Short Stuff: Runner's High

to talk about that again. We talked about this runners high in some episode to such a degree. I was like, have we done it as a short stuff? Really? I think so? We must have talked about it in marathons or something like that. Yeah, I bet that was it. I believe a standalone short stuff is a great way

to go with it. Yeah, But you know what I was describing is what runners will tell you they feel oftentimes when they are on what's known as a runners high, which is you light as a feather, you're floating, your pace is strong, and sometimes they might even burst out into uncontrollable tears of joy that they can't even explain. Yes, So I have you ever had a runners high? No, because I think you gotta run a long way to even if it even exists, it occurs, you know, not

at mile one. So I have never had a runners high. Um. But this these emotional sobs that they mentioned I can identify with because like I hit the tread that every morning when I hit the treadmill. When I run, I very rarely run outside and I usually run about eleven am. So I end up watching the Prices right while I run a lot. And by the end of the show, when like people are winning or losing or whatever, are

you crying? I crying is not the right word, but like my chest is tight, and like I'm overcome with the most of these got hitch, you know, And I'm like, well, this is clearly this has to do with running or exercising or something. But it's pretty funny that, yeah, I get it gets to me by the end of the Price is right? All right? Let me see if I can trigger you. Ready, Dent, Dent, it's too early for a break. You get a press on, brother, Okay, let's

just do you take it from here. By the way, is one of the greatest theme Songs of All Time. Oh yeah, iconic. I haven't seen it in I mean, I haven't really seen much of any of the Drew Carey stuff, and I can still just rattle that thing. It's fine. He's he's good, he's finally settled in. He I mean, he's not Bob Barker, but he knows he's not Bob Barker. He's not trying to be Bob Barker. He's Drew Carey and he's doing his own thing, and it's good. All right. So let's talk about flow state.

This is um a concept that Hungarian American uh psychologist to insert name, go please, there's sixteen No, man, there are sixteen letters in this person's last name, and all continents five of them are vowels. So's hear his name is me hi chick, sent me hi ah, look at you, thank you, thank you. I'm sure that I my dialect was like nowhere near Russia. Um, but uh, that's pretty close from what I can tell. Yeah, just picture in

your mind something spelled like this. Everyone C S, I, K, S Z E N T M I H A L Y I. That was his last name. Yeah, that's the last name. So I want to say it again. Okay, yeah, yeah, I want to hear it again. Me Hi Chick sent me Hi. That sounds like it sounds like a sentence. It sounds like you're saying something in a different language. I am, I'm saying this guy's name, like, I appreciate the advice. Can you point me in the direction of the nearest car rental? Me Hi Chick set me I. Okay,

it's right over there. Then. UM. I'm glad we're patting this out with comedy because there's not a lot to the runners high as we will learn. But flow state

is what uh say it? Me Hi Chick sent me Hi came up with after interviewing athletes and musicians and artists basically about what brings them joy and basically kind of came to the conclusion that when these people are performing at peak levels, whether they're songwriting or poetry, slamming, or running marathons, that they all say that they fall into, or I guess the majority of people say they fall into this really focused to mental state that they call

the flow state, where it's just like I've channeled, I'm channeling something. I'm not even working to do what I'm doing it's just coming out of me. Have you ever been in that state? I know you haven't had a Runners high, neither have I, but I've been in a flow state before of you. I feel like I've been in a flow state with writing before. I don't remember what I was doing while I was doing it, but I remember being like, oh wow, this is this is

something special. And it was probably something mundane like um, digging a hole or something like that, which you know I'm known to do, but I it is a pretty neat thing, like there's it's just effortless. There's a certain amount of joy and pleasure to it. You feel a little bit high, and it's because it's my My theory is that, um, your body has stopped, your body and your mind have stopped trying to find the most efficient, um, least wasteful energy energy wise way of doing what you're doing,

and now it's just doing it. So there's no there's no ever, there's no trying to figure something out, there's no wasted energy, and it's just it can be pleasurable in that sense. Right, So flow state they think might have a link to being uh, to encountering a Runners high. But here's the thing is, most athletes haven't experienced a runners high. It's not like all you gotta do is run eight or more miles and you're gonna get one. And then there's and I guess this would be a

