it was mentioned a lot that endorphins were responsible for what in English runners called the “runner's high”, but I never understood that explanation well, it never gave me a “high”, rather it was a relaxation.
Finally, during exercise, endocannabinoids are also produced, “endo” I already explained, and “cannabinoid” explains itself. So its main effects are a reduction in anxiety and stress, they act on the brain's reward systems, promoting feelings of well-being, pleasure, and motivation, increase concentration and focus, blocking distractions, and allowing a deeper immersion in the race and, which I think is very important, they alter the perception of time and encourage the association of ideas. Some think that combining endocannabinoid production and exercise could enhance learning and adaptation, which in turn could foster creativity.
In recent years some work shows that animals adapted to have great physical resistance are those with the most developed endocannabinoid system. The latest studies show that it is not endorphins that are responsible for the runner's high, it is endocannabinoids, not endorphins. So the correct name would be the “runners' stoned.”
So the fact that I think so many things while I'm running has to do with the fact that I'm throwing in a cocktail of neuroactive substances, all acting at the same time.
The fortune is that since my body is my “dealer”, the amount of each of these substances is in the exact concentration required, not a milligram less, nor, fortunately, a milligram more.
Now I understand why every run is a “journey”.
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