We’ve long known that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, especially for anyone in addiction recovery. Exercise improves your physical and mental health is many ways. Physically, it helps heal the damage done to your cardiovascular system, it helps you maintain a healthy body weight, it encourages you to eat better and get more sleep. Mentally, it improves your mood and executive judgment, which includes functions like self-control, working memory, and concentration. Recent research suggests exercise may also help you beat cocaine addiction. Researchers at the University of Buffalo divided rats into two groups. One group remained sedentary in their cages while the other ran on treadmills for an hour a day, five days a week. When the rats were trained to self-administer cocaine, the researchers found that the rats that had exercised regularly consumed much less cocaine than the sedentary rats. Importantly, the rats that exercised regularly did not respond to stress in the same way as sedentary rats, who typically responded to stress by using cocaine. The team believes this study lends support to the idea that exercise supports addiction recovery by reducing the release of stress hormones like cortisol in difficult situations. That means that people who do regular aerobic exercise don’t just manage stress better, they actually feel less stress. What’s more, the team had previously found that cocaine addiction affects a part of the brain called the limbic system, and regular aerobic exercise reverses this effect. So in addition to lower levels of stress, exercise affects a part of the brain directly related to addiction. This is good news for anyone recovering from addiction, and cocaine in particular. While there are medications that can make it easier to quit alcohol, opioids, and benzodiazepines, there is currently no medication to make quitting cocaine easier. This study shows that exercise can have a powerful physiological impact, comparable to medication. The downside is you actually have to do it, which can be extremely difficult for someone who has just recently quit cocaine. Lethargy, lack of energy, lack of focus, and lack of motivation are typical in people starting recovery after cocaine addiction. It can be hard to get out of bed, much less run for an hour every day. Despite the relatively intense exercise regime in the study, you don’t have to do that much exercise to get benefits. As little as 20 minutes of walking every day will have a significant benefit for most people in terms of reducing stress and improving mood. Also, exercise is not a replacement for a comprehensive recovery plan. People are more complicated than rats. We require a more comprehensive approach to addiction treatment. However, this study is more evidence that regular aerobic exercise should be a part of your recovery plan.
If you’re struggling with substance use, Recovery Ways can help. We offer intensive outpatient treatment as well as residential treatment. Recovery Ways is a premier drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our mission is to provide the most cost-effective, accessible substance abuse treatment to as many people as possible. Request information online or call us today at 1-888-986-7848.
