{"id":6626,"date":"2009-03-23T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=6626"},"modified":"2009-03-20T11:29:43","modified_gmt":"2009-03-20T16:29:43","slug":"7-mental-health-reasons-to-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/7-mental-health-reasons-to-run\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Mental Health Reasons to Run"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mini<\/a>

Mini-marathon participants running through downtown Indianapolis.<\/p><\/div>\n

In just under seven weeks, I will be running the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon for the second time. Part of the events leading up to the Indianapolis 500 each year, the Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon and the fifth largest running event in the United States. It is a major event for Indianapolis, including participants from all over the world, across age brackets, and of all speeds. I have fast new shoes and I am running more days than I’m not. I obviously have running on the brain. We write about the health benefits of running<\/a> frequently, but there are several mental health benefits also.<\/p>\n

1. Run when you are feeling angry<\/strong> or frustrated<\/strong> to burn off the extra energy. Research has shown that nothing relieves stress more than physical exercise.<\/p>\n

2. Running increases endorphins which contributes to a general sense of well-being and mood elevation, so running can make you feel better when you are sad<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

3. Running is an excellent way to fight anxiety<\/strong>. Naturally inducing and recovering from the adrenaline response allows your body to practice recovering from physical effects of anxiety.<\/p>\n

\"Running<\/a>

Running around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p><\/div>\n

4. If you are feeling lonely<\/strong> or disillusioned with people in general, running on a local trail (like Indy’s Monon Trail, Canal Walk, or Cultural Trail) will expose you to several people enjoying the weather and\/or exercising, as well as dogs and kids, and present many opportunities to enjoy and share a smile.<\/p>\n

5. Running gives you an opportunity to experience freedom<\/strong> and can be the perfect escape<\/a> from stressors, being inside all day, or the daily grind when you are feeling trapped.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6. You can increase your self-esteem<\/strong> and feel empowered<\/strong> by running by accomplishing goals, experiencing what your body can do, and re-defining yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. Running also gives you an opportunity to escape into your own world<\/strong>, tune out everything else with your iPod<\/a>, refocus<\/strong>, and be refreshed.<\/strong> You may need a break from stressors or people or just to allow your brain to rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In just under seven weeks, I will be running the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon for the second time. Part of the events leading up to the Indianapolis 500 each year, the Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon and the fifth largest running event … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695,18],"tags":[1204,427,1203,1199,1200,503,29,211,933],"class_list":["post-6626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-fitness","tag-anxiety","tag-depression","tag-endorphins","tag-half-marathon","tag-indianapolis","tag-mood","tag-nutrition","tag-running","tag-self-esteem"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6626"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6736,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6626\/revisions\/6736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}