How Running Can Change Your Body

Running not only keeps you fit, but it also helps you live longer. And while this all sounds great, it’s just a small part of what the sport can do to you. It literally influences your body from your head all the way down to your toes. Even your trips to the bathroom can be affected by it.

We at Bright Side like to go for a good run. However, we’ve never thought about the body changes that can happen while exercising. Let’s find out more about this matter together.

1. Your toenails may turn black.

With each step you take on the ground while running, your toes hit the front of your shoe. Small shoes and tight socks may squeeze the toenails. The same thing happens if your legs get swollen. And all this can lead to a hematoma under the nail. Vessels burst, blood accumulates outside of them, and the nail changes color.

2. You can become shorter.

When you run, the height and volume of your intervertebral discs decrease. This happens due to the loss of fluid and compression, and you can lose almost 0.5 inches. Fortunately, this will only be temporary, as your height will eventually get restored.

3. Your hearing may sharpen.

Jogging increases blood flow to the cochlea, while also increasing the flow of nutrients and oxygen in your body. It helps to slow down the wear and tear of the auditory system and preserves capillaries, hair cells, and nerve cells that send sound signals to the brain.

4. You might get a runny nose.

As you run, you breathe faster and deeper and inhale more air. While doing this, you breathe in more allergens, pollution, and irritants from the environment. This irritates your airways and makes your nose run.

5. Your temperature can rise.

Muscles get energy by burning fat and carbohydrates. As a result, heat is generated. Together with the muscles, your blood also heats up, increasing in temperature. After this, blood flow to the skin increases, and sweating cools you down.

6. You may have the urge to poop.

Running can release hormones in the stomach that increase contractions in the intestines. Contents of the stomach shake and can change the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract. Also, blood flow to the intestines reduces, which leads to cramps and defecation.

7. You might feel less hungry.

Your appetite decreases due to hormonal changes caused by running. The hunger hormone, ghrelin, reduces, while the satiety hormone, peptide, increases. All this makes you less hungry.

8. Your mood can improve.

Jogging causes a rush of endorphins that change your mood. You may even feel euphoric afterward. A run can help relieve stress and reduce anxiety and depression. It also makes you more resistant to problems.

Do you like running? Have you ever experienced any of these changes?