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Comment by kazinator | Hacker News Reader

The sense of well-being from endurance exercise such as running is phony, however. You're not solving any problems when you go for a run. (And I don't mean technical problems whereby you figure out some software bug while you're out covering the miles, which is great!)

Well, sure, you're temporarily solving the dependent problem of discomfort from the stress caused by problems, which is a problem itself.

You have to use the sense of well-being as a motivator to actually confront problems when you come back from the roads or trails, rather than as a "drug" to escape from them.

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This comment strikes me as far too cerebral. Exercise has demonstrably positive effects on not just mood (the sense of well-being, as you said), but cognitive function, physical performance, and longevity. If you go for a run in nature, you get a boost in creativity (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....). Exercise is often social and can be used to network.

Exercise isn't just a calorie-intensive vacation for your brain, it's an overall enhancement for life.

Excercise also causes stress. If I go two days without running, I feel in a low, agitated mood while at the same time physically lethargic. All throughout the day I have urge to lie down and take a nap. It's exactly like withdrawal from a drug. It starts on the first day off intensifies on the second day. Even a short run helps; for instance a single hard 800 m repeat. After that I feel normal, like on running days.

The problem goes away after a week or two if I quit completely; it's caused by the exercise.

Basically all the strictly positive stuff you hear, though not wrong in and of itself, is a rather unbalanced view spread by people who don't actually exercise, or not a whole lot.

It's not just the runner's high. I've noticed my mood is dramatically different on weeks I bike to work. The following week if I start driving I think to myself, wow I feel awful. Wow I'm unmotivated.

Physical activity is not just escapism...

Simply feeling better does truly help solve the problem though, because in many cases the problem for a large part is the stress itself. It started with external factors, but then the stress creates a self reinforcing spiral where you don't solve your problems because you're stressed and this makes you more stressed. If exercise can break that spiral that is truly helping.

Not if the problem is, say, ... "I owe the IRS 317,000 dollars".

Studies have shown that long walks and endurance exercise help you process emotions and reduce stress in the long run. By processing emotions more effectively + reducing stress, people are able to better respond to situations in their daily lives.

It's like eating healthy food. It's a habit you take up to help prevent situations from developing.

Years ago I read in a running magazine about the 1993 suicide of runner Barry Brown at age 48. Running injuries and back pain left him unable to run, and he faced financial problems from which he wasn't able to escape anymore by heading out to the trails. This story really stuck in my mind as a lesson about patterns to avoid.

You aren't just a brain in a box. Your body's state affects your cognition. Stressors cannot always be eliminated, but stress is not only a function of stressors - it's a reaction of bodies to stressors.

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