Exercise has been on everyone's minds recently. Taking up a running regimen is great way to exercise and improve your physical and mental health at the same time.
How does running help you and what benefits do you get from it? It seems we were made for exercise. There is nothing better than to get your body moving, whether it's a short walk or more strenuous exercise. There's something about feeling your heart pumping that tells you that you're on the right track to better health. Here is what we know about how running helps improve your physical and mental health.
Running Helps to Lift Your Mood
Even a 30-minute workout will make you feel better. When you are worried or stressed over life, running helps to alleviate those symptoms by lifting your mood. All moving has positive effects. Running will help you to improve your mood and fight depression.
You can run outdoors or on a treadmill. The effects will be the same. Especially if you have been suffering from major depression, running will make you feel more positive.
Running Helps to Improve Cardiovascular Health
Aerobic activity is good for the heart. Running will improve cardiovascular fitness if you stick with it. It has been proven that the more people run, the healthier their hearts tend to be.
If you think that participating in extreme sports, such as running 40 miles a week, or being part of an ultramarathon event, will damage your heart, just the opposite happens. Your heart health will be better than if you ran just a few miles every day. Talk to a physician and increase your exercise responsibly, then don’t be afraid to get out there and do it.
Running Changes Your Brain and Makes It Less Susceptible to Stress
Coping with stress - and who doesn't have a lot of that these days - is improved when you run. Running improves your ability to handle everyday stress. In a study of 51 young people, researches concluded that any aerobic exercise, but especially running, increases levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine. This, in turn, causes your brain to generate new neurons. All the better for coping with whatever life throws your way.
Running Improves Your Mind at Any Age
This is welcome news. As you age, you want to be reassured that your body continues to function at high levels. How does running help you? It is one of the best ways to keep your mind fit as you age.
Running helps with memory, focus, and the ability to perform tasks. Everyone has that senior moment as they age! Aerobic exercise, especially running, however, can improve your ability to perform many cognitive tasks.
Running Is One of theEasiest Ways to Burn Calories
Running at a moderate speed, say a pace of 5 mph, a 160-pound person will burn 606 calories an hour and a 200-pound person will burn around 755 calories in an hour. If you run a little faster, say at 8 mph, those same people may burn between 850 and 1,050 calories. You will look better, the pounds will come off and you'll feel good about yourself.
Running Improves Knee Health
One of the greatest concerns with exercise is what it will do to your legs and feet. Often a runner is sidelined due to knee pain. Usually, this is a sign of overtraining.
According to an 8-year study of over 2,600 participants, the more people ran, the less likely they were to suffer knee problems or osteoarthritis. Running helps people to keep their BMI in check. Instead of running on flabby knees, runners are usually fit and in shape. Leg muscles and bones become stronger.
If you would like peace of mind while you exercise, we have runner IDs to suit your needs. We offer wrist IDs, shoe IDs, dog tag IDs , and kid's IDs. Whatever your style and needs, we can help ensure that your emergency information is with you wherever you go. If an accident or other incident should occur, the information on one of our Roadrunner IDs can save your life.
One of the first things emergency personnel will look for is some type of contact information on your person. When they know who you are and what the problem may be, quick action can follow. And this can be life-saving.
Having your contact info along when you're running, just makes you – and your friends and family - feel better. Enjoy those runs now you have more information on how running helps you. And be sure to have all your emergency contact information along for the ride.