Don't get addicted to the runner's high

By Ahn Mi Young Nov 9, 2009, 2:08 GMT

Seoul - Gym experts warn that runners should be careful not to become obsessed with their running routines.

In South Korea for example several million people spend at least one hour a day running, walking or riding bikes. According to 2008 data from the Korea Statistics Office, about 38.3 per cent of people aged over 15 tend to exercise at least once a week.

At least 200 marathons are held in the Asian country every year and there are hundreds of bike-riding circles.

Gym experts have said that running or walking for about 30 minutes two or three times a week can keep the doctor away. It has been proven that running generates endorphins in our bodies that give us an energy boost.

It has often been said that running could be a way to reduce suicides in South Korea, where suicide is among the major causes of death.

Like everything else, however, too much of a good thing could cause adverse effects. If you cannot stop running even after you limp with aching knees or joints or if you feel depressed or nervous without running every day, it may be a symptom that running has become an addiction for you.

Doctors say that the endorphins that your body naturally produces from a workout will make you feel the runner's high, easing stress and improving your fitness. If you can control your desire to run, there's no problem.

'In many cases, however, the more frequently you are running or the longer and the harder you are running, the greater desire you would have to be in the runner's high,' said Shin Myung Gang, a doctor at Yonse SK Hospital.

Withdrawal symptoms may appear if you don't exercise for a couple of days. 'You may feel angry, depressed, tense, uncomfortable or even guilty about yourself. These symptoms appear when your desire (for runner's high) take you over,' Doctor Shin said.

The obsession may impact on work and social life. Doctors warn that addicts sometimes cannot sleep well or else eat too much.

The Korea Statistical Office estimates that the country has about one million exercise addicts who would exhibit withdrawal symptoms without their daily workouts.

'The longer you are running, the harder you are walking, the more likely you would be addicted to the runner's high,' Doctor Chun said.

Doctors advise exercise addicts to relax. 'You need to pace yourself when others bolt ahead at unsustainable speeds. Above all, don't let your runner's high desire take over you,' said Cho Bi Ryong, a doctor at Seoul National University-affiliated Hospital.