Researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK have revealed for the first time how changes in brain activity, triggered by physical exercise, can reduce cravings for cigarettes.
Img: Smoker. Credit: Kr.B./flickr
Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the team found the brain processes information differently after exercise, thereby helping smokers manage their addiction.
"Our findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that exercise can help people give up smoking. This strengthens the argument that moderate exercise could be a viable alternative to many of the pharmaceutical products, such as nicotine patches, for people who want to give up smoking," said Kate Janse Van Rensburg, a PhD student at the University of Exeter and lead author on the paper, in a university release.
"A ten or fifteen minute walk, jog or cycle when times get tough could help a smoker kick the habit," she added. "There are of course many other benefits from a more active lifestyle including better fitness, weight loss and improved mood."
Published in the journal Psychopharmacology, the research studied 10 smokers who were asked to undergo 10 minutes of cycling after going without a cigarette for 15 hours. They were then scanned while viewing images including pictures of cigarettes, which would normally induce craving in a smoker. The test was then repeated without the exercise.
The fMRI scan found heightened activity in the reward-processing area of the brain after the showing of the images without exercise. A lower level of activity was found in the scan after exercise and the subjects of the tests backed up the results by reporting less craving after exercise.
Though researchers are unable to pinpoint how physical activity lessens cravings, one theory is that exercise increases blood flow away from the reward-processing centre of the brain.
The research confirms previous studies that showed physical activity to be beneficial in quitting smoking; however this is the first time brains scans have been used, said the university statement.
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