Addiction alters brain, body, and behavior and often produces persistent insomnia, craving, depression, anhedonia, and anxiety that can last months and precipitate relapse. Short bouts of exercise (10 to 20 minutes) can immediately reduce nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms and show promise for stimulant and alcohol use disorders. Aerobic exercise normalizes dopamine, modulates physiological and behavioral stress responses, lowers stress hormones, and eases withdrawal-related anxiety and negative affect. Exercise reverses anhedonia, improves sleep, helps control anxiety and depression, and functions as an effective adjunctive, relapse-preventive intervention that also reduces cardiovascular and medical risks.
Addiction changes the brain, body, and behavior. Persistent insomnia, craving, depression, anhedonia, and anxiety may continue for months after sobriety, often leading to relapse. While we search for medications and treatments to set the clock back to pre-addiction, researchers have shown that regular exercise is a major plus. But many people, even doctors, don't realize exercise helps considerably with addiction recovery, as well as anxiety and depression.
Preclinical lab studies from Professor Panayotis "Peter" K. Thanos, PhD, senior research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Buffalo, New York, have provided compelling evidence that aerobic exercise is effective as an adjunctive, relapse-preventive intervention in addiction. Exercise helps normalize dopamine and physiological and behavioral stress responses and reduces stress hormones while easing withdrawal-related anxiety and negative affect.
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