How Does Running Improve Your Health?
Noticing improvements in your health and mood after running? If so, why does running make you happier and healthier? Here’s how running improves your health.
Reasons running improves your health
Even if you keep a positive outlook in life, there will always be some days that you feel unhealthy and unhappy. As with different things in life, it is normal that you feel a little down sometimes.
What matters here is how you bounce back and what you can do about it.
It is easy to exhaust yourself with exercise, but still, you may not feel 100 percent happy.
One thing that can increase your mood and make you fit and healthy is running. There are a lot of reasons why running is one of the best things you can do to make you feel healthy and happy.
Running Makes You Happier and Healthier
Running is crucial not just to have a healthy body and mind, but also it promotes a happy life. When a person engages in physical activity every day, it is easier to remove stress from his or her system.
So, this person can also get rid of emotional stress. That is why as you run, you feel energized, and feel like you are high.
Moreover, it will provide you these so-called happy hormones to make you feel comfortable.
In fact, in a study conducted, rats running around the wheel experienced the effects of antidepressants. With that, a lot of experts claim that having such physical activity can be a cure for depression.
Reasons Running Enhance Your Health
1. Improves Flow of Oxygen in the Body
Your muscles need enough oxygen. As you run, your lungs and heart pump oxygenated blood to your functioning muscles.
When you do constant physical activity, it may increase the number of your capillaries that carry oxygenated blood to your entire body. When more of your tissues develop the capacity to use and receive oxygen, it will leave you feeling energized and charged up.
2. Enhances Your Brain Function
When you run, not only that your muscles collect a steady flow of oxygenated blood, but also your brain. Running can boost the levels of the neurotransmitter known as BDNF, which aids in the creation of brain cells.
It also enhances the transmission of the signals of the nervous system through neural patterning. That is why when you run for hours, it will leave your mental capacity sharp and enough, and you will be invigorated.
Additionally, when you try to take your training seriously, it may improve your cognition and develop new neural pathways.
When you run and do other physical activities, a few new pathways in the brain will stimulate your motor controls to execute the appropriate movements.
3. Boosts the Level of Feel-Good Chemicals in Your Body
As you run, it will help you increase the levels of chemicals in your body responsible for the improvement of energy levels. Plus, it will facilitate that positive feeling.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals made by your nerve cells to signal out other cells. They will trigger appropriate actions in your body.
When it comes to BDNF, anaerobic and aerobic workouts will increase the levels of those chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.
These neurotransmitters influence your energy levels and make you feel great after running.
But, depression and stress can still change your normal brain functions. Also, it may alter the chemistry of your brain. So, when you skip your training when you feel stressed and depressed, it will only lengthen the time that you become in your lowest mood.
The more physical activity you do, the more efficient your body is at creating and utilizing these chemicals. That’s why a lot of people get hooked on running and exercise.
So, you do not just think of running as a method to lose weight and get in shape, but it will also help you feel happy.
Running can elevate your heart rate and allows your heart to pump blood in a way that leaves you in a good mood. It can alter your mood and leave you feeling energized.
4. Running Can Help You Get Fit
When you run, you can burn so many calories. It will be an excellent way to get in shape. For those people who want to have an efficient way to lose weight, you need to begin running.
In fact, even if you execute your exercises, you will still burn more calories. A lot of studies have proved that running can boost your afterburn effect.
It is vital if you want to lose weight even after working out. By running every day, you can make your body leaner, and you can develop more muscles.
Additionally, when you run uphill, it can be quite challenging, right? When you run regularly, you will further boost your bone mass. Some may think that running may make your bones weak.
5. Running Increases Your Confidence
Running will get you to feel fabulous about yourself. When you are running, you will have that adrenaline rush when you take pleasure in physical activity.
A person who is physically fit will be confident enough. That explains why you have to work out every day to boost your self-esteem.
Moreover, the running community is a social group even if you can do this individually. The fact that you can be supportive of each other, then you are social. Running with your buddies or interacting with other runners will give you that social group.
You become happier when you engage in physical activities, and you feel social connections.
The idea here is that does not mean that runners have to participate in significant groups. But rather, you can have one or two running friends to feel connected and happy.
Running Tips for Beginners
In your training, here are some of the key points to remember:
Do Not Begin With High-Intensity Running
If you are a newbie to long-distance running, you need to take everything slowly. You may start by performing brisk walking. Then, you can make your pace faster until such time that you can execute a Look for an Ideal Location Where You Want to Run
Ask yourself if you want to run on your treadmill or outside at the park. But, it will all depend on your choice. If you want the right place for your running, then you have to choose your treadmill.
However, if you want a more dynamic and exciting run, you need to do it on a running trail or outdoors.
Invest in a Pair of Excellent Quality Shoes
As you run continuously, you need to purchase essential items for your training. You need to include in your list your running shoes.
Wrap-Up
Running is not just for weight loss, but you should consider this as a regular physical activity that plays a vital role in your cognition and health. Thus, it supports your well-being and your overall outlook on life.
So, what you have to do is find the right running shoes and head out for a run!
It will guarantee you a stress-free and healthy life!
As a certified holistic life coach, Emily also has 3 years' experience as a power running instructor and holds a degree in sport science. She loves bringing what she knows and learns to the community and hopes to help everyone to the road to happiness.
- Top 5 Ways Running Improves Your Mood and Health - November 28, 2020
