NATURAL HIGH: HOW RUNNING AIDS MENTAL HEALTH

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MENTAL HEALTH

NATURAL HIGH

HOW RUNNING HELPS YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

Running isn’t just about staying in shape. Here, two runners open up about how the sport has helped them through diffi cult periods in their lives, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

A decade ago, a group of neuroscientists based in Munich used brain imaging technology to show that beta-endorphin levels spike in the brain after a two-hour run. Their research not only proved the existence of the fabled “runner’s high,” it confi rmed what runners have known for ages — that the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, fast, is hugely benefi cial not just for your physical health, but for your mental well-being too. That study was just one of a growing number which have suggested that running regularly brings a variety of mental health benefi ts — from boosting self-esteem, to improving your ability to concentrate, to reducing the fl ow of chemicals associated with stress, anxiety and depression to the brain.

Benj Hemingway and Sean Hayes, good friends who met working at Ellis Brigham, are well aware of these benefi ts. Having started running relatively recently, the pair aren’t professionals, despite completing several long-distance runs, including The Ellis Brigham 10 Peaks Challenge in Wales, which they ran together. Over the past few years, however, both have come to realise the importance of running for their mental well-being.

Here, Sean and Benj open up about that journey, talking about how running has helped them through dark times, and the lessons they’ve learned from pounding the trails.

Benj: Let’s start at the beginning. What was it that fi rst attracted you to running?

Sean: Well, I’d not long since moved to the Lake District, and living somewhere that rains a lot meant that I couldn’t climb as often as before. I was working in an outdoor shop, and that’s what people were doing after work. I bought some shoes and on the quiet, found places where nobody could see me, huffi ng and puffi ng and sweating along, and before I knew it, I could sort of run a couple of kilometres. It grew from there. What about you? Where are you at with your running now, are you running with any sort of regularity?

Benj: Less than before. I think my story for the past six months has been a really, really tough one. Last September, we found that my fi ve-year-old daughter had a very rare brain tumour. Up until that point, I was running very regularly. Five times a week was my routine, with two days off . But when that kind of tragedy hits, it stops everything. Everything becomes very unimportant, and I don’t mean just running, I mean everything. You focus fully on what matters the most, and that was making sure that we got her the care and help that she needed.

The past six months have been a journey. Three surgical procedures to deal with the immediate problem, which was life threatening, and then, most recently, the tumour removal. She’s now at a place where it’s gonna be a long road to recovery—six months to two years. So I’m just starting to get back into some regular running.

It’s been such a mentally and emotionally draining period of time, but I know that when I am out running, it clears my head and helps me to refocus. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction, and the feeling afterwards, I’m just much calmer and more able to cope with what she’s going through. How about yourself?

Sean: Well, I damaged my knee in September 2019, so I’d not run regularly for two and a half years. I’d become so deconditioned in terms of my physical fi tness, and my mood and overall health were starting to be impacted by that. It reached a bit of a crunch point, and I’ve had to remind myself that I need to look after my wellness. I’ve had to start right back at the beginning, put aside my pride, and embrace

“We found out my fi ve-year-old daughter had a rare brain tumour”

being an absolute beginner again. When I started running, the mental health benefi ts were just not on my radar. I’ve now realised that yes, running is about keeping my body healthy, but it’s also about teaching myself resilience, teaching myself that I can build up a skill, and do more, and go further than I thought. Spending time on the trails using skills like navigation, looking after yourself in bad weather, taking yourself to new places that you’ve never been before, that’s all hugely benefi cial.

Benj: Yeah I think that’s very much the case for me. I understood the eff ect that exercising had on my mental wellbeing, but what I didn’t understand was that, when I started running in the hills, it had an even greater eff ect. Being away from people, being away from traffi c, being away from my normal routine and actually being connected to a far wilder environment, it was like discovering something brand new. I’m a keen climber and a skier, but this was like “oh wow, the mountains are even more fun than I thought.”

Sean: A hundred percent, yeah. I’m somebody who has always been a keen walker from a young age, and that was

Benj (left) , Sean (centre) and a friend tackle a long distance trail route.

my experience of the hills—carrying heavy boots, a pack, and all the gear. But to strip it back a little bit, and go out with just a drink, a snack, phone and car keys, it’s using the environment in a very diff erent way. It peels your eyes back a bit, doesn’t it?

Benj: I think the other thing I really enjoy about it versus walking is being able to cover a really good amount of distance. One of my favourite memories was when you and I ran the 10 Peaks Challenge in Wales together. I’d walked it the year before, but tackling the same terrain running made it come alive in a way it hadn’t before.

Sean: Absolutely. I mean again it’s all comparative, and the 30 kilometres we covered that day, obviously people have done it much quicker than us. But it still felt like a signifi cant challenge. And that’s something I’ve always enjoyed, right from when I fi rst started and was huffi ng and puffi ng on the streets in Keswick.

Every time I went out, I felt accomplished. I felt like I’d done something productive. I used to run after work, and any sort of minor niggles I’d had throughout the day were kind of sorted and ordered. I’d realise as I went that there were more important things to be stressed about.

