Run For Your Life
Physical activity is something that, as is commonly known, allows us to improve various aspects of our health. As doctors, it is common for us to recommend its practice adapted to each individual's needs. Without considering the specificities of high-level competitive sports, it is through physical activity that we seek, for example, to lose weight, reduce blood pressure, among other benefits.
However, the mental health benefits of physical activity are often overlooked. In this field, the advantages most frequently mentioned are related to an overall improvement in well-being and motivation, associated with increased endorphin production. Consequently, exercise is often advised in cases of anxiety or depression treatment.
I'd like to discuss an intermediate aspect of this effect in this short text: change. For effective treatment of high levels of anxiety or even depressive disorders, it is essential to have a change in attitude towards life in general, and this is where the benefits of exercise are crucial. Through its practice, the mentioned increase in endorphin production, which leads to a greater sense of well-being at the end of a more vigorous physical activity period, can trigger a positive feedback mechanism. This makes us seek that feeling more often through the repetition of exercise. This is a way to promote the creation of a physical activity routine, whether it's individual or collective, simple or complex, aerobic or anaerobic.
The significant advantage is that, in many cases, healthy behaviors lead to other similar behaviors. People who engage in them begin to enter an optimal phase for changing different aspects of their lives.
The Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami describes this process perfectly in a memoir titled "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”. After turning 30, while owning a jazz bar in Tokyo and smoking about three packs a day, he decided to start running for about 20 minutes a day (the most he could manage) to counteract the problems his sedentary life brought. This period coincided with the beginning of his literary career. He eventually sold the bar to have more time for writing, which gave him more free time during the day. He began to progressively run longer distances almost every day. This awakened his desire to quit smoking, which he achieved. He also became a morning person and adopted a healthier diet to improve his running performance.
Currently, in addition to being a globally acclaimed writer (a perennial Nobel Literature Prize candidate), he is also known for his demanding but highly productive morning work routines. Even after reaching the age of 70, he continues to run almost every day of the week, having participated in numerous long-distance athletic events, including marathons and triathlons.
The desire for change often resides in our minds, but sometimes we lack the strength to achieve it. However, it is essential not to focus on the realization of that change, but only on taking the first step, which can often be physical activity, gradually (sometimes without even realizing it) serving as a catalyst for optimizing various aspects of our lives that we so often seek to improve.
