With all the benefits running brings to the human body and mind, it seems striking why we are not all out in the streets doing exercise. Yes, it takes determination to leave home to literally put your body under stress doing a monotonous activity, but its advantages for us are so amazing, maybe this article will encourage to put your running shoes on.
1. Healthy heart. Running can bring many benefits to your heart. When you run regularly, your circulation improves and the constant activity reduces the risk of a heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.
2. Weight loss. Strict diets without exercise can be frustrating, specially to keep losing weight after the first couple of weeks and to keep the weight off once the target weight is accomplished. Therefore, running is your ideal ally when you want to get rid of those extra kilos. Indeed, the average runner burns 1,000 calories an hour during a training session. That is 1,000 calories of food you can enjoy in your balanced diet so you don't starve yourself or 1,000 calories that will your body will burn from stored fat.
3. Mental health. Running lifts your mood and helps you build self-confidence, specially once you achieve your target weight. Also, it gives you a sense of self-reliance that you can achieve anything you want.
4. Sleep. Studies show that runners have less trouble to sleep at night and manage to sleep longer.
5. Stress. Running gives you a sense of power and control over yourself that helps you cope with stressful situations and irritations of everyday life.
6. Happiness. Have you ever heard that running makes you high? Actually, many long-distance runners experience frequent rushes of endorphin release - hormones that have a motivational effect. Sometimes runners feel relaxed or at peace after exercising, but some even feel euphoric. What is clear is that running does have an effect on your mood: running can help you improve your patience, humour, patience and make you good tempered and easy-going. One way or another, endorphins engendered by exercise mean that runners are happier than people who don't exercise.
7. Anxiety. Generally, runners have a lower level of anxiety than those who don't run. Regular exercise reduces the activity of the serotonin receptors in the brain which regulate mood. Since these receptors are less sensitive to any stimulus, the levels of anxiety decrease as well.
8. You can boost your mental functions by running as the activity increases blood flow to the brain and helps it receive oxygen and nutrients, so it works more effectively.
