How Running Can Relieve Stress

Running is an easy way to get in shape without having to go to a gym or hiring a personal trainer. It also provides time for you to clear your mind and simply enjoy being with yourself, which helps reduce stress. In this article, we’ll look at how running can reduce the stress in your life.

A Little About the Mechanisms of Stress

Stress and the nervous system are closely linked. The stress response can be a short-term reaction that helps people cope with threats. When the danger passes, the body returns to normal. However, when stress becomes chronic the body stays in a state of heightened alert, making it difficult to relax or function well.

The stress response is a natural response to any type of threat. In small amounts, it can be beneficial: The stress response causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, which can have positive effects such as improved concentration and more energy to handle a stressful situation.

In some cases, though, stressors can become so common that they're perceived as chronic stress, which can lead to all kinds of health problems and negative reactions. The fight-or-flight response is meant to be short-term and easily managed. When it's used often and consistently, however, the body's immune system suffers because there are fewer resources available to fight off diseases and foreign invaders.

Stress is linked to many behavioral and physiological problems:

• Increased risk of heart disease
• Trouble sleeping
• Depression
• Increase in blood pressure
• Headaches
• Digestive issues, including ulcers

Running Calms by Stimulating Endorphin Release

Running is good for the body and mind, but how exactly does it work? It turns out, running relieves stress by stimulating the production of feel-good chemicals in the brain.

When you run, your body releases endorphins, the chemicals that make you feel happy. Endorphins are like natural painkillers, so when you exercise and experience the runner's high, it's not just a good feeling. It actually does have a physical effect on your body, reducing stress and helping you to relax.

Running Reduces Cortisol, the Stress Hormone

When you experience stress, your body releases the hormone cortisol. Cortisol increases blood pressure and heart rate, suppresses your immune system, and raises your blood sugar level. It's what gives you the energy to run away from danger, but it also has a negative effect on your body and mind when it's released in response to less urgent stresses.

In short-term bursts, cortisol is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps you deal with stressful situations and can be useful for boosting physical performance. However, chronically elevated cortisol levels are linked to an increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and depression.

Aerobic exercises, like running, use up excess adrenaline in the bloodstream, helping to reduce the production of cortisol and improve recovery after stressful events. This can help improve your ability to cope with stress in general over time.

Running Supports a Healthy Immune System

Exercising is one of the best things you can do to help prevent getting sick. Regular exercise helps your body fight off and avoid getting infections, while also helping improve your immune system. Exercising helps your immune system in a number of ways:

• Exercise helps push bacteria and pathogens out of your lungs and airways when you breathe faster and harder during physical activity. Faster breathing rates happen because exercise increases the required amount of oxygen in your bloodstream.
• Exercise decreases chronic inflammation in the body, which can decrease your risk for certain diseases or illnesses. Chronic inflammation is a normal part of the body's immune response, but if it stays elevated over time, it can be harmful.
• Exercise helps increase white blood cells and antibodies in your body, both of which are important for fighting off diseases and infections. Exercise also increases the number of infection-fighting cells called natural killer cells.

Running Can Be Very Social

Something about being in the company of other people has a remarkable effect on our well-being. It can elevate your mood, reduce stress, improve sleep, and increase self-esteem.

It's not just the volume of social time that matters, either. Even reaching out to strangers can have a positive effect on us.

A running group or running with a partner can provide you with motivation to keep up your training, accountability for actually showing up, and a sense of community. It also allows you to take your mind off the fact that you're exercising — you can chat with other runners about anything from work stress to the kids.

Running Helps You to Spend Some Time Outdoors

Running outdoors can provide you with a change of scenery, fresh air, and a break from focusing on daily stressors. Additionally, running outdoors can allow you to see your environment in a new way and can help you to find a fresh perspective on problems.

Running Helps Improve Your Sleep

Good sleep and stress management go hand in hand. Sleep deprivation can actually create a higher level of stress. Increasing your exercise, and activity level generally, is one of the best ways you can improve the quality of your sleep.

Running Can Help You Recover From Mental Health Issues

Staying healthy requires a balance of healthy food and exercise. While it is well known that exercise helps to burn fat and tone your body, studies show that running can also have a positive impact on your mental health.

There are established correlations between exercise and mental health. One of the many reasons running is great for your brain is because it gives your mind time to decompress and have time away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. This allows you to take time for yourself and focus on anything you need to think about, whether that be work or relationships.

Another way running helps your mental state is by allowing you to focus on yourself rather than what’s going outside of you. It gives you time to reflect on your own feelings, plans, and wishes so that you can refocus and reframe your understanding of your life.

Start Running to Reduce Stress Today

When it comes to reducing stress, there aren’t many better ways than running. Because of its cardiovascular benefits, ability to reduce body fat, and the improved muscle tone you'll experience, running makes you feel better about yourself too. People who run regularly are generally happier with their bodies, have more energy, and are healthier than those who don't.

You don't have to be a professional runner to benefit from the stress-relieving effects of running. You'll still see benefits from investing just 10 or 20 minutes of your day, even if you haven’t run before.

The most important thing is being consistent with exercise. It's alright if you're not able to run every single day or even five times per week; even two times per week is better than nothing at all.