Why Running is Good for your Health
Running is an excellent way to help improve your general health and well-being without having to make any financial commitments or major changes to your lifestyle. Recent research has suggested that running can bring a range of health benefits and can even help to extend your life expectancy by up to three years, so if you have been considering making some changes to ensure that you are living a healthy lifestyle taking a short run five times a week could be a really good way start.
When you run you at a moderate pace not only do you burn calories while exercising you also improve the bodies efficiency at burning calories after you stop so it is an excellent way to help you lose weight and keep the weight off afterwards.
As running helps to exercise your whole body as you lose weight you will also be able to help improve your muscle strength and tone so you can be sure that you will love the results you see. Improving your core strength will not only make you look fantastic but also help you to guard against problems such as pains in your bones and muscles in later life.
You can also help to improve the health of your heart as you increase the oxygen you take in and make it work harder, this can help reduce the risks of illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, thrombosis and arteriosclerosis and also improves the overall oxygen intake, improve circulation, and helps to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
It has also been found that running can help to reduce your risks of experiencing cancer, and improve bone mass which can reduce the risks of having problems with your bones and joints such as arthritis as well as promoting good lung function.
Aside from the wealth of physical benefits that running has to offer it can also help to improve your mind and mental state as well. Studies have shown that people that run regularly in later life constantly score higher in mental agility and memory tests than people within the same age group that don’t exercise at all.
Also, when you run the body releases endorphins which are hormones that produce a ‘feel good’ feeling within the body, some work has been done using running to help with depression which has shown some really promising results.
So, if you are looking for an easy and accessible exercise that is easy to fit into your daily routine why not grab your trainers and head to the park? Researchers have found that even just running for around fifteen to thirty minutes four times a week provided the pace is fast enough to raise the heart rare you will be able to extend your life expectancy by at least three years even if you smoke or have experienced previous health problems or injury.
It’s accessible, there is no complex training or equipment required and you can go at your own pace for as long as you want so even if you are new to exercising it is easy and straightforward to get started and simple to improve so it’s the ideal choice for anyone trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.