Does aerobic exercise release dopamine or endorphins?

The conclusion is very clear - aerobic exercise will secrete both dopamine and endorphins. The timing of their appearance, triggering logic, and feelings are completely different.

I felt this especially deeply when I forced myself to run 3 kilometers on the Binjiang Trail after get off work every day in the past two years in order to lose the 10 kilograms of meat I had stocked up on during the New Year. In the first half month, I had to do some mental preparation for half an hour before going out. I spent a lot of time changing into sportswear, and all I could think about was "after finishing my run, I went to the alley to buy an iced Americano." In the first 10 minutes when I actually set foot on the track, I was so out of breath that my lungs were going to explode, and my legs were as heavy as lead. It was all because of the thought that "I can get the reward if I run two more steps," that helped me get through the period when I wanted to give up the most.

Later, I specifically checked the relevant information and realized that what was pushing me to move at that time was dopamine. This thing is essentially a catecholamine neurotransmitter secreted by the brain. Its core function is motivational driving and reward anticipation - to put it bluntly, it "gives you something to look forward to and makes you willing to move." It is not the pleasure itself, but your prediction that "there will be benefits to doing this thing", and it will continue to be secreted to urge you to move forward, whether the benefit is a cool American style, a check-in like in the circle of friends, or the missing two taels on the scale.

Around the 25th minute of the run, a magical change came: I suddenly felt less out of breath, the sycamore leaves beside my ears were swaying very comfortably in the river wind, my legs were no longer heavy, and I could even run two more kilometers. I even forgot about the ice-American style that I had been thinking about so much. When I was stretching after running, my whole body was soaked in sweat, my T-shirt stuck to my back, and I felt a clear sense of pleasure. It was not the feeling that instantly exploded on the tip of my tongue when I drank an iced Americano. It was the feeling of relaxation that stretched my chest, and even the anxiety accumulated at work during the day was drained away along with the sweat. I even felt that the fatigue just now was completely worth it, and I still want to run the next day - this is the release of endorphins.

Endorphins are endogenous opioid peptides synthesized by the human body. Their original function is to relieve muscle soreness caused by exercise and pain caused by physical stress. It also gives you a calm and lasting sense of pleasure, which is the source of what many people call the "running orgasm".

However, regarding the triggering conditions of endorphins, there are actually two schools of thought in the academic community. The traditional view of exercise physiology is that aerobic exercise of moderate intensity (60%-70% of the maximum heart rate, which is about the level at which you can speak normally but cannot sing during exercise) lasts for more than 30 minutes before the secretion of endorphins reaches a level that can be clearly perceived by people. This is also the core basis for many fitness bloggers who said before that "you must run for 30 minutes to be effective." But a latest study published in the journal "Sports Medicine" in 2022 overturned this conclusion: as long as the exercise intensity reaches more than 75% of the maximum heart rate, even 10-15 minutes of high-intensity interval training can also trigger the secretion of sufficient endorphins.

I practiced Tabata for 12 minutes with a fitness instructor last year. I almost lost my breath when I jumped. I collapsed on the yoga mat and rested for 5 minutes. The feeling of relief after I got up was almost exactly the same as when I ran for an hour before. This really confirms the conclusion of this new study.

Many people say that they have never felt the so-called "exercise happiness" when exercising. In fact, most of them are either not intense enough or don't have enough time. They stop before the endorphins come out. It is all supported by dopamine. If dopamine's preset rewards do not keep up, naturally they will not be able to persevere.

Harmful, in fact, there is really no need to worry about what is secreted every time you exercise. People who have just started exercising don't have to force themselves to run for an hour as soon as they start. Set a small goal of 10 minutes first. After running, reward yourself with a cup of sugar-free milk tea and watch half an episode of a TV series. Let dopamine push you to form a habit. When you can overcome the fatigue of the first 20 minutes, you will naturally be able to catch the lasting pleasure given by endorphins.

Anyway, whether it’s the little bit of hope given by dopamine or the burst of clarity given by endorphins, as long as it makes you willing to move a second time, it’s a good thing. It’s better than lying down and scrolling through your phone until you feel anxious, right?