Only 1 in 3 American adults get enough weekly exercise to meet the minimum recommendation of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Getting regular exercise has an effect on both your physiological and mental health. Running is a particularly beneficial exercise that impacts everything from your heart to your stress levels.
But the benefits of running don’t stop there.
If you’re looking to improve or add to your exercise routine, running is an aerobic exercise that’s accessible both financially and physically for most people. The health benefits of running are plenty, and we’ll tell you all about them. Keep reading to learn more.
The Top Benefits of Runnings
Our bodies evolved in a way that was built for running. Our hips, feet, legs, and spinal discs are all shaped in a way that’s conducive to running for long distances. Even our ability to sweat is linked to our natural ability and propensity to run.
An activity that’s as natural to us as breathing or walking, the health benefits of running are numerous. We’ve gathered the top benefits of running exercises.
Disease Prevention
Running is an aerobic exercise. Otherwise known as “cardio”, aerobic exercises improve cardiovascular health (aka the health of your heart). Regular aerobic exercises help your arteries maintain elasticity and strengthen your heart – which significantly reduces your chance of heart attacks.
But running is also known to prevent type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, and even some cancers. It’s shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women and is recommended for patients in the early stages of diabetes and osteoporosis.
Strengthen Your Body and Mind
You’ve probably heard that running is bad for your knees. It’s true that running is a high impact sport that puts weight on the joints. And it makes sense to assume that this would cause trauma, injury, and even arthritis in the knees.
But the truth is that it doesn’t. In fact, running strengthens your knees, joints, and your bones. The more you run, the more your joints can withstand the impact of different terrain and the longer distances you’ll be able to run.
Running also increases bone mass and prevents losses in bone-density that occur as a result of aging. More than that, it also increases how strong your ligaments and tendons are.
What’s more, regular exercise can help you maintain mental and cognitive strength as you get older. Among other forms of physical activity, running, therefore, prevents memory loss, dementia, and cognitive decline
Weight Control
Exercise is an important component of any weight loss or maintenance plan. Although exercise alone usually isn’t enough to significantly impact your weight, when combined with a healthy diet, it can help you control your weight.
Running, in particular, is a great way to burn extra calories. Beating out swimming, cycling, weight training, and downhill skiing, it’s one of the best ways to burn calories.
You don’t have to be exerting yourself at peak performance to get this benefit, either. All that’s required is exercising at an intensity that’s 70% of maximal oxygen uptake. Basically, somewhere between a jog and a marathon pace.
The benefits of jogging on your weight don’t stop after you’ve stopped your running exercises though. When you exercise at this intensity, the calories continue to burn after you stop exercising. The afterburn of running contributes to its ability to help you shed those extra pounds.
Live Longer
Exercise – and especially aerobic exercise like running – has positive impacts on all of your bodily systems and functioning. It can balance your cholesterol levels as well as boost your immune system. It benefits your circulatory and respiratory systems, too.
With benefits that extend to all aspects of your physiology, exercising regularly increases your life expectancy. It’s believed that even just 30 minutes of exercise 5 times per week will contribute to a longer life.
Mental Health Improvements
Perhaps one of the least understood but most recognized benefits of running is the runner’s high. This refers to the flood of feel-good hormones that the body produces as a result of running. And it’s this process that makes running so good for your mental health.
Running causes your body to release feel-good hormones like dopamine and also to burn excess energy. Dopamine and feel-good hormones greatly improve your mood – and they do so instantly.
This is how running aids in the treatment of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. But, because it burns energy, it helps improve sleep quality, balance mood, and increase focus and concentration as well.
Beyond the chemical changes that running can bring to the body, it can also boost self-esteem and confidence. By starting a running regiment, setting goals, and achieving them, you give yourself a sense of accomplishment that may lead to a better mood.
Relieve Stress
When you’re physically, mentally, or emotionally threatened, a chemical reaction happens in your body. This chemical reaction occurs in order to protect you from injury.
Also known as stress or flight or fight response, it causes your muscles to tighten, blood pressure to increase, breath to quicken, and heart rate to increase. Prolonged stress causes health problems related to mood, sleep, appetite, and mental health.
Because it causes your body to release energy and feel good hormones, running helps relieve stress. Once your body has acclimated, it can become a meditative activity that brings a sense of freedom and bliss.
Get More Active
The benefits of running include physical, emotional, and mental improvements to your health. Running can help with weight control and disease prevention but it’s equally beneficial for reducing stress and boosting self-confidence.
Whether you’re on a journey to get more active or you’re just looking to add more to your physical fitness, check out our fitness and exercise blog. We’ve got all the tips and advice you need to achieve your health and wellness goals.