7 Science-Backed Benefits of Running for Your Mental Health

Here’s a preview of some of the topics featured in our show and why running is good for your mental health.

Running helps improve your mood

You can feel this particular mental health benefit of running while you’re still moving or as soon as you finish your miles. Running releases endorphins in the brain, and these act as pain relievers during physical discomfort, such as The world of runners tells our story the truth behind celebrities high runners.

Thanks to the release of these feel-good hormones, which researchers say our ancestors needed when running to catch prey or avoid predators, running can help your mind come out of a dark place and generate a positive thinking All it takes to get your endorphins pumping is a run long enough to push you outside of your comfort zone.

Running reduces stress

One of the main culprits of stress is a hormone called cortisol. When you feel stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol into your bloodstream in greater amounts. ironically, the act of running is an additional stressoractivating the stress response in the body and the release of cortisol, however, as we describe in our recent series on stress on the bodyit’s a short-term boost that serves a larger purpose:

Just as progressive training helps your body adapt to handle a higher load, the increase in cortisol in your system helps your body adapt so that it can better handle similar stressful situations in the future, we wrote.

In the end, physical exercise helps your body return to its equilibrium. A small 2021 to study published in Scientific reports concluded that just 10 minutes of moderate-intensity jogging can help your brain regulate stress.

Running helps build mental resilience

Running is a great mental sport as it helps build your mental stamina and endurance. A small study at Northern Arizona University concluded that when people improved their fitness and exercised consistently, they had a lower stress response. Not only does running help you deal with stress in the moment, but it also supports a quicker bounce back during future stressful times and builds greater resilience in the long run.

Running improves brain function

There are nearly 100 billion nerve cells in the brain, connected by neurotransmitters.
Various studies suggest that exercise increases the function of neurotransmitters like serotonin, best known for influencing happiness, sleep, memory and more.

By increasing our neurotransmitters, exercise really makes a difference to how we feel and, importantly, we have control over how we feel by moving our bodies, said John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The revolutionary new science about exercise and the brain. Ratey further explores the mind-body connection The Runners World Guide to Mental Health.

Running leads to better sleep

Sleep is critical to your mental health, while a lack of it has the power to worsen your mental well-being. Sleep plays an important role in supporting the brain, heart and overall health and according to a 2023 research The world of runners coveredeven how long you live.

Although researchers do not fully understand the precise relationship between physical activity and sleep, a 2023 systematic research confirmed that running can lead to better sleep quality, making the miles you run worthwhile.

Running supports mindfulness

Mindfulness is about living in the present moment, and research shows that practicing mindfulness can help manage mental health conditions.

One of the goals of mindfulness when it comes to mental health is this idea of ​​being able to pause, notice unhelpful thoughts, reframe the thinking and move on from there, said Dwayne Brown, a licensed clinical social worker who uses the therapy mindfulness-based cognitive her private practice to help people with mental health problems. Through mindfulness, a person has more control over their thinking, rather than their thinking controlling them, Brown added. Being present and aware contributes to a better mental state. Brown offers several meditations to RW+ members available via The Runners World Guide to Mental Health.

Running is a great tool for dealing with mental disorders

More than 50 million American adults suffer from mental illness, half of them receive no treatment. As we mentioned, running can be part of your plan because it helps trigger the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. These feel-good chemicals are often depleted by mental disorders.

We lose nerve cells, and exercise helps to repopulate them and make them tougher, make them stronger so they can withstand the stresses of everyday life, Ratey said.

Antidepressant drugs work by helping to fire neurotransmitters in the brain and increase their concentration as soon as you start taking them, Ratey said. But as explained above, the same can be achieved by incorporating running into your routine. In a 2023 study published by the Journal of affective disorders, more than 100 people with depression or anxiety were given the choice of taking antidepressants or joining a running program for 16 weeks. The study concluded that running worked just as well as medication.

Now, I would always encourage people to seek medical advice from a medical professional, it’s really important to make sure you’re addressing your mental illness from all avenues, said Lennie Waite, certified mental performance consultant and Olympian . But running is a great complement to anything else you do to benefit your mental health.

Running can support a number of mental disorders, including anxiety, the most common mental illness in the US, and depression, the leading disability among 15-44 year olds. But the benefits don’t stop there. Post-traumatic stress disorder is another, which The world of runners covered in detail a This article. And runners have also been using the sport to manage other mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, adhdthe risk of dementiaor for example OCD.

The three widely common mental health problems of depression, anxiety and substance use disorder are covered in depth in The Runners World Guide to Mental Health.

Pavlna ern, an RRCA-certified running coach and cycling enthusiast, has been with The world of runners, Ride a bicyclei Popular Mechanics since August 2021, originally joining as a newsletter editor. When he’s not editing, he’s writing; when not writing, reading or translating. In the time she has left, you can find her outdoors running, skating, or riding to one of the many audiobooks on her TBL list.