Extreme Sports: Could it be a healthy replacement for addiction?
Humans have a distinct window that brings them personal thrills and rewards. This varies greatly among people from being thrilled at a watching symphony, to riding a roller coaster. For some conflict takes them to the edge of their comfort zone and others it is a physical fight (Sherman, 2021). For a portion of the population the thrills are extreme and can result in maladaptive behaviors such as addictions. Impulse related activities such as drug use or gambling help some individuals reach their thrill level. Life may be flat for some and needed are activities that stimulate them.
Rewards
These thrilling activities activate the reward system of which one part is releasing dopamine. The reward system consists of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators working together to produce a reward. This is a part of the dopagenic system (Blum, 2014). People with reward deficiency may not be able to feel pleasure unless their receptors are stimulated with large amounts of dopamine (Sherman, 2021).
Anticipation
Just the anticipation of receiving an award produces a dopamine release. The dopamine impact will be there until the reward has been received. Therefore, planning also is releasing dopamine.
Webber et. al. (2010) showed in a study with mice that dopamine is stimulated in anticipation of a reward. He also showed dopamine increased when rats were shown an unconditioned stimulus and also when the stimulus was associated with the reward. The anticipation of a reward in impulsive related stimuli, such as drugs, illicit sexual encounters or money can start the dopamine cycle in the planning of the reward. This could explain why the planning, to meet a lover in an affair, can be as thrilling as the actual encounter.
One possible explanation of this system is shown in a study by Weber et. al. (2020) that measured the anticipation of an award using an fMRI. The conclusion was that the subcortical limbic structure is active in even the anticipation of an award. This anticipation also activates prefrontal brain regions, which involves the NAcc, thalamus, striatum, prefrontal cortex, and ACC (Weber et. al., 2020). Burgdorf et. al. (2001) also showed this as well in his study on rats.
Sensation Seeking
Berse et. al. (2015) showed physical exercise can improve the dopamine system in an unselected sample of adolescents. Intense physical exercise improved the dopamine system by a large margin. Berse et. al. (2015) showed even intense exercise lasting only 10–14 minutes proved to improve dopamine.
If just exercise an induce this system what about thrilling sports? Could they elicit that same anticipation and dopamine release through novel activities? This could be a replacement for the unhealthy rewards that are being sought through unhealthy activities. Sensation-seeking in some sports can be characterized as, novel. Anticipation of the risk for the sake of experiencing the sensations could start the dopamine release (Schneider, 2021). This is the same system that is activated when seeking or planning illicit activity.
Zuckerman (1990) suggests that high sensation seekers may have low levels of dopamine. This suggest that novel events in extremes sports could be the seeking of the dopamine response. Zuckerman (1990) said risk was a necessary proponent of the activity for sensations to occur. He believed risk was not the main goal that clients were going for but the novel intense experience.
High Risk Sports
Schneider (2007) interviewed extreme adventure racers, regarding risk and reward. An expedition adventure racer participates in races that are up to nine days long with a running clock. The activities participated in can be mountain biking, mountaineering, white water rafting, rock climbing and more. Teams of four must navigate a course of 300-500 miles with no support. Adventure racing has extreme risk from the sports involved to exposure on the mountain. Schneider (2007) showed interviewees experience risk in the sport, however the set up and anticipation of minimizing that risk was also exciting.
Brevik (1996) showed sensation and risk taking in sport is the seeking of intense sensation. Zuckerman (1994) found that to receive that thrill, there is a risk that is taken. For some with lower dopamine this may be a big risk, where for some it is little risk. Weis (1987) showed novel experience are produced in part by activating the dopamine system.
The actual doing of the sport is not the only rewarding part. The planning is as well. Planning to jump out of a plain, or for an expedition adventure race also can stimulate the dopamine system. Boga (1988) interviewed high risk athletes and found fear was an acceptable feeling for these athletes.
Support for Extreme Sports
If one has a propensity to go after these thrilling adventures, perhaps they could be guided to participate in high thrilling sports. This would be different for each person but knowing this could be a possible outlet for thrills, could help one steer away from the thrill seeking of illicit behaviors. Further research will need to be done to see if this is a viable option, but it certainly opens up exciting opportunities for alternative thrilling, rewarding, dopamine producing behaviors.
Conclusion
This paper sought to look at the possibility of an alternative for those who are sensation seeking and finding that through illicit activities. This alternative activity could be the thrill and risk of extreme sports, particularly indoor extreme sports. It is proposed that this may be a replacement activity that stimulates dopamine, and therefore one would not need to participate in illicit behaviors for this dopamine release. Further studies would need to be done to validate this proposal.
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