Running Makes Life Better

By Ricard Ferguson, Ph.D. Americans are living longer than ever. Average life expectancy in years continues to inch its way up. Yet, even though we are living longer, it doesn’t always mean the quality of our life is better. Really, quality of life has to do with how we label the “goodness quotient” of life. Many people associate quality of life with physical health and physical functioning. While physical health is of utmost importance, there are numerous other components that reflect the quality of life. Emotional well-being is important. Things like happiness, hope, anxiety and depressions all influence the quality of life. Social functioning is also critical. Belonging to social groups and serving in social roles as spouses, parents and employees all bring meaning to life. Our cognitive functions certainly influence quality of life. The ability to make decisions, solve problems, concentrate and remember things all have a major influence on life.

My question is simple: Does running actually enhance the quality of life? I would venture to say that running indeed enhances one’s perception of life quality from many different perspectives. Obviously, running will enhance physical health. Running helps maintain healthy body mass, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduces the risk of osteoporosis, improves daily physical functioning and enhances energy levels. Not only does running enhance physical health, it actually improves physical self concept. Simply put, running can help improve one’s personal perception of their physical being. Running can make a positive impact on physical self concept and improve perceptions of physical capability. In other words, running can improve your physical self confidence!

While physical improvements from running gather much attention in the press and medical literature, the psychological impact of running must be given its proper place when discussing quality of life. Aerobic forms of exercise, such as running, have been shown to modify negative affect, or negative feelings. Numerous studies have shown that aerobic forms of exercise can be effective in reducing perceptions of depression and also reducing anxiety levels in highly anxious subjects. Aerobic exercise may also be as effective as some anti-depressant drugs in ameliorating depressed mood. Not only can running reduce negative mood states, running may also increase positive mood states. This may possibly be due to increased endorphin levels in the brain, as well as an increase in brain serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, so exercise may possibly raise serotonin levels as would Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor drugs like Prozac. Even though you may not be anxious or depressed, running can help you feel even better. The overall increase in positive mood can have many positive benefits in everyday life away from running itself.

Running may also improve social functioning, even though there has not been a wealth of study done in this area. Certainly, if one’s physical health isn’t good then there will be an impact on social activities as a result. Running can improve overall health, increase energy levels and may even improve social confidence through improved self-concept. Of course, running can be an excellent social activity in and of itself, as is attested to by the number of running clubs, training groups and informal runs with friends. Running really can improve your social life if you so desire.

There is evidence that physical exercise can actually improve cognitive skills. Much research has been done in the area and exercise may help improve such tasks as math problem solving, planning, sorting, puzzle completion skill and even speed in reacting to a stimulus. Aerobic exercise, such as running, may improve brain blood flow, increase brain endorphins, reduce blood pressure and even help prevent dementia in older adults. So running will have an effect on one’s thinking, even though the effect may be small. Much more research is needed in the area of exercise and neural function to fully understand exercise and the effect on cognition. If nothing else, running can provide a great opportunity for planning, problem solving and self-reflection during the actual run. I know I do my best thinking during a solitary run and I have heard numerous other runners make the same comment.

Running may also be an effective tool for helping one deal with everyday life stressors. When engaged in running the human body relies on the stress response to increase sympathetic nervous stimulation, which speeds heart and breathing rates, and to increase glucose and fat in the blood for more energy. Over time the body may adapt to the stress response during exercise and possibly this adaptation may transfer to non-running stress, like the kind you feel when you’re late for work and can’t find your car keys. In other word, the fitness adaptations from running may actually lead to a reduced level of the stress response from many psychological and social stressors you experience in everyday life. If your stress response is lowered you will feel less anxious and tense in the moment, but over time it may also reduce the incidence of stress linked diseases like heart disease and stroke.

Running can enhance the quality of life in many ways. In many cases you can actually perceive how running makes life better, like more energy, lowered health care costs and having good running friends. There are also many benefits you may never think of, like better stress management, improved mood and decreased risk of disease. Yes, running can improve physical, social and mental well being. So for most runners, running means life is good!

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