1) Benefits of Running: Mental Health

There are numerous studies on the effects of running on mental health, and they all have the same conclusion – running can help to improve your mental health. During exercise such as running, the body is believed to release serotonin which is a proven mood elevator, which in turn can help to alleviate stress, anxiety and other symptoms of depression.

“Running burns more calories than almost any other activity out there.”

2) Benefits of running: Weight loss

It will come as no surprise to many of you that running aids weight loss. In fact running, burns more calories than almost any other activity out there. Faster runs, running uphill and interval sessions will increase the amount of calories you are burning per hour, you will even continue to burn calories for a couple of hours after you finish a high tempo run.

4) Benefits of running: Increased fertility

A study carried out by Cambridge University last year suggested that men who regularly run long distances are more likely to reproduce than those who don’t. Scientists at the university took 542 runners at the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham and found that those who finished faster were more likely to have stronger sex drives and higher sperm counts.

5) Benefits of running: Physical health

Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise and running in particular can help to prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and even some cancers.

Back in 2009, Finnish scientists published the conclusions of a 17-year-long study. Out of a group of 2,560 middle-aged men, they found that the ones who were physically active were the least likely to develop cancer.

Another study in the British Journal of Cancer calculated that the most active people were 24% less likely to develop colon cancer than the least active people, while a subsequent study by the National Cancer Institute discovered that women of a normal weight who reported the highest levels of vigorous activity were 30% less likely to get breast cancer than women who did no vigorous activity.

6) Benefits Of Running: A Sharp Mind

A survey of British workers showed that employees made fewer mistakes on the days they worked out than on those days they didn’t. Running apparently boosts the blood flow to the brain and helps it to receive oxygen and nutrients which in turn causes higher levels of productivity and better concentration levels.

Running has also been said to have positive effects on age-related memory loss. A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that women who were active as teenagers were less likely to develop dementia later in life while a study published in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review concluded that regular exercise helps defeat age-related mental decline, particularly functions like task switching, selective attention, and working memory.

7) Benefits Of Running: Sleep

A good night’s sleep should never be underestimated. Getting your 8-hours a night will contribute in a positive way to all of the benefits above. And there can be no denying that running has a positive impact on your sleep cycle. You will find that you will not only get to sleep quicker on days that you have been running, you will fall into a deeper sleep.

So as you can see, there really is no excuse not to reach for your trainers instead of the TV remote. Even if you run just a couple of miles, 5-days per week, you will notice the benefits and believe us, you’ll be hooked!

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