How Running Reduces Anxiety and Depression

Posted by Helping Psychology in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on May 05, 2011

Serotonin is the key to these biological changes in any individual. It is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep patterns, memory capacity and a person's mood. This brain chemical is crucial to the health of any person's mental aptitude. Running and other forms of exercise stimulate this chemical leading to the ability to cope with anxiety and depression.

A prominent figure in the medical community, Michael Craig Miller, M.D., conducted research on the connection between running and brain health. It was revealed that the subjects of his test began to experience a significant reduction in depression and anxiety after four months of running at 45-minute intervals. While those studies advocate the sport psychology ideology that running is quite good for the health of both the body and the mind, Miller also makes a point to say that exercise is not a valid replacement for prescribed medication.   

  Want to learn more about the positive effects psychology has on the mind? Visit Helping Psychology:

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