Thaindian News

London, May 4 (IANS) Exercising so hard that you feel your muscles burn is not only good for the body but also for the mind.

Psychiatrists believe that mood improves after vigorous exercise, a phenomenon known as the “runner’s high,” because it triggers the release of pain-reducing endorphins.

Nickolas Smith of Manchester Metropolitan University’s department of sport science said: “These results have implications for the recommended intensity of exercise required to produce the ‘feel good factor’ often experienced following exercise.

“There are also implications regarding how people new to regular exercise should expect to feel during the exercise itself if they are to experience post-exercise mood benefits,” Smith said, according to the Telegraph.

Researchers drew their conclusions after studying a group of people who were asked to take part in two 20-minute long work-outs, one moderately intensive and one highly intensive.

The mood of the participants was measured before, during, immediately after and 20 minutes after each work out.

They found volunteers exhibited no mood improvements after moderate exercise. However, 20 minutes after the end of the strenuous work-out, which got them breathing heavily and their muscles burning, the participants reported feeling more positive.

These results were presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Glasgow in Britain.