The Persistence High

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The runner's high is the brain chemistry that kicks in when you've been active at a modern intensity for about 20 minutes or so. When it's naturally activated through exercise, this increase in endocannabinoids dials down everything going on in your brain that we could call suffering. And then also amplifies anything good that might be going on. It makes you feel empowered and hopeful.

Pay a visit to your local gym, observe the grimacing patrons as they pound the treadmill or march in place on the StairMaster, and you might conclude that exercise is no fun. But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to Kelly McGonigal, who lectures at Stanford, teaches dance classes, and wrote “The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage.” Today, she explains how exercise — of all kinds and in all doses — can strengthen your mind, elevate your mood, and deepen your social connections.