Shaheen EbrahimiLiam GrunfeldMrs. JobszHonors BiologyMay 14, 2016Effects of RunningStudies have shown that running for just 5 minutes a day reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 45% and increases life expectancy by 3 years. The benefits of running are countless, yet for many people, running is an overlooked form of exercise. In reality, running is a far superior form of exercise. The many benefits of running include improving brain function, strengthening the heart, building muscle, increasing bone density, stimulating the lymphatic system, and strengthening the immune system. Although running presents numerous dangers, its infinite benefits outweigh its disadvantages. For starters, running has been shown to significantly reduce age-related brain shrinkage. The brain is a crucial part of the body, without it humans would not be able to function and perform basic tasks. However, as time passes, the brain begins to shrink with age and lose some of its functionality. However, running has proven to be a great way to reduce and first of all, running, due to its high-impact nature, can increase bone mineral density. When your feet touch the ground, the bones in your legs and feet are placed under considerable stress. In response to this, the body activates a series of reactions to increase bone mineral density to avoid injury to stressed bones. For this reason, running is often used as a therapy to combat diseases such as osteoporosis. However, according to a study from the University of Missouri, bone mineral density was only found to increase with short-duration exercise, while long-duration exercise was shown to decrease it. This means that short-distance running, such as sprinting, is very beneficial for increasing bone density. However, long-distance runs can be just as beneficial, as long as they are shorter