Benj: I see each run almost like a page in a book. After each one of those runs, it’s another page that has been turned. It gives me a springboard into the day each time I run. Yes, there’s the endorphin high, but it more gives me a sense of “I’ve achieved something very positive”, regardless of the distance, regardless of the time that I’m running in.

Sean: Yes, it defi nitely sets you up in a very productive mood for the rest of the day. What lessons have you learnt from running that you’ve been able to apply to other areas of your life?

Benj: When we ran the Ten Peaks together, I remember my knee got really bad halfway through the route. I didn’t think we could continue because the pain was that bad. Every step was agony. But I fi nished that damn race.

I look back on that now when I think about the mental barrier that I’ve had to get through these past six months — adjusting to the fact that my child’s life is in danger, and that I have to stay strong for them, and for my other children. There’s no way you can just curl up in a ball and feel sorry for yourself. On the Ten Peaks, the experience of physical pain taught me a lot about resilience and emotional resilience. What I’ve been through in the last six months certainly far far outweighs what I went through on that run, but it’s similar in the sense that it’s a hurdle that you have to push beyond. So often, we have an idea about what we can tolerate, or what we can deal with, and actually, we can go way way further than that.

These things are almost like microcosms—like small lessons about what life can bring to your door. I’ve been through immense hardship, and through that hardship I’ve developed a strength. There’ll be more hardships to come, but I know I will face them like I faced the pain on the 10 Peaks Challenge. And as you know, my sodding knee was driving me nuts that day. [laughs]

Sean: It’s fascinating, because you listen to Olympic athletes talking about their journey, but the reality is that you don’t have to be operating on that level to learn these lessons. The Ten Peaks was something we did through work, for charity. That,

GET STARTED: COUCH TO 5K

The Couch to 5K program, which Benj, Sean and many millions of others would recommend, is a simple way to start running. Rather than relying on impossibly demanding routines, Couch to 5K helps you build up slowly, from walking to running a full fi ve kilometres. The NHS-approved version takes nine weeks, but there are other providers out there. To fi nd out more google NHS couch to 5k

Left image: Brain after sitting quietly. Right image: Brain after walking for twenty minutes. Research/scan compliments of Dr. Chuck Hillman, University of Illinois

“It’s taught me a lot about resilience, and emotional resilience”

and things like the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, these are events that happen up and down the country, thousands of times a year. It only takes one of them for you to just realise that actually, you’re a lot stronger than you think.

Benj: Yeah. I also feel like it’s really easy to look back on times when you’re really fi t and think that. But if you’re not, you have to use the same thought processes. Which is: all I have to do is lace my shoes up, just go get my kit on, and step out the front door. If I consistently step out the front door and get out there, eventually, a three kilometre run will turn into a 5k, a 5k will turn into a 10k. And then all of a sudden, the pages in that book are starting to fi ll up, and the engine is starting to get stronger, and the mind is starting to get more and more robust.

POWER UP: 5 WAYS RUNNING BENEFITS YOUR BRAIN

IT HELPS YOU SLEEP BETTER

This might sound obvious—of course you sleep better if you’re physically tired—but for years it was thought that the endorphins from an evening workout could actually disrupt a night’s sleep. However, a recent article by Harvard Medical School suggested that unless you’re doing hard interval training less than an hour before bedtime, this isn’t the case. Running helps you fall asleep more quickly, and improves sleep quality. And of course, sleeping well has all sorts of mental health benefi ts, from lifting your mood to improving your ability to concentrate.

IT IMPROVES COGNITIVE FUNCTION

As well as helping you sleep better, running raises your heart rate and improves your blood fl ow, resulting in more oxygen-rich blood being pumped towards the brain. A recent study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience suggested that running stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that encourages the growth and survival of your neurons. Another study demonstrated a link between higher levels of cardiorespiratory fi tness and bigger brains, with increased volumes of grey matter.

IT ‘WORKS LIKE A DRUG’ FOR ADHD

While no-one knows the exact causes of ADHD, it has been suggested that it’s linked to dysfunctions in the production of neurochemicals like dopamine. Running - and exercise in general - works on the brain in much the same way as the stimulant Ritalin, a common treatment for ADHD. By stimulating the production of dopamine and serotonin, a neurochemical associated with feelings of happiness, studies have suggested it can provide an eff ective accompaniment to treatment.

IT REDUCES THE FLOW OF STRESS-INDUCING CHEMICALS TO THE BRAIN

When the human body is under stress, it converts the amino acid tryptophan into a molecule called kynurenine, which can build up in the brain leading to stress-induced depression, and anxiety disorders. Exercise helps increase the levels of an enzyme in your muscles which converts kynurenine into kynurenic acid. Crucially, kynurenic acid cannot enter the brain.

IT BOOSTS YOUR SELF-ESTEEM

Most people would agree that being in better shape physically helps improve their self-image, but this correlation has been backed up by scientifi c studies too. In 2016, a group of scientists from the University of Basel in Switzerland worked with their counterparts from the University of Tabriz, in Iran, on a research paper. Their fi ndings showed that among the 264 adults surveyed, an increase in physical activity was directly associated with an increase in self-esteem, and improved body image.