Coach’s Corner: How to Get A Healthy High

Want a healthy high that also makes you proud

How would you like to go out and get a healthy high with your friends and feel proud of yourself afterward? What if you could get an unlimited supply of safe, free drugs that are legal in all 50 states? Would you do it?

Getting a healthy high is possible

If you’re thinking, Yes, but what’s the catch?” The catch is you to have to do some work in order to enjoy those free, safe, and legal drugs and get that high.  That work is moderate sustained aerobic exercise. You need to do any activity that gets your heart rate up for at least 30-40 minutes to get the initial benefits.  If work out regularly, there are even more benefits.  And it’s not just physical health. The emotional and mental health benefits are significant too.  

How do you get that euphoric feeling naturally

It’s when your own brain gives you what you need to be euphoric. It’s natural and free. Every time you exercise, your brain chemistry changes for the better.  Your brain starts manufacturing more of what makes you feel good.  Here is what you can experience every time you keep your heart rate up (high enough that you need to take a breath after every few words if you are speaking) for at least half an hour:

• Bliss & Joy: Exercise releases anandamide, a neurotransmitter that binds to the same receptors as the psychoactive ingredient (THC) in marijuana.
• Pain Control: Endorphins produced during exercise reduce the perception of physical pain as well as emotional pain.
• Connection: Oxytocin can help overcome the tendency to isolate that is so often associated with addiction. Sometimes called the love hormone, this neurochemical increases the desire to bond. 
• Mood Enhancement: The serotonin released during exercise is chemically identical to the active ingredient in many antidepressants.  The benefit is that it comes without all the side effects of those medications.
• Anxiety Reduction: Exercise is a great distraction from whatever is worrying you.
• Stress Relief: Releasing all of that mental and emotional energy through physical activity can be enormously therapeutic.  It can create a sense of inner calm afterward.

These are some of the immediate effects of a healthy high, but there are more 

Think how good you will feel about yourself if you start exercising regularly. Over time, you will learn that you have the power to improve your mood any time you want. You will be a happier, stronger, and more confident version of yourself.

Give it a try! You have nothing to lose, other than negativity, and so much to gain.