Physical activity elevates your mood. All four neurochemicals responsible for influencing moods, including dopamine, are positively affected by any form of exercise, helping you to feel satisfied and happy. However, where dopamine is concerned, there are two types of sports that can induce dopamine elevation: long-distance, low- to moderate-intensity sports; and extreme sports involving high risk and daredevilry.
Dopamine
Dopamine is the neurochemical responsible for your sleep cycle and your sense of reward, motivation and pleasure. Dopamine works hand-in-hand with the neurochemical serotonin, which is also affected by sleep patterns and is responsible for satiety, as well as for improving your mood after exercising or playing sports. Dopamine can become depleted by stress, anxiety, starvation, low-carbohydrate diets and intense trauma.
Long Duration
Dopamine can be elevated by long-duration exercise at moderate intensity, or during sports like cycling, long-distance running, hiking, yoga and swimming, according to counselor and personal trainer Claire Dorotik MA, MFTI. The explosive movements required in some sports, by contrast, generate an increase in the neurochemicals epinephrine and adrenaline, which are responsible for the response you feel when you get stressed or scared. The slower-paced, more moderate activity sports are more likely to produce a solid, uninterrupted night's sleep, says Dorotik.
Extreme
The other type of sports that produce an increase in dopamine are extreme sports that involve an element of danger, such as bungee jumping, skydiving or downhill skiing. Dopamine provides you with the "high" you feel when you engage in risky or reckless activities. Chronic risk-takers or extreme sports enthusiasts tend to have a higher saturation of dopamine in the brain, making some people predisposed to excessive thrill-seeking, according to 2008 research published in "The Journal of Neuroscience."
Motivation
Sports and regular exercise require a certain amount of motivation to maintain consistency. Dopamine is responsible for motivation and the feeling of reward or satisfaction. Although dopamine can play a key role in keeping you motivated to stay physically active via the chemically induced emotional responses you feel, it may also play a future role in a healthier aging processes, treatment for Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and drug abuse, according to research discussed in "Scientific American" in September 2008.
References
- ClaireDorotik.com; Exercise and Mood; Claire Dorotik, MA
- "Scientific American"; The Dope on Dopamine's Central Role in the Brain's Motivation and Reward Networks; Tabitha M. Powledge; September 2008
- Time.com; Why We Take Risks -- It's the Dopamine; Alice Park; December 2008
- "The Journal of Neuroscience"; Midbrain Dopamine Receptor Availability Is Inversely Associated With Novelty-Seeking Traits in Humans; David H. Zald, et al.; December 2008
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