“Addiction” may be over-stating it, but I will confess to two somewhat obsessive habits - reading and working out. Sometimes I indulge both of these compulsions at the same time, e.g., by reading on the elliptical trainer or exercise bike. So naturally I was drawn to an article in Sunday’s New York Times, Addicted to Exercise? by Nicholas Kristof.
Kristof discusses a book by David J. Linden, The Compass of Pleasure, which I have dutifully added to my reading list. “Exercise seems to trigger the release of chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins (the brain’s version of opium) and endocannabinoids (the brain’s version of marijuana). In the lab, rats can develop an addiction to exercise on a wheel.”
I’m going to the gym now.
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