It is scientifically accepted that exercise is good for the body. It increases your aerobic capacity, muscle size, and helps to keep your body weight at optimal levels. All of these factors contribute positively to physical health. More recently, many studies have been conducted assessing the effects of regular exercise on mental health. It has become apparent, that exercise can promote greater satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and psychological well-being when partaking in a regular exercise routine.
The effects of exercise on well-being was assessed in an excellent article, Within-Person Relationships Between Recreational Running and Psychological Well-Being, by John B. Nezlek et al. in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Nezlek and colleagues studied the effects of running on various aspects of an individuals psychological well-being. They selected over 240 recreational runners and asked them to record their frequency and distance in which they ran on a weekly basis. The participants also answered a series of questions about their well-being and other aspects of their lives for that week. Well-being was assessed in three specific areas, self esteem, satisfaction with life, and affect or mood. Participants needed to provide data for at least four weeks in order to be included in the study. The results demonstrated that the harder and longer participants ran during the week, the better they felt about themselves and their lives as a whole. As well, affect improved with distance and frequency of running. The authors concluded that the correlation between running and well-being was positive, although the causality of this effect would require further study. This study contributed to the scientific literature in a number of important ways. The authors studied only running. Running is noncompetitive and does not involve competing against of playing with other individuals which could have effects on mental health. This study effected “within-person” relationships, rather than “between-person” relationships, so that each runner served as their own control, as opposed to examining the difference between runners and non-runners. As well, the study focused on a participants well being during relatively short periods of time, which would enhance accurate data acquisition. Finally the study was limited to establish recreational runners as opposed to individuals taking up running for the first time, providing greater reliability to the study’s conclusions.
Despite being unable to demonstrate causality, it appears clear that running regularly enhances well-being and that the duration and frequency that you run, positively correlates with additional benefits.
Reference:
Nezlek, J. B., Cypryańska, M., Cypryański, P., Chlebosz, K., Jenczylik, K., Sztachańska, J., & Zalewska, A. M. (2018). Within-Person Relationships Between Recreational Running and Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 40(3), 146-152. doi:10.1123/jsep.2017-0244
Kinesiology For Everyone 