It’s no secret that exercising regularly can relieve stress, boost your mood and body image, ease depression and anxiety, and improve other psychological issues. Working up a sweat also can help you kick a substance abuse habit — and new research provides insight into the neurobiological mechanisms behind this positive effect. In a study involving animals, in the April 2, 2018, issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers at the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions found that daily aerobic exercise altered dopamine signaling in the brain in ways that may make alcohol and other substances of abuse less appealing or rewarding.
“Exercise is a natural reward like food and sex: Exercise releases endorphins and increases the feel-good chemical dopamine in the brain’s reward pathway in a way [that’s] similar to drugs and alcohol,” explains study lead author Lisa Robison, now a postdoctoral research associate in the department of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at Albany Medical College in New York. “This may bring a person enough pleasure so as to not seek it out by using drugs.”
[See: Green Exercise — 10 Ways to Incorporate Nature Into Your Workout Routine.]
In addition, people with addictions often have reduced functioning in the brain’s frontal areas, which are involved in decision-making and the ability to inhibit cravings, Robison explains. “Exercise increases functioning of these areas, which may in turn help a person say no to drugs.”
This study adds to a growing body of evidence supporting exercise as an important part of addiction treatment. In a series of studies in the June 4, 2018, issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, researchers found that playing football or doing circuit training led to short-term reductions in drug cravings and improvements in mood among people with polysubstance dependence (being hooked on three or more substances). This isn’t surprising, given that “when you feel better you’re less likely to engage in things that are bad for you,” says Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and author of “The Exercise Cure.” “Exercise brings a dopaminergic surge that makes you feel better.”
Meanwhile, a study in the Feb. 1, 2018, issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health found that when people with alcohol use disorders participated in a running program (twice a week for 30-45 minutes at a time) as part of their treatment, their alcohol intake decreased by 81 percent over 30 days. Previously, a study that appeared in the journal PLoS One in March 2011 found that while marijuana-dependent people participated in 10 supervised 30-minute exercise sessions on a treadmill over two weeks, they reduced their usage by 50 percent. And a small study from Denmark found that after people with drug addictions exercised in groups three times a week for two to six months, 25 percent abstained completely and 50 percent downgraded their intake.
[See: 7 Health Risks of Binge Drinking You Can’t Ignore.]
Indeed, exercise has been found to be beneficial for overcoming addiction to a variety of substances, including alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, stimulants and opiates. Not only that, “but it seems that exercise may be effective across all stages of addiction from preventing the initiation and escalation of drug use to treating drug addiction by curbing cravings and withdrawal symptoms and reducing the likelihood of relapse brought on by a variety of triggers,” Robison notes.
Stress and depression are common triggers for substance abuse, and exercise helps relieve both. What’s more, “the self-efficacy experienced by patients who successfully engage in exercise improves motivation” to overcome addiction, notes Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
While most of the research on the use of exercise for addiction treatment has focused on aerobic exercise, resistance training has similar effects, experts say. “Both have positive effects, independent of each other, and you’ll get more bang for your buck if you can combine both,” says Dr. Felipe Lobelo, an associate professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and director of the Exercise is Medicine Global Research and Collaboration Center at Emory.
But the dose of aerobic exercise, in particular, does seem to play a role. “Vigorous exercise has more vigorous effects on brain chemistry — hence, the ‘runner’s high,'” Lobelo says. “The acute effects on brain chemistry last up to 48 hours, so it’s best if you can exercise three to five times per week.” Even better, he says, “exercising every day may decrease cravings for substances you’re trying to quit, even if you do it for less time every day.”
[See: How to Get Your Fitness Groove Back.]
In other words, it’s important to find the sweet spot that works for you, in terms of the activity itself and the frequency. And if you’re new to exercise, make sure to start slowly, with a low-intensity activity you enjoy (whether it’s walking or cycling or something else), then gradually increase the frequency, duration and intensity as you get stronger, Lobelo says.
If you’re grappling with a full-blown substance abuse disorder, it’s best to incorporate exercise as part of a more comprehensive treatment — including individual therapy, peer support groups, behavioral counseling and substance use monitoring — that will provide you with different coping tools and levels of social support. “Exercise as one component of a multimodal treatment is ideal,” Trivedi says.
But “some people can quit [a substance abuse habit] on their own, especially if they have strong willpower,” Lobelo notes. For these folks, adopting a regular exercise regimen can enhance their resolve, their mood and their can-do spirit — and improve their chances of succeeding.
More from U.S. News
Green Exercise: 10 Ways to Incorporate Nature Into Your Workout Routine
How to Get Your Fitness Groove Back
7 Health Risks of Binge Drinking You Can’t Ignore
Running (or Walking Briskly) Away From Addiction originally appeared on usnews.com
