Hi there, and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.
You can reap many benefits by running, especially if you build up your stamina and begin long-distance running. Today, I’m going to tell you more about a recent study in this area, which was conducted by researchers from the US-based University of Arizona. They discovered that there is a correlation between distance running and improved cognitive health, implying that it’s good for your brain.
If you’re new to running, as a beginner you should know that as long as you couple running with a good diet, it can provide various physical health benefits. If you run for just five to ten minutes a day, for example, you can improve your heart health, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Running can also be good for your joints and help you burn calories, as well as build up your leg muscles.
According to Shape Magazine, a fitness publication, there is also such a thing as a ‘running high.’ When you run, your brain releases “powerful feel-good chemicals, endorphins and endocannabinoids,” which can lift your mood. The University of Arizona’s recent study has shed more light on the link between running and mental health, by showing the positive impact of running for long distances.
Online wellness portal Club Industry wrote an article about the study. It reported that the University of Arizona’s researches employed MRI technology to compare the brain activity between 11 collegiate distance runners and 11 non-exercisers of the same age. Due to a lack of knowledge concerning how the menstrual cycle impacts brain activity, all the study’s participants were men.
In their scans, the researchers discovered that runners boasted greater brain activity in the regions of “planning, inhibition, monitoring, attentional switching and multi-tasking and motor control.” They also found that the runners’ brains exhibited greater “high level thought,” e.g. in decision making and held more effective concentration capabilities, than their non-running counterparts.
Commenting, study co-author Gene E Alexander said: “[Running is] not such a simple activity after all… It requires complex navigational skills, plus an ability to plan, monitor and respond to the environment, juggle memories of past runs and current conditions, and also continue with all of the sequential motor activities of running, which are, themselves, very complicated.” In their work, the researchers also linked positive decision-making to running. Explaining more, the research noted:
“[M]ovement, especially at high speeds, taxes not only motor control, but can also engage executive functions, spatial navigation, and memory abilities. Over time, these linked cognitive demands may have beneficial effects on brain structure and function. In fact, recent studies have shown that highly fit and competitive young adult athletes perform better on tests of executive function and processing speed in non-sport specific cognitive tasks, suggesting exercise-based improvements may be generalisable to cognitive demands during daily life.”
The University of Arizona’s study confirms what many runners may have already expected. Running, especially over long distances, gives both your body and your brain a workout. During running, you use your motor control functions to physically exercise, while you use brain features like spatial navigation to mentally map out and stay on your route, keeping yourself safe. You may, therefore, want to start running regularly if you’re looking to create some positive changes in your life.
Until next time,
Mohsin Salya