3 reasons why running will improve your health!
By Anne-Marie SamuelEver have to justify why you run to your friends? Do you often have people(non- runners!) tell you running is bad for you? Here are 3 more reasons besides the hundreds of others why running is good for you...
1) Strengthens your immune system
You may not have been aware that over 200 different viruses can cause colds. Contrary to what you may have thought, it's not very easy to catch a cold directly from someone who is coughing and/or sneezing, because only small numbers of cold viruses leave the body in emitted mucus (that's not true for flu viruses, however, which fly out of the respiratory system in droves with a cough or sneeze). Running in damp, cold weather does not raise your risk of getting a cold, either.
Moderate running, even in the winter, provides some protection against those ubiquitous cold viruses. People who run for 35 to 45 minutes per day, five days a week, spend about half the number of days per year suffering from cold symptoms, compared to sedentary people. In addition, about 60 per cent of recreational runners experience fewer colds after they initiate a running programme, compared to when they were sedentary.
The caveat to this is high-intensity training or over training does lead to lower immunity. For example runners who complete over 60 miles a week do pick up more coughs and colds to their more moderate colleagues (or even their sedentary ones!).
Studies have shown 35 to 45 minutes of moderate exercise tends to boost immune-system activity, whereas three hours of intense exertion thwarts immune-system effectiveness for at least six to nine hours after the workout is over.
Another way to prevent colds and flu is to stop touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. The average person touches those areas with his/her hands every 20 minutes or so, transferring viruses which have been picked up from keyboards, phones, doorknobs, etc. directly to the respiratory tract.
Overall, it's clear that ingesting an optimal diet which is rich in vitamins and minerals and adequate in calories, getting adequate sleep, recovering well after workouts, and 'cycling' your training with hard and easy periods (rather than hammering all the time) should help keep the cold bugs at bay.
2) Reduce your blood pressure
Running is more effective than diet at reducing blood pressure - and is just as effective as many prescribed medications at sending blood pressure downward. A single workout can decrease systolic blood pressure by five to six points and diastolic pressure by six to eight points for up to 13 hours. Overall, getting fitter can diminish everyday systolic blood pressure by 10 to 12 mm Hg and normal diastolic pressure by up to seven mm in people with pressure problems. Such decreases are associated with a 20- to 25-percent drop in the death rate associated with blood-pressure problems('Exercise Can Reduce High Blood Pressure,' ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal, vol. 2(1), pp. 29-36, 1998).
Research shows that endurance running is better than resistance training at reducing blood pressure.
Overall, the research suggests that moderate-intensity exercise is more effective than high-intensity work at relieving blood pressure - and that 40- to 60-minute workouts are significantly more effective than 20- to 30-minute affairs.
3) Strengthens your bones
Osteoporosis is the bone-thinning disease which leads to height loss and fractures in middle and old age. Again too little exercise predisposes to osteoporosis as does over exercise particularly in combination with amenorrhoea (absent menstruation) and an eating disorder. However moderate regular exercise protects against it and maximises bone mass.
Indeed the combination of amenorrhoea, eating disorders and osteoporosis are now so prevalent in adolescent and young adult female athletes that it is known collectively as'the athletic triad'. The best way to prevent osteoporosis is to maximise bone mass in the first three decades of life when bone is being formed at a greater rate than it is being lost - and exercise plays a key role in this process. But it must be weight bearing exercise like running.
In terms of preventing osteoporosis, the best time to start an exercise programme is during the early teenage years, when bone growth is at its peak. Amazingly, as much as 60% of bone growth occurs during adolescence.
Weight-bearing activity during adolescence and early adulthood is a far more important predictor of peak bone mass than calcium intake, possibly because growing bone has a much greater capacity to add new bone to the skeleton than mature bone.
So there are many reason to start running, keep running and maintain a balanced regular programme. The team at Body in Motion can give you guidelines regarding your current programme or help you get started. We also do video analysis and correct your gait on the treadmill. Book an appointment now.