A closer look
Runner's high is not just a psychological illusion, but rather it is actually caused by the release of endocannabinoids, which are biochemical compounds naturally produced by the human body that closely resemble the active ingredient in cannabis; when you engage in intense, prolonged cardiovascular exercise, these chemicals flood your bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier to reduce pain and trigger feelings of intense euphoria, meaning evolution essentially built a tiny, illegal dispensary inside your central nervous system to trick you into running away from predators without immediately collapsing in agony, though of course, you have to endure thirty minutes of lung-burning, soul-crushing treadmill torture just to get a mild buzz, making it the most exhausting and inefficient way to get high while feeling like a sick joke that our bodies possess the chemical formula for free bliss but demand we pay for it with intense physical suffering and embarrassing sweat stains
