Exercising outdoors 'brings happiness in a group'
16/09/2009 New research has suggested that exercising with other people increases the level of feel-good endorphin hormones naturally released during physical exertion.
Research conducted by a team from Oxford University involved carrying out tests on 12 rowers after a vigorous workout in a virtual boat.
Those who trained alone felt more pain than those who exercised together.
Authors of the research, to be published in Biology Letters, believe the hormones could be fundamental to many communal activities.
Previous studies have shown that taking part in physical exercise releases endorphins which are responsible for the feel good factor that comes after a workout, while they also protect against pain.
Researchers from Oxford University's Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology found both these positive effects to be augmented when competitors rowed together.
"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.
Earlier this week, an expert in the US claimed that exercising outdoors can significantly improve depression.
Gaetano Vaccaro, who works at a psychological treatment centre in California, said that regular, moderate physical activity may lessen depression symptoms as much as some medications, reported the Chicago Tribune.
Research conducted by a team from Oxford University involved carrying out tests on 12 rowers after a vigorous workout in a virtual boat.
Those who trained alone felt more pain than those who exercised together.
Authors of the research, to be published in Biology Letters, believe the hormones could be fundamental to many communal activities.
Previous studies have shown that taking part in physical exercise releases endorphins which are responsible for the feel good factor that comes after a workout, while they also protect against pain.
Researchers from Oxford University's Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology found both these positive effects to be augmented when competitors rowed together.
"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.
Earlier this week, an expert in the US claimed that exercising outdoors can significantly improve depression.
Gaetano Vaccaro, who works at a psychological treatment centre in California, said that regular, moderate physical activity may lessen depression symptoms as much as some medications, reported the Chicago Tribune.
