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Overcoming an addiction and sustaining a long-term recovery is not a quick fix. For many individuals, addiction recovery can be challenging and requires commitment and willpower.
Unknown to many, there are various ways that an individual can ease the overall recovery process.
Although attending support groups and taking advantage of aftercare support is highly recommended, frequently participating in exercise has proven to be somewhat beneficial.
In particular, running is considered an extremely effective form of exercise when it comes to addiction recovery.
From boosting an individual’s physical health to improving psychological well-being, we have outlined how running promotes your recovery here.
Six Ways That Running Promotes Your Recovery
Whether you are days, weeks, months or years into your recovery, we have outlined how running promotes your recovery to help you determine whether hitting the pavement could assist you as you look to secure a long-term sobriety.
1. Running Increases Cognitive Function
As and when an addiction begins to impair an individual’s life, cognitive function gradually decreases as the ramifications of substance abuse take their toll on the brain.
Although not everyone will experience a decline in cognitive function, studies have determined that between 30% and 80% of people with drug and alcohol addictions will.
From being unable to concentrate on simple tasks to finding it difficult to retain information, cognitive impairment can arise in various ways.
While the severity of an addiction will ultimately ascertain whether cognitive function is salvageable, running is known to increase cognitive function as it encourages memory performance.
2. Running Helps Alleviate Stress
When considering how running promotes your recovery, it should be noted that running will effectively help you cope and deal with any stress, pressure and anxiety that you may face throughout your recovery.
Managing these emotions is especially important during your recovery as stress and pressure could see you at risk of relapsing.
As you put your running shoes on and take to the pavement, you will soon find that those all-important feel-good endorphins are released.
Post-exercise, research has highlighted that endorphins continue to boost an individual’s mood for up to 24 hours. In turn, you will feel happier, more optimistic and ready to take on anything that comes your way.
3. Running Encourages A Better Night Sleep
For many reasons, running is highly beneficial when it comes to securing a better night sleep.
Research conducted by the Sleep Foundation has found that running helps many fall asleep up to 13-minutes faster. Contributing to this, studies conducted by the John Hopkins Centre for Sleep has also determined that running improves sleep quality.
In addition, as running helps combat stress, running can assist you as you look to overcome insomnia that may have peaked during the height of your addiction.
4. Running Improves Your Cardiovascular Health
In addition to improving your psychological health, running is fundamental when it comes to improving your physical health.
Sadly, many individuals that have struggled with addictions find that their physical health is significantly impaired due to the repercussions of consuming large quantities of drugs and alcohol. However, running for just 20 minutes a day can help you alleviate the health risks you may have come face-to-face with.
In addition, research suggests that running can reduce your risk of premature death by at least 20%.
5. Running Helps Create A Routine
Although the health benefits of running are often at the forefront of many individual’s minds, when considering how running promotes your recovery, it should be remembered that taking part in physical activity will help you create a routine as you return to your everyday life, having sought rehabilitation treatment.
For many in recovery, routines can help mitigate the risk of relapse as they essentially enable you to plan your time. Not only does this minimise the amount of stress that you are likely to encounter, but it prevents you from feeling overwhelmed.
Creating a routine and incorporating running into it will also help you feel productive and will reduce the amount of time that you spend feeling bored.
In turn, your risk of relapse will reduce, and you will find that you are able to secure a long-term recovery.
6. Running Can Assist You In Repairing Relationships
If your relationships with others were damaged as your addiction controlled all aspects of your life, it may be beneficial to know that running could assist you as you attempt to make amends and repair your relationships with friends and family members.
This is because running, or taking part in another form of exercise with a friend or loved one, will help you build an emotional connection and provide you with the opportunity to spend more time with others.
Running and Addiction Recovery
Having reviewed how running promotes your recovery, it is easy to see why an increasing amount of individuals across the world regularly run or jog.
Not only will running essentially elevate your mood, but running will help you relieve yourself of any stress or pressure that could cause you to relapse.
In addition, running will enable you to increase your cardiovascular health, which may have become compromised at the height of your addiction.
If you decide to run with others, such as friends, family members or individuals in recovery, running could essentially help you repair relationships and form new connections too.
Although running can help you overcome and sustain your recovery, please remember that if you take up running to assist you in your addiction recovery, you must continue to attend any support groups or aftercare support sessions that have been recommended to you by your treatment provider.
Contact Rehab Clinics Group Today
If you would like to take advantage of our aftercare support or find yourself needing additional support having completed rehabilitation treatment, please do not hesitate to contact us.
At Rehab Clinics Group, we host many support meetings each week for individuals that have progressed through addiction treatment.
To find out more, contact us today by calling 0800 470 0382.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6593747/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/diet/3321984/How-to-hit-a-natural-high.html#:~:text=After%2020%20to%2030%20minutes,the%20enjoyment%20of%20physical%20contact.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better-sleep
https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/running/article/5-surprising-running-statistics/
