You’ll often hear people talk about feeling a rush of energizing endorphins after intense aerobic activities such as running. Recent research however has revealed that the euphoria experienced during exercise is actually linked to the human made version of a chemical in the brain similar to the endocannabinoids found in marijuana. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg medical school in Mannheim, Germany, conducted a study on mice where they blocked the endorphins of the mice during exercise and found they were still expressing signs of the classic “runners high.” When endocannabinoids were blocked however, the results were not the same. In fact, endorphins have been identified as too large to cross into the brain through the blood, therefore the discovery of the relation of the runners high to endocannabinoids is a great revelation. At last, the great feeling all of us runners have been experiencing is a scientifically proven natural “high.” Time to grab my sneakers!