If you ask long-distance runners or other endurance athletes what keeps them going, you'll get dozens of answers. Some are driven by a sense of accomplishment or improved health. Others may say they look forward to the feeling it gives them—the high.

In part, your genetics influence whether you'll ever experience a runner's high. An AncestryDNA^® + Traits test can help identify if you have the DNA markers associated with that post-exercise experience.

What Is Runner's High?

Runner's high is a natural phenomenon in which someone experiences a sense of euphoria and calmness during or after intense exercise. So if a long run leaves you feeling great, you could be experiencing the colloquially known runner's high.

The feelings experienced during a runner's high may also impact how you perceive your exertion. If you reach this state, you may feel like the workout is easier than it normally is, which can allow you to exercise more.

While there's no proven way to experience a runner's high, some workouts make it more likely, such as endurance and aerobic exercises. More specifically, the runner's high is a response to prolonged stress, such as endurance running, where you push yourself to run longer than usual.

You don't even have to specifically run to experience a runner's high. In fact, any aerobic endurance exercise can trigger the response as long as you're pushing yourself and keeping your heart rate elevated.

How Genes Influence Runner's High

Interested in the genetic influence on runner's high, the AncestryDNA^® team asked over 242,000 people, "After aerobic exercise, how often do you experience a ‘runner's high?'" (Aerobic exercise was defined for survey takers as, "exercise that gets your heartrate up"; a runner's high was defined as "a feeling of elation.") Respondents' answers were then compared alongside their DNA profiles, resulting in scientists identifying 430 genetic markers related to this unique phenomenon.

With that information, the team calculated a polygenic risk score (PRS), which is used to predict your likelihood of getting a runner's high based on your unique combination of genes. Ancestry^® scientists found that non-genetic or environmental factors appear to have greater influence than genetic ones. Genetic variation only explained about 4% of the differences scientists saw around if (and how often) someone experienced a runner's high.

What Else Do Scientists Say About Runner's High?

Scientists have been fascinated by the runner's high phenomena for decades. Studies have focused on two main neurotransmitters as the potential cause: endorphins (endogenous opioids) and endocannabinoids. Both molecules increase in the bloodstream after long-distance runs. However, recent work found that only endocannabinoids can pass from the blood to the brain and directly impact mood or mental state.

The absence of a relationship between endorphins and runner's high was further clarified by a study in Germany, which outright blocked the body's opioid receptors and found it had no impact on runner's high. In other words, the biological mechanism of the runner's high is complex, but endocannabinoids are the most likely culprit.

Endocannabinoids are quite similar to the cannabinoids produced by marijuana. However, endocannabinoids are naturally produced by the body and enter the bloodstream during exercise.

Interesting Facts About Runner's High

Even if you don't experience a true runner's high during your exercise session, you can still reap the numerous benefits of intense athletic activity from the increased levels of endocannabinoids and endorphins in your bloodstream. Regardless of the method of exercise, you may still walk away from your workout experiencing reduced anxiety and a more positive outlook. In fact, exercise is commonly recommended for its mood-boosting properties. The runner's high is just the cherry on top.

Some people theorise a runner's high is ingrained based on early ancestors' need to hunt to survive, which required running at paces and durations similar to those associated with a runner's high. Interestingly, other animals predisposed to hunting, such as dogs, also show increased levels of endocannabinoids in their blood after jogging-like movement. These facts have shaped the hypothesis that the runner's high may be a biological mechanism to reinforce the exercise levels necessary to hunt and survive.

Have you been running your entire life and never experienced the euphoria-inducing, mood-boosting, stress-reducing impacts of a runner's high? Or perhaps you've been lucky enough to experience it several times over. Either way, you can discover whether you have the associated genetic markers by taking an AncestryDNA^® + Traits test. If you've already taken a test, you can view your results online for over 75 different traits with your Ancestry^® membership.

 

References

Bass, Ray. "What Is Runner's High? Science Explains the Mental Benefits." GoodRx. December 5, 2023. https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/movement-exercise/runners-high.

Boecker, Henning, Till Sprenger, et al. "The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain." Cerebral Cortex. February 21, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhn013.

Boynton, Emily. "What Is a Runner's High — and How Can You Get One?" UW Medicine. September 20, 2021. https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/body/exercise/runners-high.

Fuss, Johannes, Jörg Steinle, et al. "A runner's high depends on cannabinoid receptors in mice." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). September 4, 2015. https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1514996112.

Kelly McGonigal, Kelly. "Why does running give you a high? A look at the science." Apr 28, 2020. TED Talk. https://ideas.ted.com/why-does-running-give-you-a-high-heres-the-science.

Linden, David. "The Truth Behind ‘Runner's High' and Other Mental Benefits of Running." Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-truth-behind-runners-high-and-other-mental-benefits-of-running.

"More evidence that exercise can boost mood." May 1, 2019. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/more-evidence-that-exercise-can-boost-mood.

Nagarkatti, Prakash and Mitzi Nagarkatti. "People produce endocannabinoids – similar to compounds found in marijuana – that are critical to many bodily functions." University of South Carolina. February 22, 2023. https://sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2023/02/conversation_marijuana.php.

Siebers, Michael Siebers, Sarah V. Biedermann, et al. "Exercise-induced euphoria and anxiolysis do not depend on endogenous opioids in humans." Psychoneuroendocrinology. April 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105173.