A Running Habit = Anxiety Management

A Running Habit

Running for me is a habit: one that is key to how well I function, how effective I am in the world, and the quality of my relationships.

 It is a habit that has been formed over twenty-five years: from a twelve-year old jogging up and down his street in the picturesque Highland village of Carr-bridge, to a thirty-seven year old running a 2.47 marathon in Edinburgh in 2024.

 This series of blog posts looks at the benefits of building a running habit, before exploring how to build your own running habit.

Anxiety

It is an emotion that we are all familiar with, to some degree or another. It can manifest in many different ways: an increase in our pulse, rapid or shallow breathing, a feeling of excess energy, an inability to think clearly.

At its worst, it can be severely inhibitive. In the volunteering work I do for Edinburgh based charity Health in Mind, I facilitate a support group online or in person for people with anxiety and/or depression.

For some of the people I am fortunate enough to meet and get to know in those groups, their anxiety is so profound that it means they can’t leave the house.

For most of us, our anxiety will not be so severe. I don’t like the finality or label that comes with defining myself as an ‘anxious person’, yet I know that I experience anxious feelings often and regularly.

It is a cliché for a reason, but I very much embody the swan effect: calm on the surface, but paddling madly underneath.

In the life-time process of managing this, as it is for all of us, I’ve tried everything: read scores of self-help books; been a regular meditator for the past ten years; gave up drinking alcohol for half a decade, the list goes on.

The one thing that helps beyond all others?

Running.

Running and Anxiety

I won’t claim that running is some kind of magical panacea, that will make anxiety disappear.  Nothing, of course, will: it is a part of our evolutionary heritage and has some positive functions.

Instead here I will list five ways running can help manage anxiety.

Releases positive endorphins

There is a reason that people with addictive temperaments are often drawn to running. It is literally a mood enhancer: when you run, endorphins and serotonin are released in your body, chemicals that ultimately improve mood. These chemicals also ultimately make you feel calmer and clearer in your thinking – stabalising your mood.

Helps to Process Thinking

When I am feeling anxious my thoughts go in a loop, and tend to feel like they are moving a million miles an hour. I find it hard to concentrate and can get caught in an internal monologue. The movement in running helps to slow down those thoughts, allowing us to expel that excessive energy. Often that means we can arrive at the next steps we need to take in whatever might be making us feel anxious.

Improves Sleep

Anxiety can cause many sleepless nights. We lie down and are greeted by the washing machine of thinking that has accompanied us throughout the day.  Lots of studies suggest that regular exercise, like running, helps people to fall asleep quicker, wake up less in the night and feel better when they do wake up. And for those of us who might be more anxious, sleep is vital to help mood regulation.

Matthew Walker, in his brilliant book ‘Why We Sleep’, provides a somewhat tongue in cheek justification for focussing on sleep:

“AMAZING BREAKTHROUGH! Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested?”

Time in Nature

Anxiety channels our thinking, it makes us lose perspective and focus internally. Running, instead, takes us out into the world, it forces us to spend time in nature. Spending time in nature, of course, has a calming effect. I’m sure we can all remember being told to “get outside and get some Vitamin D” as children. That Vitamin D we get from exposure to sunlight literally relaxes us. Being outside in visually stimulating environments also helps to centre our minds, and take us outside of ourselves.

Self-Esteem

I don’t subscribe to the theory that running is wonderful at all times. There are days when we would rather do anything but run, and runs where we feel like we are dragging a horse along with us. That, however, sets up the final reason why running helps with anxiety: every run is an achievement. Often anxiety can pick away at our self-esteem, making us question our every move and lose confidence. Knowing we have the self-motivation and determination to get out and run, can help us to see we also have the discipline to not be defined by anxious feelings.

So if you find yourself feeling anxious, and struggling to gain perspective, there is a simple thing you can do today: go for a run.

Thank you for reading.

Read: ‘Why Has Nobody Told me This Before’ by Dr Julie Smith

Listen: The Ten Percent Happier Podcast: Your Anxiety Questions Answered by Judson Brewer.