Running – Nature’s Prozac!

Have you ever noticed women who run seem to be that little bit happier? They seem to have more ‘pep’ in their step. Handling their kids and dealing with the inevitable ups and downs of having a husband often are more manageable. Deadlines and pressure at work always are just that little bit easier when you get to work after having had a had a nice hour long early morning run. Or knowing that when your at work its only a few more hours of ‘the grind’ until you can throw off the stress of the pain in the butt job and that annoying co-worker, throw on your favorite pair of Womens Asics Gel Kayanos or Nimbus or even the light weight pair of DS’s turn up the iPod and drown out the frustrations.

There is no doubt about it… getting out there running, working up a good sweat, huffing and puffing, listening to your favorite uplifting songs can make even the biggest of life’s problems seem manageable and help give you the confidence to know you can overcome them.

Many ‘non’ runners doubt the benefits of regular running but all of us who get out there and pound the pavement know inside that running not only provides great physical benefits but also mental and emotional benefits. We know that a good run can put even the biggest of problems into perspective.

Next time your are feeling stressed out and like life is getting too tough, try this simple experiment. Before you go out for your run, rate how stressful the problem is 1-10. Then go out for your normal run, when you come back, think about the problem again and rate how stressful it now feels.

My guess is the feeling of stressful it appears will have come down at least a couple of points!!

Running… indeed nature Prozac!!

Enjoy your next run and please comment on how running helps you feel better!

Have a great day,

Bree