How to Make Your Exercise High Last

That post -workout buzz doesn’t just feel amazing; it also energises you to be more positive and driven throughout the day, and helps you score better-body results. Use these science-backed strategies to make yours stronger and last longer.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling you have after a great workout – that unique mix of euphoria and zen that’s simultaneously motivating and relaxing. It puts you in a great mood, makes you proud of the sweat session you just aced, and gets you psyched up to tackle the next one. The result: You do more, burn more and tone more.

Trouble is, the nirvana fades too fast. Within 20 or 30 minutes, poof, it’s gone. Fortunately, scientists are learning fascinating new facts about the post-exercise high that can help you prolong it.

The biggest revelation: Feeling blissful is not just about endorphins, the painkilling hormones proven to bring on pleasure. In fact, recent studies show that at least two other compounds contribute to the buzz. The key player is endocannabinoids, lipid molecules that help regulatepain and mood, and that our brain processes in almost the same way that it does cannabinoids, the chemicals that cause the marijuana high. While our levels of both endocannabinoids and endorphins are higher after endurance exercise, endocannabinoids have a more powerful effect on how we feel.

In animal research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, mice still maintained their after-workout chill when their endorphins were blocked, but they lost it when their endocannabinoid levels were stunted. Scientists believe that endocannabinoids produce the stress-busting effects of exercise, according to Johannes Fuss, the study’s lead researcher.

So what about endorphins? They may contribute to some of the other aspects of the exercise high, Johannes says.