Endorphins
Endorphins are endogenous opioid peptides released in response to pain, stress, and exertion, acting at mu-opioid receptors to blunt pain and produce well-being. They underlie phenomena such as the "runner’s high" and pain relief during injury, and interact with the brain’s reward circuitry. They are a core part of the body’s natural analgesic and mood-regulating system.
Too little may be associated with
Increased pain sensitivity
Too much may be associated with
Reduced pain perception, euphoria
Informational only — not medical advice.
Stimuli that influence it
Functions
Dysfunctions
Substances
Behaviors
- Adventure sports (↑)
- Aerobic exercise (↑)
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (↑)
- Cycling (↑)
- Dancing (↑)
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT) (↑)
- Laughing (↑)
- Laughter with friends (↑)
- Listening to favorite music (↑)
- Playing music (↑)
- Pornography (↑)
- Resistance training (↑)
- Running (↑)
- Sauna (↑)
- Sex (↑)
- Singing (↑)
- Swimming (↑)
- Walking outdoors (↑)
Books (27)
A User's Guide to the Brain
Affective Neuroscience
Alcohol Explained
Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book 4th Edition
Breathe: A Life in Flow
Chasing the Scream
Drill to Win: 12 Months to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Drinking: A Love Story
Driven to Distraction
Guitar Zero: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Jiu-Jitsu University
Mastering Jujitsu
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Never Enough
Pathophysiology of pain perception
Perceptions of Pain
Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
The Biology of Desire
The Black Belt Blueprint: An Intelligent Approach to Jiu Jitsu
Podcasts
- Flow Research Collective Radio
Conversations on the neuroscience of flow and peak performance.
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Research (148)
- High intensity interval training for Parkinson's disease: A scoping review of systemic effects and physiological adaptations Sivaramakrishnan et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Diagnosis and Management of Resistant Hypertension: A Review Azizi et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, Opioid Withdrawal, and Opioid Overdose: A Review Harris et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Biochemistry, Endorphin Chaudhry et al. (2026) PubMed ↗
- Exercise biomarkers Siebers et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Plasma levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol in sarcopenia: comparison with non-sarcopenic individuals and the impact of resistance exercise and nutrition interventions Chang et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Distinct Swimming Behavioral Phenotypes Following Serotonin and Dopamine Transporter Modulation in the Adult Zebrafish Novel Tank Diving Test (NTT) Farías-Cea et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Combined aerobic and resistance exercise training restores perivascular adipose tissue function in the thoracic aorta of rats with heart failure Fontes et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Optimizing Restless Legs Syndrome Care: Integrating Rehabilitation into Multimodal Management Younas et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- The molecular basis of music-induced neuroplasticity in humans: A systematic review Kunikullaya et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- About Sugar Addiction Guo et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- The Effects of Omega-3 Supplementation Combined with Strength Training on Neuro-Biomarkers, Inflammatory and Antioxidant Responses, and the Lipid Profile in Physically Healthy Adults Okut et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- High-intensity interval training exercise decreases brain CB1 receptor levels in male and female adult rats Tyler et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Dual neuromodulatory dynamics underlie birdsong learning Qi et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Natural behaviour is learned through dopamine-mediated reinforcement Kasdin et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
Links
Recovery resources
For stimuli that influence Endorphins. Not medical advice — see all recovery resources.
SAMHSA National Helpline (US) · crisis
Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families (ACA/ACoA) · family & friends support
Al-Anon Family Groups · family & friends support
Co-Anon Family Groups · family & friends support
COSA · family & friends support
CoSLAA · family & friends support
Families Anonymous (FA) · family & friends support
Nar-Anon Family Groups · family & friends support
- Celebrate Recovery · general recovery
SMART Recovery · general recovery
Dual Recovery Anonymous (DRA) · mental & emotional health
Compulsive Eaters Anonymous - HOW (CEA-HOW) · process addiction
Food Addicts Anonymous (FAA) · process addiction
- Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) · process addiction
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) · process addiction
Porn Addicts Anonymous (PAA) · process addiction
Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) · process addiction
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) · process addiction
Sex and Porn Addicts Anonymous (SPAA) · process addiction
Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) · process addiction
Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA) · process addiction
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) · substance abuse
Heroin Anonymous (HA) · substance abuse
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) · substance abuse
- Pills Anonymous (PA) · substance abuse