Improving your health and well-being
Running is the most primitive form of moving. Our ancestors covered up to 40 kilometers on foot every day and burned about 2500 kilocalories in the process. Studies have also shown that about 30 percent more blood flows through the head and you can think better. Runners have the feeling of floating through the landscape, they notice that the body is functioning and that they are healthy. Running is body and psychotherapy in one.
However, far too few people still take their own health seriously. Studies repeatedly show that less than a fifth of the population in Germany meet the criterion of being "completely healthy". Most people are couch potatoes who will give up any fruit salad for a curry sausage.
Preventing diseases
If you want to make the step from couch potato to runner, you have to change your way of thinking. Without changes in your own body perception, the first step is often not taken. Getting people to move permanently is extremely difficult. It works better if the body can fall back on an experience of movement - even if it was a long time ago. This is another reason why it is so important for children to do sport regularly. Because even after a period of non-exercise, the body in old age remembers the movement experience it had as a child or young person.
In this context, the value of gentle endurance sports like running is undisputed. It is no coincidence that doctors also refer to modern civilization diseases - such as high blood pressure or diabetes II - as movement deficiency diseases. Anyone who reads this positive list should immediately lace up their running shoes and start running.
Eight good points for running
#1 Running strengthens the cardiovascular system
When you run, your heart has to work harder to supply your body with enough oxygen. Over a period of time, it adapts. The heart learns to beat more economically - not just during exercise, but around the clock. Because the blood vessels are also better supplied with blood, they do not clog as easily. Running therefore also reduces the risk of heart attack.
#2 Running strengthens muscles and bones
Running strengthens and shapes the muscles of the legs and buttocks in particular. The adaptive stimulus of running also keeps bones strong.
#3 Running supports the immune system
Regular, light running boosts white blood cell production and strengthens your immune system. This makes you less vulnerable to colds.
#4 Running makes you happy and reduces stress
When you exercise, your brain releases more of the neuro transmitters dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. At the same time, running lowers the level of the stress hormone cortisol.
#5 Running improves the brain performance
Running improves the oxygen supply to the brain. According to current scientific knowledge, new connections can even be formed between brain cells, making the brain more efficient.
#6 Running reduces the risk of cancer
Studies have shown that active people have a lower risk of cancer.
#7 Running prevents knee pain
Contrary to persistent rumours, moderate running training provides improved nourishment to joint cartilage, preventing knee pain instead of causing it.
#8 Running helps against obesity
Last but not least, running is one of the most effective sports if you want to lose weight. It also prevents diseases caused by obesity, such as diabetes II and high blood pressure.
