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Why does running sometimes become an addiction?

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Why does running sometimes become an addiction?

Running can be addictive? An American study argues that it is the motivation for which one runs to create or not the addiction to this physical activity. When you decide to run in a non-competitive way, you need to understand what are the reasons that push a person to face fatigue, even in complicated weather conditions or when you have little time. The results were published in the scientific journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology wanted to investigate how escapism plays a role in motivation to go running. The research team took a cue from a study from the 1990s.

Running can be addictive: Norwegian research

The team recruited 227 non-competitive runners through social media sites. Participants were evenly split in terms of gender, and their running habits and styles varied. Anyone who reported running regularly was sent a study questionnaire to complete. Among the questions were some that investigated the role of avoidance in each participant’s running, the degree to which they were or were not addicted to this form of exercise, and their level of general life satisfaction.

Running can be addictive: half of marathon runners feel addicted

Exercise in general and running in particular are recognized as important to health. However, some people become addicted to it, as described in a 2011 study. A research carried out this time in 1997 revealed that about 25% of recreational runners become addicted to the activity. About 50% of marathon runners feel addicted to the sport.

When do you become addicted?

One 2021 study lists some signs of exercise addiction among athletes:

  • undertaking exaggerated volumes of exercise
  • lack of control over how much they participate in their chosen form of exercise
  • experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they stop exercising
  • having conflicts with family and friends over exercise.
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Running can be addictive: the role of escapism

The new study explicitly speaks of escapism, therefore of escapism from reality. Basically a distraction for the mind through an activity or entertainment. Researchers working at the Norwegian research center said running is a very popular activity. He can be quite addictive, so we wanted to see if he could escapist.

Running succeeds so well in not making us think about anything else or in allowing us to be creative that it stimulates an area of ​​the brain, which is the same as addictions.

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