Why people who work out tend to drink more than those who don’t

DO you crave a cold beer after a
gruelling workout? Long for a chilled
glass of wine in the wake of an
intensive exercise class?
Two new studies have revealed you
may not be alone, after scientists
discovered a link between physical
activity and craving alcohol.
And, they found the key lies in the fact
both exercise and your favourite tipple,
stimulate the same rewards system in
the brain.
A team of researchers at Pennsylvania
State University, United States (US)
found people who engage in more
physical activity consume more alcohol
on average than their less-active peers.
The first study, by Pennsylvania
scientists, was published in the journal
Health Psychology, while the second
was published in the journal Frontiers
in Psychiatry.
The study added: “People drank more
than usual on the same days that they
engaged in more physical activity than
usual.”
The study analysed 150 adults – aged
between 19 and 89 years old – over the
course of three 21-day periods.
At the end of each day, the participants
reported on their physical activity and
alcohol consumption.
Daily deviations in exercise were
‘significantly associated’ with daily
total alcohol use, the researchers
noted.
The participants drank ‘more than
usual on the same days’ that they
engaged in longer than normal
workouts.
Researchers said their results did not
differ across age or sex, and concluded
alcohol consumption is therefore not
driven by either factor.
Having noted a distinct link between
exercise and a tendency to drink more,
a team of scientists took issue a step
further – investigating why it happens.
A team at the University of Houston
found though the two activities may
appear at two ends of a healthy living
spectrum, they both trigger the same
reward system in the brain.
They found alcohol and exercise are
both stimuli that invoke activity in the
brain’s mesocorticolimbic pathway –
otherwise known as its reward
circuitry.
The circuitry – or electric circuit – first
evolved in humans to respond to
natural rewards that promote survival,
including exercise, sex and food.
The researchers noted exercise is a
natural reward, increasing the release
of dopamine and other feel-good
neurotransmitters, including
serotonin.
In contrast, alcohol is an artificial
stimulant, triggering the neural reward
system.
The scientists said since both trigger
overlapping effects on the brain’s
reward system, it is ‘conceiviable’ that
people who are not addicted to exercise
or alcohol can engage in both activities
moderately on a regular basis to derive
a prolonged positive effect.
The study said: “The positive
association between physical activity
and alcohol intake may initially appear
paradoxical, as physical activity is
regarded as a healthy behavior and
excess alcohol use tends to be
categorized as an unhealthy behavior.”