Endocannabinoids and Heart Rate Variability Alterations after Exposure to Prolonged Intensive Physical Exercise of the Hellenic Navy SEALs

Stamatis Mourtakos, Georgia Vassiliou, Konstantinos Kontoangelos, Anastassios Philippou, Elias Tzavellas, José Francisco Tornero-Aguilera, Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez, Charalabos Papageorgiou, Labros S Sidossis, Christos Papageorgiou. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 21;19(1):28.

Observational studyHumans

Design

Observational study

Subjects

13 candidates preparing for Hellenic Navy SEAL enlistment

Dose used in the study

Not stated in the abstract; no treatment was given

Duration

Hair collected at baseline and 30 days after prolonged intensive exercise

What was measured

Hair concentrations of AEA, 2-AG, palmitoylethanolamide and OEA; heart rate variability in time and frequency domains; mental state examination.

What the authors reported

After intense physical exercise, hair AEA, PEA and OEA were notably increased, while 2-AG did not change. Endocannabinoid concentrations were associated with heart rate variability measures at baseline and after exercise.

Limits of this study

A very small observational study of 13 men with no control group; it measured natural palmitoylethanolamide in hair and did not test PEA as a treatment. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Source

PubMed 35010291 · doi:10.3390/ijerph19010028

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.