Author: John Carter

Exercise and Addiction Recovery Does It Help?

The best way to quit alcohol while avoiding unpleasant withdrawal symptoms is to ask for help. If you have decided that it is in your best interest to stop drinking, one option is to seek help from a family doctor or primary healthcare provider. If your alcohol use has been heavy and chronic, talk to a doctor about medically supervised detox. If you detox at home, talk to a healthcare provider about medications that may help and use self-care strategies to make it easier to cope with uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.

– Eat a balanced diet that includes healthy fruits and vegetables.

Music you used to love may no longer have the same draw while you are using alcohol. You may find a renewed interest in music during your detox and should pursue the distraction it offers from cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Like deep breathing, meditation can help you stay balanced and relaxed during your withdrawal. At times, it’s easy to forget why you entered recovery in the first place. It pulls you out of a reactive state of mind and into a proactive state, which can be a powerful tool in helping treat alcohol withdrawal.

The Importance of Motivation in Understanding the Physical Activity and Alcohol Use Relation

Like all drugs of abuse, alcohol enhances dopamine activity in the mesocorticolimbic pathway (32). Moreover, both acute (33) and repeated (34) administration of alcohol increases endogenous opioids in this neural circuitry. Indeed, the rewarding effects of alcohol may result indirectly from its effects on endogenous opioid activity (35).

Can Exercise Reduce Relapse Risk For People with Alcohol Dependence?

Regular exercise increases levels of oxytocin, which is our trust and bonding hormone. There have been a growing number of stories about individuals who committed to both intense exercise and recovery, and who experienced profound changes in their neurochemistry. No matter what kind of activity you choose, I can promise you that you’ll rewire your brain and improve your sense of life in ways you can’t yet imagine. Ria Health offers several FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder. One factor to remember is that the discomfort of withdrawal is only temporary. This thought process can be a useful mental tool when the physical pain of withdrawal is most severe.

More on Substance Abuse and Addiction

Exercise increases levels of this neurotransmitter, which is produced in response to stress and regulates other neurotransmitters that directly inhibit stress. During this phase, I hadn’t yet devoured the books, articles, and studies about nutrition and supplementation that would allow me to break free from post-acute withdrawal syndrome. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The celebration motive (A) and body image motive (B) are illustrated by these items of clothing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.

1. The idea that physical activity and alcohol consumption are linked is not new.
2. Sixteen of the papers looked at whether people who followed an exercise regimen in addition to typical treatment stopped or significantly reduced their substance use—and in 75% of those studies, they did.
3. After I quit drinking and educated myself about nutrition, the idea of putting toxic ethanol into my stomach began to sound absolutely revolting.
4. Exercise is one excellent option for establishing new habits in recovery.
5. Exercise can be especially helpful during this stage of recovery, and can play a role in helping your body and mind heal themselves long-term.

There’s evidence that this is more likely to happen to people who have another addiction. But we need more research to know if it’s really something that affects people with SUD more the general public. A 2014 meta-analysis also found that exercise can make people more likely to abstain from drug, alcohol, or tobacco use and less likely to experience withdrawal symptoms, leading the authors to conclude that it could be an effective complement to other treatment programs. Now, a new research review suggests physical activity may also help people cut back on drug and alcohol use. Adding physical activity to traditional treatment for substance-use disorder seems to lead to better results, says review co-author Florence Piché, a doctoral candidate in physical activity at the University of Montreal. The initial week of alcohol detox can be harrowing, especially if you’ve been drinking heavily.

Why Exercise is Important in Recovery

With such clear benefits for people who aren’t in recovery, it’s not surprising that exercise can make an especially big difference for people who are giving up drugs or alcohol. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals, like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, can support the body’s recovery. Hydration is also important, so drinking plenty of water and avoiding caffeine is advised.

You may have tried to quit drinking alcohol and discovered that the symptoms you experienced were more severe than you anticipated. Because all of the included studies focused on people in structured treatment programs, it’s not possible to say whether a self-guided exercise routine could help ease substance-use disorder. It’s a complex disease that can be difficult to treat—an estimated 40% to 60% of people relapse at least once—so it’s too simple to suggest that going for a jog can cure it outright.

Does Alcohol Policy Enforcement Decrease Harmful Drinking?

The review, published Apr. 26 in PLOS ONE, examined 43 previously published studies on treatment programs for alcohol or narcotic use (such as residential treatment or supervised detoxification) that included an exercise component. Jogging was the most-studied form of exercise, but some studies also tested yoga, cycling, strength training, walking, and other types of movement. The most common cadence of exercise was three 60-minute sessions per week, but that varied, too. One lingering question is what is the best type of exercise intervention.

Most of the exercise interventions consisted of aerobic exercise (13), five a combination of aerobic, strength training, and stretching, and three tested yoga. Another means by which to increase the success of exercise as an AUD intervention is to clearly distinguish treatment seekers from non-treatment seekers. Indeed, among participants seeking treatment, when the association between exercise and alcohol use is inherent in the intervention, the results of intervention trials in recent years have been positive. Intervention with participants who are not seeking treatment is more complicated, and trials in recent years have been designed with the implicit assumption that getting participants to exercise more would spill over to have a positive impact on reducing their alcohol use. And, the results from early intervention studies, and those from studies incorporating exercise in a more general class of SFAs, have been positive. However, recent studies directly targeting exercise as a means for decreasing alcohol use have not had the desired impact.