I am wondering if anyone has noticed a correlation between type of workout and what kind of mood they are in afterward. Sometimes when we get over-the-top kick sets I end up feeling totally drained, and not in a good way. Often when we do a sprint oriented workout I feel really pumped afterward, even if I got nauseous while swimming. After a long slow distance workout I'll be totally exhausted, but in a good way. Sometimes I'm so tired I can barely lift my arms to shampoo my hair but I feel great, last night I just wanted to be put out of my misery.
Do you find that certain types of workouts put you in certain types of moods?
At the risk of boring y'all, I did an article on antidepressants--especially the new SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) a couple years back, and the sidebar for the main feature was on so-called hippocampal neurogenesis--i.e., the idea that new neurons can be stimulated to regrow in a key part of the brain called the hippocampus (greek for seahorse, which this structure allegedly resembles.)
These drugs can trigger this regrowth, but exercise also does a fine job. This excerpt is a wee bit dated, but those of you interested in brain physiology might find it interesting to consider the next time you're swimming laps that your efforts are conceivably beefing up your brain simultaneously, offering at least some inoculation to depression:
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...it now appears that by effectively boosting either of these two key neurotransmitters, antidepressants can stimulate neurogenesis, which, in turn, results in a reduction in anxious behavior. Already, other researchers are planning to study drugs like Cymbalta and Effexor that effect both serotonin and norepinephrine to see if the double-whammy approach indeed works even better.
Though Duman says it's still too early to say for sure that the mystery about antidepressant lag time has been definitively solved, the "neurogenesis hypothesis" is generating tremendous excitement--and hope for novel interventions--among researchers. Hen , for his part, has reportedly started a company to look for new drugs that specifically promote neurogenesis. The hope, at least, is that by bypassing a more systemic approach, side effects like impaired sexual performance might become a thing of the past.
"We used to consider the brain as a hard wire computer kind of deal, but it's really a very adaptive and plastic organ," says Duman. "Even in someone who has been severely stressed, hippocampal atrophy might prove reversible with the correct treatment."
SNRI drugs like Cymbalta, for instance, which promote neurogenesis through both the serotonin and norepinephrine systems, may prove especially effective. But it turns out a simple drug-free technique can do an excellent job, as well: exercise. "Give a mouse a running wheel, and they will run for 8 or 10 miles a night," says Duman. "Over a course of a few weeks, they'll also enjoy a doubling in the rates of neurogenesis."
In coming years, researchers will surely gain ever more sophisticated insights into the causes--and remedies--for mood disorders. Until then, a depressed guy's best option seems clear: take medicine if you need it but don't forget to head to the gym. It's the best way to build a healthy body and a healthy brain.
At the risk of boring y'all, I did an article on antidepressants--especially the new SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) a couple years back, and the sidebar for the main feature was on so-called hippocampal neurogenesis--i.e., the idea that new neurons can be stimulated to regrow in a key part of the brain called the hippocampus (greek for seahorse, which this structure allegedly resembles.)
These drugs can trigger this regrowth, but exercise also does a fine job. This excerpt is a wee bit dated, but those of you interested in brain physiology might find it interesting to consider the next time you're swimming laps that your efforts are conceivably beefing up your brain simultaneously, offering at least some inoculation to depression:
---------------------------------------
...it now appears that by effectively boosting either of these two key neurotransmitters, antidepressants can stimulate neurogenesis, which, in turn, results in a reduction in anxious behavior. Already, other researchers are planning to study drugs like Cymbalta and Effexor that effect both serotonin and norepinephrine to see if the double-whammy approach indeed works even better.
Though Duman says it's still too early to say for sure that the mystery about antidepressant lag time has been definitively solved, the "neurogenesis hypothesis" is generating tremendous excitement--and hope for novel interventions--among researchers. Hen , for his part, has reportedly started a company to look for new drugs that specifically promote neurogenesis. The hope, at least, is that by bypassing a more systemic approach, side effects like impaired sexual performance might become a thing of the past.
"We used to consider the brain as a hard wire computer kind of deal, but it's really a very adaptive and plastic organ," says Duman. "Even in someone who has been severely stressed, hippocampal atrophy might prove reversible with the correct treatment."
SNRI drugs like Cymbalta, for instance, which promote neurogenesis through both the serotonin and norepinephrine systems, may prove especially effective. But it turns out a simple drug-free technique can do an excellent job, as well: exercise. "Give a mouse a running wheel, and they will run for 8 or 10 miles a night," says Duman. "Over a course of a few weeks, they'll also enjoy a doubling in the rates of neurogenesis."
In coming years, researchers will surely gain ever more sophisticated insights into the causes--and remedies--for mood disorders. Until then, a depressed guy's best option seems clear: take medicine if you need it but don't forget to head to the gym. It's the best way to build a healthy body and a healthy brain.
