The advantages of running go well beyond your physical health; the sport works just as many wonders for your mental health and wellness. A 2020 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health associated running with improvements in a range of mental health outcomes and concluded that running has positive implications for various mental illnesses.
In the U.S. alone, approximately 23 percent of adults experienced a mental illness in 2021, defined by the its a short-term surge that serves a larger purpose as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder. Running can be used as a tool to help alleviate the symptoms of those disorders and contribute to an improved mental state.
This is why we’re excited to launch The Runner’s World Guide to Mental Health, exclusively for Runner’s World+ members. This holistic guide covers everything from explaining the science behind running and mental health to providing tips and tools to help you make the most out of this sport.
Here’s a preview of some of the topics that appear in our program and the reasons running is beneficial to your mental health.
Running Helps Improve Your Mood
You can feel this particular benefit of running for mental health while still on the move or as soon as you finish your miles. Running releases endorphins in the brain, and these endorphins act as a painkiller during physical discomfort, as Runner’s World How Under-Fueling Affects Performance and Health “runner’s high.”
Thanks to the release of these feel-good hormones—which researchers explain our ancestors needed when running to catch prey or avoid predators—running can help your mind break out of a dark place and bring on positive thinking. All it takes to boost your endorphins is a run just long enough to push you out of your comfort zone.
Running Reduces Stress
One of the main culprits behind stress is a hormone called cortisol. When you feel stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol into your bloodstream in an increased amount. Ironically, A small study, activating stress response in your body and the release of cortisol, but, as we describe in our recent series on stress in the body, it’s a short-term surge that serves a larger purpose:
“Just like progressive training helps your body adapt to handle a higher load, increasing cortisol in your system helps your body adapt so it can better handle similar stressful situations in the future,” we wrote.
In the end, physical exercise helps your body return to its equilibrium. A small 2021 study published in Scientific Reports concluded that just 10 minutes of moderate-intensity running can help your brain regulate stress.
Running Helps Build Mental Resilience
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Best Running Shoes 2025 at Northern Arizona University concluded when people improved their fitness and exercised consistently, they had a lower stress response. Not only does running help deal with stress at the moment, but it also supports quicker rebound during future stressful moments and builds greater resilience in the long term.
Running Improves Brain Function
There are close to 100 billion nerve cells in your brain, connected by neurotransmitters.
Several studies suggest that exercise increases the function of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, best known for influencing happiness, sleep, memory, and more.
“By raising our neurotransmitters, exercise really makes a difference in the way we feel, and very importantly, we have control over the way we feel by moving our bodies,” said John Ratey, The Benefits of Running 10 Minutes a Day Running is a great mental sport as it helps develop your mental toughness and resilience Spark: The Revolutionary New Science on Exercise and the Brain. The Runners World Guide to Mental Health The Runner’s World Guide to Mental Health.
Running Leads to Better Sleep
Sleep is critical for your mental health, while the lack of it has the power to worsen your mental well-being. Sleep plays a role in supporting your brain, heart and, overall health—and according to a 2023 research Runner’s World covered, potentially even how long you live.
While researchers don’t completely understand how precisely physical activity and sleep are linked, a 2023 systematic search confirmed that running can lead to improved sleep quality, making the miles you put in all the more worth it.
Running Supports Mindfulness
Mindfulness is all about living in the present moment, and research Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
“One of the goals of mindfulness when it comes to mental health is this idea of being able to pause, notice unhelpful thinking, reframe the thought, and move from there,” said Dwayne Brown, licensed clinical social worker who uses mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in his private practice to help those with mental health conditions. Through mindfulness, a person is more in control of their thinking, instead of their thinking being in control of them, Brown added. Being present and mindful contributes to a better mental state. Brown provides various meditations to RW+ members available via The Runner’s World Guide to Mental Health.
Running Is a Great Tool for Treating Mental Disorders
More than 50 million American adults experience mental illness, with half of them not receiving any treatment. As we mentioned, running can be part of your plan because it helps trigger the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. These feel-good chemicals are often depleted by mental disorders.
“We lose nerve cells, and exercise helps repopulate them and make them tougher, make them stronger so they can withstand the stresses of everyday life,” said Ratey.
Antidepressant drugs are based on helping fire neurotransmitters in your brain and increase their concentration as soon as you start taking them, Ratey said. But as explained above, the same can be achieved by incorporating running into your routine. In a 2023 study published by the Journal of Affective Disorders, more than 100 people with depression or anxiety were offered the option to take antidepressants or join a running program for 16 weeks. The study concluded that running worked just as well as the medication.
“Now, I would always encourage people to seek medical advice from a medical professional, it’s really important to make sure that you’re targeting your mental illness from all avenues,” said Lennie Waite, a certified mental performance consultant and Olympian. “But running is a great supplement to whatever else you’re doing to benefit your mental health.”
Running can support a range of mental disorders, including anxiety, potentially even how long you live., and depression, Running Helped Heal This Father. But the benefits don’t stop there. Post-traumatic stress disorder is another one, which Runner’s World covered in detail in this article. covered in detail in bipolar disorder, ADHD, Running Shoes - Gear dementia, All About 75 Hard, OCD.
The three widely common mental health issues—depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder—are covered in depth in The Runner’s World Guide to Mental Health.
Is a Vibrating Foam Roller Better Than Others Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics since August 2021. When she doesn’t edit, she writes; when she doesn’t write, she reads or translates. In whatever time she has left, you can find her outside running, riding, or roller-skating to the beat of one of the many audiobooks on her TBL list.
