Health Benefits of Jogging Everyday: How It Affects Your Mind and Body

Running is more than just a physical act. It involves mental exercise that can be just as difficult as the actual act of moving. In fact, this is often the area that challenges people the most. The good news is that the health benefits of jogging everyday encompass both the physical and mental as well.

If you are struggling to find the motivation to get out of the house and go for a run, then hopefully this list of amazing rewards that jogging will bring to you is enough to get you moving.

Physical Health Benefits of Jogging Everyday

Improves Heart Health

It is not surprising that one of the best health benefits of jogging everyday is that it is good for your heart. As running is an aerobic exercise, it decreases the risk of heart disease, cardiovascular disease and can even improve longevity.

Enhances Lung Capacity

Working alongside the heart is the lungs. When you jog, you need substantially more oxygen than if you are sedentary, let’s say, sitting on the couch. If you want a way to improve and strengthen your respiratory function, getting up and moving is the way to do it.

With consistent jogging, you will increase the lung’s intake capacity over time, meaning that eventually, you will be able to complete the same amount of exercise with less effort.

Weight Loss

Compared to the other physical health benefits of jogging everyday, losing weight is one that you can visually see for yourself over time. Jogging is a great way to manage and lose weight, as it gets the body moving and your heart pumping on a regular basis.

Not only will your body burn calories during your run but also for up to 48 hours afterwards. So you will still be reaping these physical benefits of jogging even after you finish, speeding up your metabolism.

Increase Fitness

By jogging everyday, you will most certainly become fitter. It is one thing to lose weight but it is another to become fit and healthy.

As I mentioned previously, your respiratory function will substantially improve meaning that you will be able to complete the task at hand with less effort and exertion. When it comes to running, this may be being able to run that 5km distance in a faster time than before or making to to 10km when you couldn’t before.

Your endurance levels will grow, which is a great health benefit of jogging everyday.

Mental Health Benefits of Jogging Everyday

Relieves Stress

Jogging is a great stress reliever. It can work two ways. You can use the time in your running session to focus on your nagging issues and sweat it off.

Alternatively, you can escape it for a little while and give yourself some much-needed space. Instead, you could use the time to clear your mind and think about something else for a bit.

Either way, jogging is an efficient way to relieve stress and to help you gain some perspective on things.

Grows Confidence

Maybe you weren’t all that great at running when you first started. Maybe you could only manage to walk the distance on your first try or gave up halfway. That may have been the case in the beginning but after consistent sessions, how much progress have you made?

Chances are, you would have improved. Even if it is by the slightest margin, this can increase your confidence dramatically.

A boost in confidence is a great mental health benefit of jogging. It is even better because this morale can then be applied in all other areas of your life. So you won’t only be improving your fitness but also the way you approach other areas in your life.

Boosts Happiness

Ever finished a run and felt happy? You have experienced a common phenomenon known as the “runner’s high”.

The runner’s high is what makes jogging addictive to some people. It helps to release endorphins that bring you to a state of euphoria.

So next time you are dreading that running session, just know that at the end of it, you will be very happy that you did it.

As you can see, the health benefits of jogging everyday not only encompasses physical results but also mental ones. As well as training your body, you will be able to train your mind. Whether you prefer the treadmill or fresh air, as long as you commit to training, you will be able to reap the benefits.

If you want to get started with running sessions, then enlist in a running app that can help ease you into it. Zen Labs Fitness offers a range of apps that help runners with all experience, from complete beginners (Couch to 5K) to those looking to go the distance (Couch to 10K). For even more support, make sure you join our community with like-minded individuals who see that value and health benefits of jogging everyday.