r/science • u/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience • 13d ago

Neuroscience Boosting brain’s waste removal system improves memory in old mice | Researchers found that rejuvenating the lymphatic vessels in the brain enhanced recognition memory and restored synaptic function through an interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway.

https://medicine.washu.edu/news/boosting-brains-waste-removal-system-improves-memory-in-old-mice/
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u/IOnlyLiftSammiches 13d ago edited 13d ago

Could be the difference between those that get a "runner's high" from exercise vs those that don't. If I'm going to have to stay awake for longer than normal (adjusting for swing shifts), I plan for my exercise to take place before the last 6-8 hours of that because it gives me such a mental and physical energy boost.

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u/deanusMachinus 13d ago

Doesn’t everyone get a runner’s high if you run long enough? It just takes 20+ mins of running and most people can’t do that.

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u/TheSpaceCoresDad 13d ago

I run fairly regularly for a lot longer than 20 minutes. I have had runner's high hit me exactly one time, and it was amazing. Never again since then. Always feel like I'm dying by the time I'm done.

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u/ClutchCobra 13d ago

I honestly think some people don't, maybe it's a genetic thing, maybe it's a learned thing, but some are adamant that exercise them discomfort.

And it would really suck for that to be your experience. I couldn't imagine exercising without that rush on endorphins and confidence. It's gotten to the point where my energy levels paradoxically tank on the days I don't exercise. If I'm working a long shift I feel twice as alert throughout the day when I've exercised before

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u/MyFiteSong 13d ago edited 13d ago

There's a high correlation between not receiving the endorphin rush from running and having ADHD. I never believed that high was real until I tried exercising on stimulants.

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u/Primeval_Revenant 13d ago

Back when I was actively exercising regularly there was not a single time where I felt anything but exhaustion and aches. I was just going through it all with the mantra of ‘Do this to be healthy.’ running through my mind constantly and that was NOT encouraging at all. A big factor of why I stopped. It became a greater drain on me than any benefits I was observing (which was probably a purely psychological thing, as there were probably great benefits, but that is just how a mind works).

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u/Toomanydamnfandoms 13d ago

Not everyone does. I used to compete in both long distance and track sprints/relays and I never got my promised runners high :(

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u/IOnlyLiftSammiches 13d ago

Enough people claim that they don't that I have to believe them even if it's not my own experience. I've seen a few studies that also confirm that given the same amount of "work", about 1/3rd of people didn't have the same elevated level of a handful of hormones that the rest did.

20 minutes sounds right for me, and I get it with any sufficiently strenuous physical activity. I think a consistently elevated heart rate might be one of the big triggers for that chemical release; I've not really seen any studies that can nail down exactly what causes it.