{"id":782418,"date":"2026-09-25T18:16:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/782418\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T18:16:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:16:38","slug":"running-slowly-for-just-ten-minutes-can-help-you-think-faster-and-feel-happier-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/782418\/","title":{"rendered":"Running slowly for just ten minutes can help you think faster and feel happier, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\"> By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/profile-3421\/marti-stelling.html\" class=\"author\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MARTI STELLING, HEALTH REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"> Published:  19:01 EDT, 19 September 2026   |  Updated:  20:48 EDT, 19 September 2026   <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">If you want to think clearer and feel happier then try running very slowly for just ten minutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">While previous research has shown cognitive benefits from moderate-intensity exercise, a study suggests that similar gains can be made even at a pace just above walking speed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Researchers from the University of Tsukuba in <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/news\/japan\/index.html\" id=\"mol-3ac35620-b466-11f1-adcf-2f541a981999\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Japan<\/a> asked 24 healthy people with an average age in their early twenties to run on a treadmill for ten minutes at just 3km (two miles) to 6km (four miles) an hour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">This pace corresponds to a very light exercise intensity of only 35 per cent of peak oxygen uptake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The participants also did a resting control session with no exercise, to help compare the performance of their brain and examine brain activity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Activity in their prefrontal cortex \u2013 an area associated with executive functions such as thinking, emotions and behaviour, as well as mood regulation \u2013 was measured using a device that tracks changes in oxygen-rich blood flow in the brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The study found that after the slow jogging, brain activity increased in the prefrontal regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Executive function was measured using the Stroop effect, the extra delay in your reaction time when you try to name the ink colour of a word that spells a different colour.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-cfb0bc5dd72e49b1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/111352107-16144733-image-a-1_1789848679500.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"A study suggests that just 10 minutes of very slow running may improve mood and brain function, even at a pace only slightly faster than walking (stock photo)\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">A study suggests that just 10 minutes of very slow running may improve mood and brain function, even at a pace only slightly faster than walking (stock photo)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">For example, the word &#8216;red&#8217; written in blue ink.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The results showed that after slow jogging, participants had a shorter Stroop &#8216;interference&#8217; time, suggesting faster brain processing skills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">They also reported feeling happier. The researchers found that the vertical up-and-down movement of the head during slow running was associated with improvements in mood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The authors wrote: &#8216;This discovery of the relationship between head acceleration and improved mood may be one of the underlying mechanisms through which very slow running promotes mental health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;To this end, these findings contribute to social wellbeing by encouraging people to keep physically and mentally active through very slow running.&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By MARTI STELLING, HEALTH REPORTER Published: 19:01 EDT, 19 September 2026 | Updated: 20:48 EDT, 19 September 2026&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[97,6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-782418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-dailymail","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}