Exercise not only improves your cardiovascular fitness and strengthen your muscles but also helps improve your mood by increasing production of neurotransmitters know as endorphins. Endorphins are responsible for the feeling of euphoria after a good workout. This feeling is not, however, a symptom of mania associated with mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder.
Endorphins
Exercise helps boost endorphin production in your brain, according to the MayoClinic.com. Endorphins, also called the feel-good neurotransmitters, are molecules that affect your pain perception. Endorphins bind to the same cell receptor as opiates, which results a blockage of pain transmission as well as an euphoric feeling. Thus, endorphins are painkillers, or opioids, your body produces naturally in response to pain, exercise and sex.
Manic-Depressive Disorder
Manic-depressive disorder, also called bipolar disorder, is characterized by mood swings of depression and mania. Depression is associated with feelings of sadness and hopelessness, while mania can make you feel euphoric and full of energy. The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown. Neurotransmitter imbalance plays a role in the development of the disorder, MayoClinic.com reports, as well as in triggering the episodes of mania and/or depression. Bipolar disorder is a health condition that requires lifelong treatment with medications and/or physiological counseling.
Mania and Exercise
Exercise helps stabilize mood and functions as a natural antidepressant. Although exercise makes you feel euphoric, this is different from the euphoria caused by mania. According to Dr. James Phelps, a national expert on bipolar disorder and a founder of PsychEducation.org, exercise does not seem to cause mania. In fact, exercise may be helpful in treating the mood swings of bipolar disorder.
Exercise Vs. Mania
Exercise can make you feel happy, relieve stress and give you that overall satisfied feeling of happiness. Although mania can manifest as a feeling of happiness and euphoria, it can also make you irritable, aggressive, paranoid and cause risky behavior. Bipolar mania can be serious condition that leads to hospitalization. Where endorphins cause the euphoric feeling after exercise, other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, contribute to the manifestations in mania. Consult your doctor if you think you might be exhibiting symptoms of bipolar disorder.
References
- ScienceDaily; Runners' High Demonstrated: Brain Imaging Shows Release Of Endorphins In Brain; March 6, 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Exercise and Stress: Get Moving to Combat Stress; July 23, 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Bipolar Disorder; Jan. 5, 2010
- PsychEducation.org; What Is the Role of Exercise in Bipolar Disorder Treatment?; James Phelps, M.D.; January 2009
- "Bipolar Disorders"; Serotonin in Mania and in the Mechanism of Action of Mood Stabilizers: a Review of Clinical Studies; I.S. Shiah, et al.; June 2000
