Just Go For a Run: How Running Improves Mental Health
Many people may refuse to believe this and that is their choice. But running is a natural medicine. And not just running but all physical activities. The human body is meant to move and the modern luxuries of the West are slowly taking that movement away from us.
Mental health is a huge topic of today’s literature. The rising increase of stress and depression plagues our world. How can we fix this? We can fix this by simply moving more. Go on a walk. Go on a run. Do a few pushups. Do something to get the body active. Many people by now know this to be true but still refuse to try the best medicine out there because it’s “hard”.
Yes, running is hard, and taking a simple pill you pick up from the pharmacy is easy. But what do you think is really the healthy option? The thing the human body evolved to do or the “magic pill” that hasn’t even been around for a full generation?
How does running affect the brain chemistry?
As we run or just exercise in general our heart begins to pump more blood around our body. This increase in fresh blood floods your body with oxygen and many key nutrients. A lot of this blood flow happens in the brain.
When fresh blood flows to the brain it begins to produce nourishing proteins. These proteins released in the brain help keep the brain cells healthy and also promote the development of new neurons around the brain.
Along with the release of healthy proteins within the brain, exercise also promotes the brain to release both dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is a common word used nowadays to express the reward system in the brain. Too much dopamine can cause problems, but with things such as running a slow drip of dopamine is released. Serotonin release contributes to the regulation of your mood and stress.
Exercising does not just entice the brain to release these chemicals but also flushes out others that we don’t need anymore. In studies, it has been shown that moderate to low-intensity exercise reduces the amount of cortisol within the brain. Cortisol is a chemical compound that directly results from stress.
So in turn moderate exercise entices the brain to release so called “happy chemicals” like dopomine and reduces “sad chemicals” like cortisol.
What else does exercise do for the brain?
In a study conducted by Jeff Edwards, a cell biology and physiology professor at BYU, he concluded that exercise increases the brain’s memory ability. This ability to remember things more efficiently is correlated to the increased blood flow in the brain that exercise causes.
Exercise improves memory by increasing molecular targets like the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This molecular factor increases synaptogenesis and forms new synapse connections throughout the brain. The more BDNF the better the brain functions.
Running vs Weight Lifting: Which one helps my brain more?
There is a constant power struggle between runners and weight lifters. Some people find lifting weights makes them feel better, while others swear by running. So which one is best for you?
That’s a hard question to answer because everyone is a little different. However research has found that running or aerobic cardio activities have more of an impact on reducing stress and depression. This is due to the increase in blood flow that cardiovascular activities cause.
Yet, in the same studies, researchers have found that weightlifting has a greater impact on a person's self-image. With increased confidence people are less likely to feel anxious and depressed about where they are in life.
So, both weight lifting and running have their benefits, and finding which one works best for you is key. But if you were to ask anyone here at GCE we would suggest doing both.
