Trying to figure out my dream

Dreams are strange things, if you think of it.  They are so strange that some people devote a lifetime to studying them.  I'm thinking about dreams this morning because I woke up thinking of a word that I have probably never spoken in my life.  Yes, you heard that right.  Why would I ever have had an occasion to say "endorphin" unless it was in a school science class?  Yet, I woke up spelling it out to myself so I wouldn't forget the word:  E-N-D-O-R-P-H-I-N.  Okay, let's define that word.

Word of the Day

en·dor·phin /ˌenˈdôrfēn/ noun = any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions.  They are peptides which activate the body's opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.

What?!?  My first degree was a double major:  (1) in Philosophy and Religion and (2) in English.  I did not major in science, though I took all the science classes I could because it does interest me:  biology, chemistry, physics.  Now I need to look up more definitions, just to know what I'm seeing in this definition.  But first let's look at the plural.

Word of the Day (plural)

"Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers.  Endorphins are released by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in response to pain or stress, this group of peptide hormones both relieves pain and creates a general feeling of well-being."

Or this from Wikipedia:

"Endorphins are endogenous opioid neuropeptides and peptide hormones in humans and other animals.  They are produced and stored in the pituitary gland.  The classification of molecules as endorphins is based on their pharmacological activity, as opposed to a specific chemical formulation."

I can see now this could get pretty involved, trying to suss out the word and why it was in my dream at all.  Okay, first I'll define the phrase "suss out":

suss out = British, informal: to find or discover (something) by thinking.  Or to put it simply = figure out.  Example:  "They had to suss out whether he was telling the truth."

Yesterday, I took the first exercise class I have had in two years, not since the beginning of lockdown in 2020.  All our public spaces were closed on March 16, 2020.  At the time, I had just begun a class in Chair yoga.  We had done only one class of the six that were planned.  I taught myself how to Zoom so I could help our teacher figure out how to do a Zoom class.  Over these past two years of the pandemic, I have taken a couple of online exercise classes (though not from that teacher).  But still, I did not do nearly the amount of exercising I had been doing, when some of us also met on Friday afternoons to lead our own exercise class.

That's the long way to say, I'm out of shape.  When an elderly body spends a couple of years, mostly alone in her apartment, she gets very out of shape!  Therefore, after a half hour of pushing this ole body to do what the nimble instructor did during our "Music and Movement" class, I was achy.  I could really feel it last night.  I fell asleep aware of muscles complaining and woke up with the word "endorphins" and a desire to remember the word. I looked online for an illustration for "endorphins," and found this:

How weird is this?  The illustration is an exercise class!  The participants are younger than the elderly folks in my class yesterday, here in my senior retirement center.  We stand behind our chairs, putting a hand (or two) on the chair to keep from falling as we bend and twist.  I notice that the girl on the right needs a chair to keep from falling.

Can you read the five benefits mixed in among the people exercising?

• Betters self-esteem
• Regulates appetite
• Reduces anxiety and depression
• Enhances your immune system
• Decreases pain

And . . . we're right back to my back pain (yes, I chose "back" and "back" on purpose).  Now for some good news:  The article where I found this picture is all about endorphins!  Wow!  My brain was apparently remembering something I learned somewhere along the way and giving me instructions on how to brush up on both the word and its meaning, and thus get over the achiness of exercising yesterday.  Here's a quote from the article "What Are Endorphins?"

"Endorphins are responsible for that feeling you get after a great workout, after eating a piece of dark chocolate, or after having a good laugh with a friend.  They are the chemicals in your brain that help you cope with pain and feel good overall."

Enough for today.  My brain apparently remembers things from decades ago and has to grab my attention in a dream to help me work through yesterday's aches and pains from exercising.  Thank you, brain.  (Brain:  "You're welcome.")  Here's the article about brain regions where I found this illustration.  I love it that Reading and Language are all cozy there in the middle.  By the way, everything I've been reading this morning says exercise is important for our brains.  So I'm right back to where I started.