If you’re able, running could save your life and make it more enjoyable. Here are five ways running could do just that, and none of them are about looking a certain way.
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1. Running 4-5 miles per week can help you live longer
A new study shows that even moderate running has huge positive effects on an individual’s health. The study concludes, “Running, even 5-10 minutes a day, at slow speeds, even slower than 6 miles per hour [10:00 minute pace], is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.”
How much are mortality rates reduced by logging the miles? A runner’s chance of death from any cause is reduced by thirty percent and chance of cardiovascular death is reduced by forty-five percent.
2. Running can make you happier
Running is believed to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of reward. Dopamine can relieve stress, reduce depression, counter negative addictions, combat obesity, and reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
3. Running reduces number of migraines
A study from the University of Grothenburg in Sweden has found that forty minutes of exercise three times a week is just as effective as migraine medication.
4. Running is good for your knees
Contrary to a lot of naysayers, long-term studies show that running is actually good for the knees. This comes with caveats: those who have suffered knee injuries are more susceptible to knee pain from running. Wearing the proper running shoes is one way to reduce the possibility of experiencing knee pain from running. Also, those who are more than twenty pounds overweight are at risk of developing knee pain from running. Extra weight stresses the knee, so start with walking and work your way up to an easy run.
5. Running increases brainpower
A study from the University of Illinois has found that regular exercise can boost the level of cognitive functioning from youth through middle age. As a runner ages, running slows the rate of decline in cognitive functioning in older adults.
Photo/ Flickr— USAG-Humphreys
Christian, I’m so glad you wrote this!
I am running again, after some time off, and there’s nothing quite like getting out and working hard, breaking a sweat.
I find that if I run with no music, no podcasts, that’s when my best ideas come. On days when I need something, I’ve been listening to This American Life… I figure, I work every day on people’s stories, why am I listening to lyrics and music? So I’ve been submerging myself in people’s stories and it’s been incredible. Strongly suggest it!
Running, followed by alegebra, was designed by imps from hell to torture humans. The endorphins, dopamine buzz, only got it once. Mile 8 of 10 mile run. Every other run I’ve done, 2-5 miles daily for several years, was pure misery. Hot, sweaty slogging along, praying to be hit by a passing vehicle, as some kind of divine mercy killing. I think I’d rather have a hangover. At least I had the fun of being inebriated the night before. Still, Mr. Coleman, I read your other article about your weight loss and how important running was in that effort. I’m… Read more »
Wm, I definitely feel you on the ‘pure misery’. New Orleans around this time of year pretty much defines “hot, sweaty slogging along”. And if I’m being perfectly honest, only about 25% of my runs could be considered enjoyable from start to finish. Any run that’s long enough is going to alternate between wonderful, miserable, and just kinda meh. In high school, my track coach leaned close enough to my face that I could smell wintergreen Skoal and shouted, “Coleman, I’m trying to find out what you’re made of!” Maybe that’s what it’s all about. I dunno. I was just… Read more »