good time to break. There's a lot of debate about if a runners is even real to begin with, scientifically speaking, is it real? We'll find out right after these messages from our sponsor, Chuck. Is it real? Well, first, we should just say that the whole idea of this came around in the seventies when the big running boom really kicked off off. Yeah, exactly, and the doctor started looking into it a little bit, and researchers they're like, is

this even a thing? Can we explain this physiologically? And they they kind of landed on initially endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that are sending chemical messages activating opiate receptors, and basically they can create a sort of an analgesic effect that could numb the body to pain and trigger a kind of morphine like euphoria, let's say. And they're like, all right, if you're running enough, maybe you're just The surge of endorphins is what's explaining this? I mean, and

that's what it stayed for decades. Basically, Like when I first started getting into running ten years ago, I used getting into running and making air quotes. Um. I remember hearing like, oh, it's endorphins. Uh. And endorphins do like keep your muscles from making They do, UM have like the analgesic effects like you're talking about. But the big

problem is is they apparently don't cross the blood brain barrier. Yeah, so I guess somehow they do release opioids or they activate your opioid receptors, but I'm not sure how they do that if they can't get to your brain, or maybe there's something that gets to your brain but it's not the ones that get released by your muscles. Whatever the case, these early UM researchers physiologists who said it's

endorphins just they were just making it up. No one went back and checked their work, and when they finally did, they saw that this was just bunk. Basically, it's bunk is speed reading. Yeah exactly. UM, that's a good T shirt. Um In there was a study out of Germany that basically said that running can stimulate your indo cannabinoid system, which is pretty interesting. Um, your body produces endocannabinoids. It's like you're sort of built in, um, cannabis, cannabis system.

It's your body pot. Yeah, it's it's yeah. Good band name. Oh man, it's a great band name. And I don't even like my band name stuff usually, but body pot sounds great. Yeah, that's pretty good. When what kind of music is it? Though you're always not it's because it's classical but done on alright. Very interesting. That's another thing. You just created a genre. I think I might have not a good one, but I did sure. So, Um, have you ever seen that that blue grass band do

a C d C thunderstruck? No, I bet it's pretty good. It's pretty awesome. I am not a big a C d C guy, but I can imagine hearing somebody do that on anything. It's pretty stirring. Like watching the end of Prices right after you've been running a few miles. Yeah that that guitar like sounds pretty cool in the banjo. So the Yeah, endocannabinoids, cannabinoids, um, they you can you know. It's it's like what pot does for you. Basically, it

improves your anxiety and improves your mood. Uh, this is why some people turned to marijuana to reduce their anxiety, and this does actually pass the blood brain barrier. I don't understand that about how marijuana reduces anxiety. I know for a fact that it does, but I feel like it's a certain kind of person that marijuana has that effect on, and that does not have that effect on everybody. Sure, I mean I think there are plenty of people where

marijuana very much increases their anxiety. Yes, and that is the saddest thing of all. Yeah, it's just said. It's it's called getting robbed by God himself or herself for their self. Yeah, because if it only did the one thing and reduced anxiety, it would be the wonder drug of the world. It's true. Yeah, we didn't have this conversation in the Girl Scouts episode. Yeah, that'd be bad.

But like I said, unlike the endorsed and these endocannabinoids can move through that that blood brain barrier and give you that feeling of calm. So they think that might have something to do with the runner's eye. Yes, so, which makes a lot more sense. I mean endocannabin When we seemed like it's probably the case that that is what gives you some sort of euphoric feeling while you're

in that flow state. But again, it's possible that the runner's high doesn't even exist, and that it's one of those things where it's like a self self fulfilling prophecy or I guess a bit of um uh placebo effect where you think it exists and you're running sometime and you think I feel kind of good and you're like, oh my god, I'm in a flow state. Check me out, I'm so high. Could be like that. It also could exist,

and we just haven't really identified it fully yet. Yeah, but what I'm pretty sure is going to happen is we're gonna get get zillion emails from runners that are like, don't mock this. It is totally real. I've experienced it first, and Hey, I don't care if it is the greatest placebo effect of all time. It's still real. If it's a placebo, your body is still experiencing the effects of whatever it is, from a fake drug to running high. Um, you're still experiencing it. So it doesn't matter if it's

externally objectively real or not. Doesn't matter. Uh. Well, if you want to know more about sylopsism or anything like that. Join us next time on short stuff. We don't have anything else about runners high right, chuck. We don't well, and that means everybody that short stuff is GIDIA. Stuff you should know is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.