How Running Can Help You Feel Better?

Everyone knows that running is good for the body. Regular daily exercise reduces high blood pressure or the risk of cardiovascular disease and improves our overall health. But does running help improve our mental health, and if does, how?

Studies show that running and exercise in general can have an extremely positive effect on our mental health. Running has a positive impact on anxiety, stress depression, ADHD and other mental health conditions. It also can improve our memory, boost our confidence, help us sleep better and increase our mood in general. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from running. Research suggests that moderate amount of exercise can make a difference in our mental fitness. 

Psychologists studying effects of exercise on mental health suggest that a 10-minute walk or jogging may be as effective as an hour workout. Running can quickly ease the symptoms of anxiety and depression by helping the brain cope better with stress. In one study, researchers found that those who practice regular dynamic exercise were 25% less likely to develop an anxiety disorder or depression over the next five years. 

How does Running Help with Depression?

Energy levels in people suffering from depression usually drop drastically. Still, staying physically active while struggling with depression is very important, for many reasons. 

Firstly, studies show that running exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as medicament therapy, without the side effects of course. 

Science proved a long ago that running promotes a variety of changes in the brain, such as neural growth, reduced inflammation and new activity patterns that promote feelings of composure and happiness. 

Running releases endorphins, increasing their level in our blood. These powerful chemicals in our brain, also known as natural pain relievers or ‘hormones of happiness’, trigger the growth of new cells and connections in our brain, very similar to what antidepressant medicament therapy does. In other words, they energize our spirits and make us feel good. 

In addition to revealing depression symptoms, running prevents them from getting worse.  

Furthermore, running exercise can also serve as a sort of distraction, giving you a break from negative thoughts that feed your depression. 

Some people prefer running alone. However, if you decide to join a running group, you may feel more motivated and inspired. In addition, running with a group can boost your confidence, your social skills and help you feel connected. A social moment of running with a group is very important since people struggling with depression tend to feel isolated and lonely.

You don’t have to run marathon every day to achieve this. Studies show that even a short exercise daily can be very beneficial in easing depression symptoms.

How Does Running Work for Stress and Anxiety?

Apart from emotional symptoms such as feeling of excessive worry of fear, agitation and exhaustion, anxiety includes many physical symptoms like tense muscles, back pain, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, chest pain and pounding pulse. 

Furthermore, you may experience other anxiety symptoms like insomnia, frequent urination or diarrhea. These symptoms provoke more worry and discomfort that lead to more stress and more symptoms, creating a vicious cycle of anxiety.

Running can be a powerful tool in breaking this cycle. Releasing the endorphins in your brain has an analgesic effect, something like body’s natural opioid. In addition, running helps relax the muscles and relieve the tension in your body. 

Studies show that running is beneficial in reducing a fatigue, boosting your concentration and vigilance. Shortly, running enhances your overall cognitive functioning. Moreover, increased level of endorphins in your body improves your sleep, which in return lessens stress.

Science has proved that regular exercise can decrease overall tension, elevate mood and enhance self-esteem. Only few minutes of running every day can begin to kick in anti-anxiety/stress effects. Therefore, if your body feels better, your mind will too. 

Running and ADHD

People struggling with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have troubles with concentration and attention as well as with their motivation, lack of impulse control and mood. As aforesaid, running exercise instantly rises the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine – both of which play a key role in regulating our attention and concentration. Thus, running boosts your attention and ability to focus.  

Additionally, exercise helps balance norepinephrine in the brain stem’s incentive center. In other words, running makes you less prone to react out of proportion, as you feel less irritable. 

An overactive cerebellum contributes to restlessness in ADHD people. Treatment that elevates dopamine and norepinephrine brings this area back in balance. Running and other forms of physical activity show exactly the same effect.

Running exercise also positively affects our limbic system, helping control the amygdala. In people with ADHD, amygdala reduces reaction to the new incentives, and people don’t startle and react excessively. 

Running Tips: How to Motivate Yourself

Get started with your daily running exercise if you haven’t already. 

• Start small – go running at least three times a week for 15 minutes. 
• Gradually increase to 30 minutes or longer. Set small daily goals and aim for daily consistency rather than for intensity of exercise. According to scientific findings, frequency is most important in boosting your mental fitness. Find a ‘running buddy’. If you don’t fancy running groups, recruit a friend, partner, family member or a coworker to go running together. It will be easier to stick to your running routine if you have to stay committed to another person.
• Enhance you running experience with music or motivational quotes. Bring your iPod or other portable media device with downloaded music or mindfulness messages.
• Associate running with something enjoyable. This can be socializing when running with a group, enjoying the nature while running by the lake or through your favorite park and similar. 
• If you are a sedentary person, give your body and mind enough time to adjust to your new running routine. Start light and gradually increase the time and intensity of your exercise. 

Both science and experience proved that running exercise is vital for maintaining both body and mental fitness. Even more, regular daily exercise may help lessen your symptoms related to anxiety or depression and boost your stress coping mechanisms. In addition, it can sharpen your thinking and memory, boost your confidence, elevate your energy level and improve your immune system. In short, running will lift your spirits and keep you mentally fit.