With the London Marathon 2024 a week away, if you’re training you might be feeling more motivated than ever.
It’s clear that running and completing marathons is a great way to keep fit and comes with plenty of physical benefits. Completing a marathon can also be an unforgettable experience.
But it’s also proven to affect your mental health positively. [1]
If you don’t run or haven’t trained for a marathon like the London Marathon before, you might be wondering what the mental benefits of running and doing marathons are.
This guide will look at why running is good for your mental health and how it could help you.
Whilst running is challenging and training for a marathon, even harder, the positive impacts on your mental health are immense.
Even though it’s incredibly difficult, you immediately become increasingly confident and you feel good about yourself. In order to run, you must use a positive mindset and this instantly has a great effect on your mental health.
Applying this positive mindset, that you use for your running, in your everyday life will increase your happiness overall and give you a “can do” attitude.
It is also proven to reduce your stress levels and improve your mental wellbeing, even just by getting you outside for 5-10 minutes.
There are many mental health benefits to running, it truly works wonders on your outlook in life.
Below are some examples of the positive impacts running can have on your mental health and sense of wellbeing:
With the pressures of everyday life, it can be difficult to find the time to take a break. Running can offer the space to reduce your stress levels by taking your mind off of any worries you might be feeling from work or your day.
At a scientific level, exercise is believed to reduce stress by decreasing the levels of stress-related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. [2]
Even just a 15-minute run can improve your mindset and set you up for a less stressful day or offer some relaxation at the end of the day.
Running is known to have similar effects to anxiety medication.
Professor David Linden, Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine says, “Exercise has a dramatic antidepressive effect. It blunts the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress.” [3]
Running can release feel-good endorphins which boost your mood, as well as enhance your general feeling of optimism. [4]
In addition to the feel-good feelings felt, running can also increase your productivity during the day and allow you to maintain productivity for longer. [5]
It also allows you to approach tasks with an increased positive mindset. You may find you can take on situations in a better manner.
As running increases your fitness levels, you may naturally experience an improvement in your self-esteem. Feeling good about yourself is one of the most important aspects of your overall mental well-being. [6]
Research has shown that including running in your normal daily routine can contribute to a better night’s sleep. It is well-known that healthy sleep improves brain cell regeneration, relaxes your entire body, and improves your mental health. [7]
Running may even cure sleeping disorders such as insomnia.
Running works similarly to meditation. High-intensity exercise helps your brain muscles to relax and feel lighter.
After a run, you generally tend to feel less irritated. It helps you stay calm and approach your day with a fresh mind.
For all the positives, running can be bad too for your mental health in certain ways.
This could be, for example, if you start running too frequently and it becomes an addiction. A running addiction could cause a mental health decline.
You must make sure you allow your body and mind enough time between runs to heal. Run when you want to, but don’t expect to run every day or multiple times a day.
Running might not be for everyone, but why not give it a go and see what effect it has on your mental health?
With plenty of mental health benefits, there is a lot to suggest that running could also help you if you are struggling with your mental health.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7663387/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31028765/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470306/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527141/
[6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144516303758
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385214/
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
