The question at the heart of a lot of running science journalism is the same one that animates fawning celebrity profiles: “What is it that makes you so gosh darn wonderful?” To be fair, it’s a trickier question than it might seem at first glance. Millions of people swear by various forms of endurance exercise, despite the fact that it’s, well, hard. It’s reasonable to wonder what it is, exactly, that we get out running—and how we can get more.
The latest mystery ingredient to catch scientists’ attention is oxytocin, the hormone associated with social bonding and an eclectic mix of other functions in the brain and body. We’ve long associated the feeling of runner’s high with endorphins, though research has also implicated endocannabinoids and GABA, and other lines of research have linked running’s mood-boosting powers to elevated serotonin and its cognitive benefits to BDNF. And that’s just a partial list. Whether oxytocin is yet another beneficial brain chemical whose levels are boosted by a good workout has been a subject of debate for many decades, but a handful of recent studies is bolstering…
