Skip to main content

Chemical behind exercise 'lift' discovered

The mystery over the antidepressant effects of physical activity may have finally been solved.

Brought to you bySPIS MedWire
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00

It has been well documented that after periods of intense cardiovascular exercise a 'high' is often experienced, but the biochemical basis of this lift has remained elusive. In October British Journal of Sports Medicine, Ellen Billet and colleagues from the Department of Sports Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, found that brain levels of a chemical called phenylethylamine, which has been linked to the regulation of physical energy, mood and attention, rise by an average of over 75% after exercise.

Szabo et al. studied 20 healthy men with an average age of 22 years. The men provided two 24-hour urine samples on consecutive days, before the first of which they were asked to refrain from exercise, while on the second they ran on a treadmill at 70% of their maximum heart rate capacity for 30 minutes.

The urine samples were analysed for phenylacetic acid, a by-product of phenylethylamine turnover, and an accurate ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member?
Add The Scientist as a preferred source on Google

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Related articles background image
August 2026 Digest cover
August 2026

Epic Fail: Sea-Monkeys Sabotage Fieldwork

When Barry Hicks set out to photograph thrombolites, thousands of unexpected visitors photobombed his underwater images.

View this Issue
Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

cytiva logo
Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Miltenyi
Scientist holding a clear 384-well PCR microplate in a laboratory

What Dictates PCR Success Before Amplification Begins?

Integra Logo
Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Axion Biosystems

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches European Newsletter Campaign with Exclusive Welcome Gifts

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches SuperNuclease ® Pro with Free Trial Program

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches Precisely Characterized Full-Length p-Tau217 Protein to Advance Next-Generation Alzheimer’s Biomarker Assay Development

A photo of a scientist placing the Resipher device on a 96-well plate.

Resipher: Continuous Live-Cell Mitochondrial Respiration Monitoring in 96-Well Plates

Lucid Scientific logo