The Happiness Effect

Most of us have heard the term “runner’s high”, but what exactly does this mean? Exercise creates chemical responses in the brain, which leads to both temporary and long-term mental health benefits. Here is how it works:

What happens when we are stressed?

Cortisol: This stress hormone (压力荷尔蒙) is linked to mood, motivation and fear. It also alters immune system (免疫系统) responses and suppresses the digestive system (消化系统).

Adrenaline: This stress hormone raises your heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and boosts energy stores.

Hypothalamus: This region of the brain is the body’s natural alarm system which stimulates the production of cortisol and adrenaline.

Hippocampus: Too much cortisol short-circuits (使……中断) cell production in the brain’s hippocampus region, damaging thought organization and memory formation.

Feeling overwhelmed? Hit the gym!

As your heart begins to pound, your brain chemistry reacts almost immediately to get you feeling better both physically and mentally.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF): BDNF protects the brain from emotional disorders and repairs damage from stress and depression.

GABA: Exercise lowers stress levels, which triggers the release of this calming neurotransmitter (神经递质). Frequent boosts of GABA build immunity to stress, enhancing your ability to take on life’s challenges.

Endocannabinoids: These natural chemical compounds play a role in processing appetite, pain sensation, mood and memory. They are very closely related to the active ingredients of the cannabis (大麻) plant.

Endorphins: Endorphins naturally get most of the credit for feelings of extreme happiness, but they play only a small part in the exercise-induced rush. These pain fighting peptides increase with as little as 20 minutes of exercise.

【小题1】Which of the following statements is true?

A．During a 1000m race, one’s adrenaline level will stay still.

B．When someone came across a roaring dog, his or her hypothalamus may be simulated.

C．Cortisol is a hormone that can deal with stress efficiently.

D．Bad mood will not hurt the hippocampus region any way.

【小题2】Which of the following hormones functions little when someone comes to a terrible failure?

A．Brain derived neurotropic factor.	B．GABA.
C．Endocannabinoids.	D．Endorphins.

【小题3】Where can we probably find this passage?

A．In a scientific journal.

B．In an advertisement about medical product.

C．In a nutritional biochemistry magazine.

D．In a sport magazine.