The Secret to Living Is Giving

Linden reels the lead runners in on Heartbreak hill

That's a famous quote by Anthony Robbins. And boy is he right!

When Sports Solutions was still at Amoy Street, I'd often notice there were some elderly people collecting used drink cans, cardboard and newspapers to sell.  I asked them how much they got for the cans and newspapers. In case you're interested, it's one dollar for a kilogram of aluminium drink cans and 20 cents for a kilogram of paper or cardboard.

One afternoon while walking back to the clinic from buying my lunch from the Amoy Street Food Centre, I saw an elderly lady struggling with some cardboard. I immediately helped her and offered her some money. She refused my offer so I offered her my lunch instead. She accepted the lunch. I remember feeling good that at least I helped her with a meal.

I'd almost forgotten about that incident until I read about Boston 2018 marathon winner Des Linden's generous act. Linden told 2017 New York marathon winner, Shalane Flanagan that chances are she may drop out (of the race) and offered to block the wind or adjust the pace for Flanagan. After Flanagan took a now famous toilet break near the halfway mark, Linden waited for her and they both then caught up with the elite pack later.

After helping Flanagan back to the pack, Linden also helped Molly Huddle. Helping Flanagan and Huddle somehow distracted Linden from her own plans to give up and she started feeling better. After realizing she was in fourth position then, she figured she probably shouldn't drop out.

Your brain releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin when you help someone according to research (Sprouse-Blum et al 2010). All these hormones are great to have during a race. Endorphins help reduce pain, dopamine increases motivation and focus and serotonin boosts your mood.

So those surge of hormones probably helped Linden turn her race around.

In Linden's case, there may be oxytocin released too. Our brain releases oxytocin when you feel a bond with another person. This bond reminds you that you're not alone in your suffering. This may help you focus on the bigger picture, not how bad you feel at that moment. Linden later confirmed this post-race when she said, "Today was bigger than one person, it was really all of us pushing each other."

Sports psychologists will explain this as an example of disassociation which means Linden stopped thinking about how terrible she felt during the race and started to think beyond her pain. This helped reduce her perception of fatigue. An excellent example is how you suddenly feel better when your favorite song comes on when you're running. For that moment you've stopped paying attention to the pain and discomfort.

Associative thinking means you are thinking about your performance, checking your form and pace.

So how can you apply that to your own race? Try cheering on a fellow runner or team mate who's struggling or exchanging high-fives with them or even spectators along the course. This will help you feel more connected to them. That can help you boost your mood and in turn, your performance.

Capitalize on the surge of hormones to be positive for the rest of the race.

Chapeau to Linden for her selfless acts of sportsmanship, she thoroughly deserved her win.


Reference

Sprouse-Blum AS, Smith G el al (2010). Understanding Endorphins And Their Importance In Pain Management. Hawaii Med J. 69(3): 70-71.

Running Reduces Your Desire For Money

Did the title get your attention? Sure did get mine. How is this possible?  Well, there have been published studies to show that aerobic exercise can suppress our desire to eat, lessen the urge of a smoker to smoke etc. But money? Do we want less money after running? You gotta be kidding me. Please read on to find our more.

A group of German researchers conducted the following study. 48 men were randomly divided in two groups. One group ran at low to moderate intensity on a treadmill for 30 minutes. The other group performed light stretching and doing arm circles (or placebo exercises). The subjects played a monetary incentive game an hour after exercise while an MRI monitored their brain activity. The subjects had to press buttons as quickly as possible in order to win an euro or prevent themselves from losing an euro. Each subject had to do this 75 times.

The researchers found that the men who had ran earlier had lower cravings for cash. This is likely due to the rush of dopamine (a feel good chemical) that follows exercise (which explains the runner's high too). Dopamine is a driving force in your brain's reward system. Although the desire for money also comes with a rise in dopamine levels, the spike triggered after exercise overrides it, well, at least for a few hours.

Now I know why when I was younger (and training/ running a lot harder) that money wasn't that important to me. All I wanted to do then was to be the best athlete that I could be. So if you're thinking of going to the casino to try your luck, don't run before that.

Email me if you want a copy of the article.

Reference
Bothe N, Zschucke E, Dimeo F et al (2013). Acute Exercise Influences Reward Processing In Highly Trained and Untrained Men. Med and Sci in Sports and Ex. 45(3): 583-591.

*Photo by Francis Loh.