Running has been part of my routine for a long time, it’s a sport that has time and location flexibility, not requiring so many conditions to train it. We can find a great number of benefits from running such as improving brain functions due to seratoning, endorphin and dopamine productions and also enhancing thinking and neurotransmitters functions. Running produces naturally endocannabinoids, a substance that is similar to cannabis, providing a short-term feeling on reducing stress and providing calm. Depending on the situation, running can also replace antidepressants for patients with depression and anxiety disorders.
Below I listed the key benefits of running:
- Clear Mind – Sometimes we feel overwhelmed due to overthinking, stress, anxiety or any other reason that would take your mind to dark places, running might help to clear your mind and organize your thoughts.
- Mental Resilience – Running is always a challenge and requires from you mental strenght to not give up, you will always finde new challenges or barriers and while overcoming them you’ll increase your mental resilience to face challenges in a better way.
- Better Response to Stressful Situations – While reducing stress with each run, your stress threshold will increase and your body would be charged with good hormones, leading to better ways of dealing with difficult situations that before would lead to easily reach that limit.
- Improve Sleep – Running will produce hormones that will encourage your body to deep sleeping, leading for better rest and performance. Also based on your training plan sleep will fit better in your schedule / routine, having specific hours to sleep will support your circadian cycle.
- Focus & Commitment – If you set a new challenge or a sign-up for a race you’ll build focus and commitment since you are setting new goals for yourself, this will raise your standards and step by step you’ll transform yourlsef in a new person.
- Nutrition – While focusing on running eventually you’ll also focus on your nutrition, both goes together and choices will lead to better results while training and in your routine.
- Running Community – Running will improve your social network, where new friends are easily made since both have something in common, all places are opportunities to make new friends such as running clubs, teams or competitions.
- Contact with Nature – It will improve life satisfaction, recharge your energy and increasing relaxation, it can also benefit decreasing feeling of loneliness and isolation.
- Know new places – When going to races / competitions you’ll have the opportunity to run in new places, the same can be applied while traveling, even if its a longer walk or just go for a run you’ll be able to experience a new place and know its history.
Always remember to do a medical checkup before starting any activity and if everything is ok to start just focusing on enjoying the training, don’t be concerned about time or pace, all of us have a lot of responsibilities so running is meant to make ourselves better.
References:
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/how-running-affects-mental-health
https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a60636199/benefits-of-running-for-mental-health
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032723002239
https://elizaczyzewska.pl/en/how-contact-with-nature-affects-our-health/