You already know running is good for you. The physical benefits are obvious. The psychological ones are the part that fascinates me, particularly as they relate to habits, consistency and mindset. Having studied psychology and trained as a coach, this is where I tend to spend most of my thinking.
Mood
Running is one of the best ways I know to manage my mood. Whether I’m stressed, overwhelmed or just had a long day, a run always makes me feel better. Getting away from my routine makes it easier to think things through from a different angle. Sometimes I let my mind work through a problem in the background. Other times I work through it actively. Either way, it’s one of the most effective problem-solving strategies I know.
If I’m full of tension, speed sessions are my go-to. Short, sharp bursts where I’m focused only on my pace and getting to the end of the rep. By the time I’m done, whatever was making me feel tense usually feels better.
This is also where the idea of a runner’s high comes in. Running releases endorphins that create feelings of happiness and energy that are hard to replicate any other way. A good run can set me up for the whole day. I finish feeling ready for whatever’s coming. And the effect isn’t just immediate. Cardio activity keeps energy levels high and stable over time. I’ve never finished a run and wished I hadn’t bothered.
Sleep
Sleep and mental wellbeing are more closely connected than we sometimes realise. Running helps regulate your circadian rhythms, which means better quality sleep and improved alertness during the day. I fall asleep more quickly than I used to and sleep more deeply. Better sleep means I’m better equipped to manage everything else.
Sleep, in my experience, is often overlooked in running. We know we need to rest and recover but, surprisingly sleep isn’t considered in the recovery cycle as much as it should be. I tried getting up at 0430 every day so I could run at 0530, but I didn’t change my bedtime, so I didn’t get enough sleep. It didn’t take long before I was exhausted, but I ignored it and thought I just needed to persevere. Then my running started to feel laboured and hard, and I got injured. Nothing serious, but I believe my body was telling me I needed more sleep. I started getting up at 0500 and things immediately improved.
Mind
My morning run gets my thoughts in order before the day starts. Sometimes I plan what I need to do. Sometimes I work through something that’s been bothering me. Mostly I just clear my head. It’s my time, and it’s often the most important part of my day.
There’s evidence that running improves memory and learning. Regular running increases the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning. It can also improve the ability to retain new information. I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks when I run. The combination of movement and learning feels more effective than sitting still. I just need to figure out how to take notes on things that interest me while I run.
Confidence and creativity
These are the two I found to be the least expected.
Every time I get out the door when I don’t feel like it, every time I push through something hard, I’m building evidence that I can do difficult things. This builds my confidence and has carried into other areas of my life. My running has made me more willing to make decisions and take on challenges I might otherwise have avoided. More than that, it led me to train as a coach and focus on habits and motivation because they are the things I am most fascinated about and I know can help other people. Without my running I wouldn’t have built my own habit, wouldn’t have known how it can benefit people and I definitely wouldn’t have started my own business. In fact, my decision to finally change my career coincided with the time I started running regularly and joined the running community.
And creativity. According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, running has been shown to increase creative thinking. I believe it. Some of my best ideas have come on a morning run. There’s something about movement and the lack of a screen that seems to unlock things. My name for my business, the details of the outcomes I can help clients achieve and my approach have all been honed while I’ve been running. A lot of my research has also been done when I’ve been running, mostly through my own experience but some of it through books and podcasts I’ve listened to.
What this means for you
Everything I’ve written here comes from my own experience, research and training. Running changed how I think, how I work and, eventually, what gave me the life change I’d been looking for. If you want to explore how it could do the same for you, that’s exactly what I work on with people.
Want to work on your running mindset? Book a call.
