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Resolving to quit smoking in 2018? Better lace up your sneakers.
Researchers at St. George’s University of London have found that even moderate exercise reduces the severity of nicotine withdrawal. They also discovered an increased activation in a brain receptor that is a target of nicotine.
They drew their conclusions after studying nicotine-treated mice. Those that spent time on the exercise wheel showed far fewer symptoms of withdrawal compared to a sedentary group.
“We demonstrate for the first time a profound effect of exercise on ... nicotine-dependent animals, irrespective of exercise intensity,” the authors wrote. The study was published online in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
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