Exercise and Addiction

No, I'm not talking about being addicted to exercise.  I'm talking about the potential for exercise to help prevent substance abuse or overcome it.  Dr. Nora Volkow, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is planning to study this.  There isn't a great deal of evidence (not much research right now), but here are a few scientific clues:

*Brown University took smokers to the gym three times a week.  They found women were twice as likely to successfully quit if they went to the gym. 

*Exercise acts as a mild antidepressant and stress reliever--depression and stress are risk factors in druge abuse, alcohol abuse, and cigarette smoking.


*Rats where less likely to ingest amphetamines if they had running wheels in their cages.

The above information came from USAToday.com

My Thoughts:

I think there is potential to this research--exercise is good for the mind as well as the body. 


Related Post:  Exercise and Depression