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Group exercise 'boosts happiness'

2009-09-16 04:55:50

Exercising together appears to increase the level of the feel-good endorphin

hormones naturally released during physical exertion, a study suggests.

A team from Oxford University carried out tests on 12 rowers after a vigorous

workout in a virtual boat.

Those who trained alone withstood less pain - a key measure of endorphins -

than those who exercised together.

Writing in Biology Letters, the authors speculate these hormones may underpin

an array of communal activities.

Row your boat

It has long been known that physical exertion releases endorphins and that

these are responsible for the sometimes euphoric sensations experienced after

exercising.

They have a protective effect against pain.

But researchers from Oxford University's Institute of Cognitive and

Evolutionary Anthropology found this response was heightened by the synergistic

effect of rowing together.

After 45 minutes of either rowing separately or in a team of six, the

researchers measured their pain threshold by how long they could tolerate an

inflated blood pressure cuff on the arm.

Exercise increased both groups' ability to tolerate pain, but the difference

was significantly more pronounced among the team rowers.

We know from experience that exercising in groups is good for people at many

levels, it's motivational, it's social

Carole Seheult, British Psychological Society

This, they said, was a measure of an increased endorphin release.

As well as potentially improving performance in sport, the researchers

speculated that this endorphin release may be the mechanism that underpins the

sense of communal belonging that emerges from activities such as religious

rituals, dancing or laughing.

"The results suggest that endorphin release is significantly greater in group

training than in individual training even when power output, or physical

exertion, remains constant," said lead author Emma Cohen.

"The exact features of group activity that generate this effect are unknown,

but this study contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that

synchronised, coordinated physical activity may be responsible."

Carole Seheult, a sport and exercise psychologist from the British

Psychological Society, said the findings were entirely credible.

"Rowing is a sport which requires real team work and endorphins could well

foster that process.

"But more generally we know from experience that exercising in groups is good

for people at many levels, it's motivational, it's social. Groups sessions

really do work."