Best 10 Benefits of Running

Most of us know that exercises have a very good influence on our health. Of all exercises,running is one of the most common and most recommended one for staying in shape and boosting our health.

I thought it will be interesting to create a quick list with the most important 10 health related benefits of running. Here is the list:

1. Weight Control

Most people start running because they want to control their body weight. You start loosing weight when you burn more calories than you assimilate, thus making your body turn to the fat it has stored in order to compensate the energy deficit. Running is considered to be one of the most effective exercises when it comes to burning calories. In fact, a typical runner who takes running seriously can burn up to 500 calories in less than an hour.

2. Building Up Your Bones and Muscles

There is a very strong connection between the development of our muscles, bones and effort. Muscles and bones will grow depending on the efforts required of them. By sitting at your desk all day, your bones and muscles will get weaker in time. A very good solving solution for this problem is running, because this exercise is highly demanding on your bones and muscles. Running will trigger bones to become more dense and will also help build muscle tone.

3. Heart and Blood Benefits

In response to running on a regular basis, your heart will be more healthy and your blood pressure will lower. Running also lowers your cholesterol level and reduces the risk of blood clots and heart attacks.

4. Relieving Stress

It’s a proven fact that running lowers stress level. Speed running can also release anger and frustrations and can calm you down. Running long distances can help you find solutions to your problems or, even better, can make you forget about them for awhile and clear your mind for a few moments. After a running session you’ll feel better, be more optimist and have a better morale in general.

5. Building Up Self-Esteem

People who exercise by running have shown to be more confident in their own strengths. After constantly surpassing the limits of your own body, you will get stronger with every run and your self-esteem will build up. Results like loosing weight, stronger muscles or better health in general, after maintaining a rigorous running exercise program, will also make you feel better about yourself.

6. Slowing Down the Aging Process

As mentioned above, regular running exercises will make your bone and muscle structure stronger. Those who live a sedentary life will have a weaker skeleton and muscle loss, thus making them more susceptible to various diseases. Having strong bones and muscles becomes more important as you age and both will leave a mark on your looks.

7. Willpower

Running is not easy. It can be a very painful experience, especially for newcomers and that is why most people drop it after a few runs and fall to their old habits. By surpassing that pain and the temptation to just stay comfortably in your house and postponing the running session for tomorrow, you earn the determination and willpower to succeed in other areas of your life.

8. Boost Body Immunity

Running increases the number of lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells which are essential to your immune system. It also reduces the risk of diseases like breast cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes.

9. Better Coordination

Surprisingly enough, coordination does improve with running. Some people may be reluctant to acknowledge it, since it’s such a simple sport, but running involves coordination especially on hard terrain with small obstacles like rocks and tree roots. Experienced runners who use trails as their rout, learn how to avoid stumbling and tripping on such obstacles.

10. Sleep Better

How much and how well we sleep has a lot to say for our health. After an intense exercise like running, your body needs to recover and repair itself. It is vital that you don’t overexert yourself as this will cause a lot of damage to your body. By keeping this in mind and exercising regularly you will feel more relaxed and you will sleep more soundly and profoundly. Runners usually fall asleep quicker and stay in a deep state of sleep longer than people who aren’t very active.

Hopefully these 10 reasons will be enough for you to get your eyes of the computer, put on a pair of sneakers and go out for a quick run. Go for it!