Running is a Stressor: Understanding Running and Cortisol

For many people, running is an essential tool for stress relief. But did you know that running is actually a stressor on the body? Read this blog post to understand the relationship between running and cortisol, and how you can run in a safe way.

Running is pretty universally accepted as being a stress reliever, but physically, running is a stressor. That’s not to say running is bad for you - you just want to have the nutrition and rest to support it! #running #fitness #health #marathontrain…

Do you run for stress relief?

For many people, running is an essential tool in their mental health toolbox. There’s a reason why “running is my therapy” is a sort of cliche. And hey, I get it! When I’m in the mood for it, running can be helpful for coping with stress, especially the kind that feels like a ball of nervous energy in my body. Getting outside for a jog, especially while listening to Bodak Yellow on repeat, works that anxious energy out of my body and brain.

There are plenty of people who dislike running or are unable to run due to injury or disability. That said, the idea that running is supposed to be a stress reliever is pretty universally accepted. Even among clients I work with who hate running, they often feel a lot of shame for that because they think they should like running because it’s always talked about as a stress reliever.

Running is a Stressor

Because running is so frequently discussed as a stress reliever, people are often surprised to learn that it is a stressor. While running can have a therapeutic effect for many people, physically, it stresses the body. Yup, you read that right. No matter how zen running makes you feel mentally, it is an acute stressor on the body.

Understanding Running and Cortisol

While running does release endorphins (hence the feel good effect), it also releases cortisol, a stress hormone. So does any other moderate/high intensity exercise. In fact, moderate exercise increases cortisol levels by 40%, while high intensity exercise increases cortisol by 83%. Before you get too concerned, this rise in cortisol isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Besides being a stress hormone, cortisol also helps your body recover from exercise by repairing tissues. Placing your body under acute stress and letting it recover is part of the benefit of exercise. Essentially, by putting your body under acute stress and allowing it to recovery, running and other cardiovascular exercises build resilience to stress - that is, under the right conditions.

So what are the right conditions? The right condition means having enough rest and nutrition to support the acute stress from running, and allow your body to heal. This means having a relatively low stress load, or allostatic load. Allostatic load is the scientific term for the cumulative wear and tear on your body, which is caused by many different things - emotional stress, physical stress, poor nutrition (i.e. calorie or nutrient deficiencies), drug and alcohol misuse, and inadequate sleep to name a few. When allostatic load is chronically high, cortisol levels are chronically high. And when cortisol levels are already high from this chronic stress on the body, your body doesn’t experience the acute rise and drop in cortisol levels that’s so beneficial. In that situation, cortisol levels rise with intense exercise and stay elevated.

Running Safely

So what does this mean? For running to be healthy, your body needs to be properly fueled and rested. And how do you know if your body is fueled and rested enough to support more intensive exercise? It’s really hard to say! Everyone has a unique threshold of how much stress their body can tolerate. Some people are able to tolerate a high level of physical and mental stress while other people are highly sensitive to stressors, and may experience intense physical symptoms in response. This is a space where listening to your body is so essential. If you notice that you’re consistently feeling easily winded while exercising, depleted rather than energized afterwards, and having difficulty sleeping or connecting with hunger and fullness, perhaps it’s time to slow down or hit pause on running.

From a food perspective, while proper fueling looks different for everyone, generally speaking it means eating regular meals and snacks throughout the day, including fat, protein and carbs at most of your meals, and consuming an amount of food you would feel comfortable serving someone else.

We’ve internalized this idea that more exercise is always better, but sometimes less is more. I don’t have the study on me (so please don’t quote me on this) but I once listened to a sports medicine researcher who said that the life expectancy for marathon runners was about the same as it is for someone who is sedentary. That’s not to say that high milage running is always bad for you, nor is it to say you shouldn’t be running marathons (if you enjoy it, cool! We don’t have to pick activities based on life expectancy). However it was a reminder to me that intense physical activity is hard on the body. If you’re constantly pushing your body in the name of healthy, it might actually be backfiring.

If you’re someone who loves running, cool, don’t stop! Well, unless you’ve been told by a provider to stop or you have an injury, in which case - please stop! But otherwise, if you want running to be part of your life, and it is a part of your life that you value, then you probably want it to stay that way. Support longevity with running by taking care of your mental health, fueling properly, and getting enough sleep. Consistently pushing yourself past the limit might make you feel accomplished in the short run, but it increases your risk for an injury that can permanently take the sport off the table for you. And know that if you’re going through a period where you’re feeling stretched thin, it’s OK to ease up on running - that might actually be the healthiest thing for you.

And remember, while running can be therapeutic, it’s not therapy.

If you’re struggling with your relationship with food and exercise, we work with clients individually in our Columbia, SC office and virtually throughout the US, and would be happy to help you discover a way of feeding and moving your body that feels good for you. Learn more about our practice philosophy and services, and reach out to learn more!

This blog post was originally published in Feb 2019. It has been updated to give you the best possible content.