A survey suggests that runners across Britain, who exercise regularly, get a natural high from exercise in less than nine minutes.
The YouGov poll of over 2,000 adults was commissioned by the online sports retailer wiggle.co.uk, who were keen to investigate the transition between motivating yourself to exercise and enjoying it once you do. The results of the survey showed that the average running time for this to happen is eight minutes and 28 seconds.
The natural high from exercise has been coined ’youphoria’ by leading sports psychologist Michael Cauldfield and is experienced by millions of men and women every day up and down the country.
Findings suggest women get there faster than men, with women on average achieving that natural high over a minute quicker – nine minutes and seven seconds compared to 10 minutes and 20 seconds for men.
Unsurprisingly, adults between 18-24 years old experience youphoria quickest in under seven minutes. It is those aged between 35-44 who take the longest, at 12 minutes and 47 seconds in comparison to those aged 45-54 who only take seven minutes and four seconds, 81% quicker.
Improving well-being and health is by far the most popular reason to exercise (84%) for runners, whilst not having enough time is the most popular reason not to exercise (33%).
Those who run as their main form of exercise experience the youphoria moment quicker than those who prefer other forms of exercise such as walking or hiking, and exercise classes (runners 8mins 28secs, walkers/ hikers 10mins 35secs, exercise classes 9mins 17secs).
Michael Caulfield, a leading sports psychologist at The Sporting Edge says “It’s something everyone can relate to in what are now very busy lifestyles. It is often easier to think of reasons not to exercise but there is a very distinct moment where your mindset changes and you take action. Once you do, you never look back at running or exercise and say “I wish I hadn’t done that”.
“Different sports provide different psychological challenges and barriers. People are also naturally wired differently, face different lifestyle and environmental challenges and may have different forms of motivation. Research shows that this self-motivation tends to peak between 18-24, so in fact, millenials are more likely to push themselves to get out there and exercise compared to other age groups.”
Dan Staples, Director of Brand Marketing at Wiggle says: “We all know those days when it’s more tempting to hit the snooze button, but as this research shows, the benefits of exercise and sport outweigh any excuses to not get out and get active. “We’d encourage people to push themselves to overcome the mental barriers and reap the rewards of youphoria.”
