Maya Shasky
Many people who have severe anxiety have many different strategies to cope and deal with it, such as talking to a trustworthy adult, journaling, or being in a relaxing place to gather their thoughts. Everybody is different and has different ways of coping with it. Still, I think a good way to help with people’s anxiety is doing some sort of physical activity, such as running. Running can be beneficial for anyone because it reduces stress and strengthens the body’s muscles. As a result, being physically active is crucial because it can improve both mental and physical health. If people could commit 20 minutes or more a day to running, they would be rewarded with a good, healthy body and a fresh, clear perspective of things without their thoughts being clouded with anxiety, which could help those people who have difficulty sleeping. Specifically, “As you continue to push yourself to go harder and faster [while running], your body starts releasing endorphins…[helping with] stress management, prevention of cognitive skill decline, calmer state of mind, help with sleep, and increased productivity” (Cigna Healthcare). Running helps with cognitive productivity, your working memory, and cognitive skills. When people’s brains are buzzing with anxiety, they can’t concentrate on their work. This usually leads to a decline in their cognitive skills and their working memory because their brain is too busy worrying over something, affecting their focus or concentration. However, running has been shown to help recenter people’s minds.
We can further see the effects of running through a statistical study comparing the brains of runners and non-runners: “The runners reportedly exhibited greater connectivity between different regions of the brain, including within the frontal cortex. (The frontal cortex governs cognitive tasks like planning and decision-making.) Strikingly, the researchers concluded that running affects the structure and function of the brain in ways similar to complex tasks like playing a musical instrument” (Ciulla). This quote shows how running can improve performance or concentration, similar to performing complex tasks, because the frontal cortex is more active. Therefore, running can improve working memory and cognitive skills, because parts of the brain are more active after a run.
A big factor that affects people’s lives in a negative way is not getting enough sleep. But why do people have a hard time sleeping? Some people may think that sleeping is the easiest thing in the world to recharge their brains after a long or hard day of work, but everybody is different, and for some people, it is really hard for them. Some people may be too anxious, others may be on their screens too much, or they may simply not be tired enough.
That’s where running can help again. Running is a useful way to get people tired enough that they would want to sleep. According to an article called The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality and Sleep Disorder: A Systematic Review, “First running increases the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles… Second, physical activity reduces stress, which is a typical impediment to falling and staying asleep. Third, physical activity improves mood, leading to increased enthusiasm for physical exercise and a positive feedback loop” (Alnawwar et. al). This quote shows us how running can be very useful to help people fall asleep because it reduces people waking up in the middle of the night, it reduces stress, and it makes you feel happier. Melatonin is a type of hormone in your body that makes you restless and wakes you up in the middle of the night. If people have this problem, going on one run won’t solve it; people will have to constantly be physically active to have a better time sleeping. And this is definitely useful for people who have insomnia because it helps them fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep longer. As it is said in the quote, running is a stress reliever which can make some people fall asleep quicker by easing their brain and making them tired, so that they would fall asleep without any stress. The quote also talked about how running can help people’s mood levels. Running can help with your mood levels because it releases endorphins and endocannabinoids, which are the body's painkillers and mood boosters. When these are released, people are happier and have something to look forward to the next day, encouraging them to sleep. Hence, running is shown to be beneficial for sleep, as it helps your body decline in restlessness, decreases your anxiety, and helps with your mood. If you have a hard time sleeping, maybe it is time to consider running a shot.
Running can not only help your mental health, but it can also help your physical body in a significant way. 16-year-old Julia Somlo is a 10th grader here at Summit Tahoma. She did cross country this year and last year, and she is planning on doing track this year. After being interviewed, Julia shares some insight on how she thinks every time people run, they increase their endurance and how it can be beneficial to life. Julia says, “while I do not always increase my endurance by running, I find that the more often I run the more I would find myself habitually running. I definitely agree that people gain endurance from running, this is mainly due to finding that they can run faster than they would have even a little bit in the past.” In other words, even though Julia doesn’t set a new PR every time she runs, she believes that ensurance will increase with consistency over time. This is important because once you gain that endurance, people will start to feel their body rewarding them, making it easier for them to complete physical activities such as walks or hikes.
So in conclusion, running can have some amazing benefits to your brain and your body. Running can be really helpful for your brain because it can help your brain with your working memory, which can help with people’s academics or work. Running can also help with your sleep because after you are done running, people usually feel tired and are ready to get a full rest. Running can help your body because by building endurance and leg muscles, which can make people feel stronger and ready to go on really long hikes, which can help ease their anxiety too. Even beyond the ones mentioned in this article, running has so many other important benefits. So the next time you feel restless or anxious, look back at this article and give running a try, and who knows, maybe it will become your new hobby.
header image used under the Unsplash License
Works Cited:
The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality and Sleep Disorder: A Systematic Review, 16 August 2023, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10503965/.
Ciulla, Anna. “Why Running Is So Good For Your Brain.” Mental Health First Aide, 18 October 2017, https://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/news/running-good-brain/.
“8 Health Benefits of Running for the Body and Mind.” Cigna Healthcare, https://www.cigna.com/knowledge-center/mental-health-benefits-of-running.
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