It is scientifically proven that running is a stress reliever for many people, this is one of many reasons why it is so popular within today’s society, it’s very easy to do and you don’t need to put much thought into it. Anyone can give it a go.
When running the brain changes as it becomes more resistant to stress, researchers think that this may be because aerobic exercises (physical exercise low to high intensity) increases levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, and causes the brain to generate new neurons. It is also said that running can alleviate symptoms of depression.
Studies show that even 30 minutes on the treadmill can boost people’s moods, even a participant who moved at a walking pace while on the treadmill received the same mood-lifting benefit. As well as this, running is proven to make young people sleep better and improves their overall focus.
An experiment was done by West Michigan University, the experiment showed that running quickly for half an hour improves “cortical flicker frequency” threshold. This is associated with the ability to better process information.
Running quickly for half an hour can benefit people in many ways such as, writing things in more and better detail which could give students more marks for example on exams.
Furthermore, two other universities; Lithuanian Sports University and one more local to Virtual Runner, Nottingham Trent University, showed that interval running (series of low- to high intensity workouts interspersed with rest and relief periods) improves aspects of “executive function”. This is a suite of mental high-level faculties that include the ability to;
- Marshall attention.
- Tune out distractions.
- Switch between tasks.
- Solve problems.
It was also shown that these benefits kicked in within the first 10 minutes of doing interval sprints, it has an immediate effect on the brain. This is why people get into a routine of running as they get the benefit instantly which makes them want to go again and again, next thing you know you are going for a run several times a week!
Overall running is very beneficial and affective on the human brain; it improves various parts of the brain for many different things. Several studies have shown this, so now what are you waiting for? Go out there and give it a go!