2 ms·
I lifted weights 4 times per week for many years. It got me a lot of attention from the opposite sex, but never helped my depression or anxiety. Then I started
by IAmGraydon 8y ago
I lifted weights 4 times per week for many years. It got me a lot of attention from the opposite sex, but never helped my depression or anxiety. Then I started running, and the effect was undeniable. It’s just one data point, but we evolved to run. I’m convinced it’s something about using your body to do what you were meant to do that helps alleviate anxiety and depression.
- gameswithgo 8y agowe clearly evolved to lift weights too or it wouldn’t work.
- EADGBE 8y agoOr maybe we evolved weights to work for us
- IAmGraydon 8y agoNot quite. That's a bit like saying we evolved to play football or it wouldn't work. Just because we can do it doesn't mean it was a fundamental part of our evolution with a survival mechanism behind it. We evolved to be able to pick things up, but we did not evolve to lift weights in the way one does in the gym. Running, however, was our main mode of taking down prey. The animals we hunted could run faster than us, but they could not sustain it. Humans evolved to be able to sustain running for long enough that the faster prey would eventually get tired and could no longer outpace their hunters. These hunts would take DAYS in many cases. This running endurance was central to our ability to survive, and as with all survival mechanisms, using that trait was and still is hugely rewarding, releasing a flood of dopamine even in modern humans.