Are you someone who thinks that running doesn’t have any impact on a person’s life? While you aren’t alone in believing that running is nothing more than a mild form of insanity, there are actually many benefits to running that you could enjoy. Benefits ranging from improved mental health to greater fitness can all be reached by sticking with running.
If you are still on the fence about the benefits of running that you may be able to enjoy, well, Treadmill Guru is here to change your mind.
Why You Should Run Daily: 8 Amazing Benefits of Running
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Promotes Mental Health
The brain releases feel-good chemicals while running such as endorphins and endocannabinoids and excesses energy that all aim to lift your mood while reducing your cortisol levels. As cortisol is the stress hormone, if you struggle with high levels of stress and anxiety, running may be exactly what you need.
Along with reducing your stress and enjoying reward neurochemicals, running can save you from your struggle with depression. Those rewarding chemicals released by running can help break through the depression and provide a natural runner’s high.
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Enjoy Greater Fitness
Losing weight is one of the main reason why people decide to start running regularly. Running is really effective when it comes to burning calories, as it is a low-barrier activity that no matter your speed, you can still burn a decent amount of calories.
In fact, running is rated as one of the best ways of exercising for burning calories with only cross country skiing providing a higher calorie burn. And, let’s be realistic, who has time and inclination to go cross country skiing regularly? Instead of needing to strap on snow gear and driving out to find some snow, you can just run outside or on a good treadmill and melt those pounds away.
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Helps Develop Self-Esteem
When you start running, you will usually set goals for yourself, even if they are fairly vague goals. That way, every time you head out on a run, you can feel satisfied that you are working toward the goals you have set.
By sticking with running, not only can you improve your performance in running, but also unknowingly, you start performing better in your normal life, in your school, in your job as you continue to achieve. One of the reasons why this happens is because the confidence people gain after achieving their goals, even if the goal is just to put on running shoes and exercise.
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Strengthens Bones
Running assist in making your bones stronger. It does this every time you take a step as you run, as the high-impact motion puts stress your bones, muscles, and cartilage. When properly applied, this stress adds more mass to your bones, preventing bone loss and making them even stronger and less prone to breakage.
As older adults often are at risk for osteoporosis, it is essential that you start to develop a running habit while you are younger and build up your bones.
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Enhances Health Performance
Running increases the level of HDL in the body—which is also known as the good cholesterol—and reduces the level of LDL, known as the bad cholesterol. This lowers the risk of a heart attack or a brain stroke by fifty percent.
Also, running can help prevent certain types of cancer. For instance, there has been research that shows that running lowers the risk of breast cancer by 30%. Also, there are many health risk factors that contribute to cancer that can be alleviated by running regularly.
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Staves Off Cravings
There’s no denying that all of us have cravings, some for junk food, some for sweets, some for alcohol and others for drugs. Nothing has a bigger impact on our lives than being addicted to something, and cravings can be difficult to manage. Fortunately, running comes in handy, even in this situation.
With running, you can rewire your brain to want to run and release those good neurochemicals. That way, you can crave positive things, rather than cravings that ultimately feel worse after the initial rush. Also, as your overall fitness improves, you will want to fuel yourself with whole foods to support your improved health.
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Increases Lung Functioning
Running efficiently requires proper breathing in order to burn oxygen and release energy. While running, your need for air increases, which causes the lungs to be more active than usual. By causing your lungs to work more during your running workouts, you can increase the overall effectiveness of your lung functionality.
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Improves Social Activity
Getting along with people around you is conditioned by various circumstances. If you are sleepless, tired, and stressful, you will transmit this to other people. Since those are not likely the vibes you want to put out in social situations, choosing to run and revitalize yourself can change the energy you project toward others.
When you run, you can become calmer and more organized, as well as developing greater energy stores. These things can work together to help you build a healthier social lifestyle.
Reap The Benefits Of Running By Sticking To A Routine
Despite the difficulties that you’ll encounter in the beginning, running will truly be a lifesaver. It can help improve your physical, mental, and social health. Best of all, running is a low-barrier activity that you can easily enjoy and reap all these amazing benefits.
