Tired of feeling stressed? Run! Tired of feeling tired? Run! Tired of feeling weak throughout your day? Head to the hills! It’s amazing what running can do for your whole life. It’s not just about getting into a better mood. Below are 6 reasons why you should run to make life more joyful.

#1 Decreased Stress

Running can be used to reduce stress.  It only takes five minutes to start feeling better and it doesn’t have to be intense exercise. In fact, low- to moderate-intensity exercise is better than high-intensity for stress reduction.

#2 Better Mood

Within five minutes of cardiovascular exercise, you can feel happier! Once you get moving, your brain releases serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. These make you feel good! So, even if you don’t feel like doing anything, just going for a walk can make you happier!

#3 More Mental Resilience

When you exercise in a way that pushes you physically, you get mentally tougher. When you are mentally tougher, you can handle more stress. This mental toughness helps in other aspects of your life. You can handle more of anything.

#4 Healthy Ageing

Exercise helps with maintaining a healthy weight. As you age, this becomes harder and harder to do without exercise. It also helps maintain mobility in your spine. When your spine is happy, your body can move properly.

#5 Improved Immune System

When your blood is pumping, you are also increasing the rate at which antibodies and white blood cells run through the body. They detect and attack illness. Why wouldn’t you want more of that happening inside you?

There can be too much of a good thing though. Mild to moderate exercise improves your immune system. Heavy, intense exercise lowers immunity and increases those stress hormones. If you are battling a cold, doing light exercise like a walk or jog for a short amount of time is a good idea. If you are training for a marathon and just finished a long run or a speed work session then you should be careful not to hang out with sick people for several hours afterwards. Use that time to give yourself proper post-workout nutrition and rest.

#6 Increased Energy

From personal experience, I must say that my most productive time comes AFTER I exercise. I get the most work done and feel good doing it. If you are new to exercise you might feel a little more tired for a week or so but then you start feeling better, and better! Stay motivates and stick with it!