You may have no desire to take up running, but what if you learned that even very slow jogging provided a boost to your mood and your mind? Seniors Guide writer John Levan explains the evidence for this new approach to finding your stride.
What if an easy jogging pace was as healthy as running?
For many people, running means hard work. When you mention the sport of running, people picture pounding out miles, gasping for breath, tracking your pace on a smartwatch, and waking up with sore legs the next morning.
But what if running didn’t have to look like that?
New research suggests that even 10 minutes of extremely slow jogging – at a speed not much faster than walking – may provide an immediate boost to mood and certain thinking skills. The finding provides an intriguing possibility to what we already know about exercise: You may not have to run fast, run far, or even work particularly hard to get something worthwhile from a run.
For those who are intimidated by mainstream running, slow jogging offers a different approach. The goal isn’t speed, distance, competition, or calories burned. Instead, think of it as a short period of gentle movement that may be good for the body, mind, and perhaps even the soul.
What is slow jogging?
Slow jogging is exactly what it sounds like. You go for a run, but slowly.
Hiroaki Tanaka, a Japanese exercise physiologist, popularized the idea. It is often referred to by the Japanese term “niko niko pace,” or “smiling pace.” The idea is to move at a conversational pace, slowly enough that you can comfortably talk – and smile, even – as opposed to pushing until you’re gasping for breath.
That can lead to a pace that looks remarkably like walking.
In the recent University of Tsukuba study, the participants ran at about 3 to 6 kilometers per hour, or about 1.9 to 3.7 miles per hour. The intensity was only about 35% of peak oxygen uptake in the participants, so it was very light exercise.
The difference is in the motion. In walking, one foot is always in contact with the ground, whereas in running both feet are off the ground for a brief instant. Slow jogging keeps this running motion but at a slower pace and with less effort. Someone walking briskly beside you could actually be going faster.
What researchers discovered about slow running and the brain
The new study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, examined whether running needed to be strenuous to produce measurable changes in the brain.
Researchers recruited 24 healthy young adults and had them complete two different 10-minute sessions. On one occasion, they sat on a chair on a stationary treadmill. On another, they ran at an extremely slow pace. Before and after the sessions, researchers measured mood, cognitive performance, and activity in the prefrontal cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
The results were striking considering how little exercise was involved.
After only 10 minutes of very slow running, participants reported a more pleasant mood. They performed better on a Stroop test, which measures aspects of executive function such as attention and the ability to manage conflicting information. Researchers also detected increased activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex associated with executive function and mood regulation.
Sitting for 10 minutes did not produce comparable changes.
Perhaps most important for people who believe exercise only “counts” if it leaves them sweaty and exhausted, the participants achieved these changes while exercising at a remarkably low intensity.
The research supports a wonderfully simple idea: A little running may still matter, even when it feels easy.
Why running may be different from walking
Walking is excellent exercise, and nothing in this research suggests people should stop walking or replace it with jogging. A substantial body of research already associates physical activity – including walking – with better physical and mental health.
But the researchers wanted to know whether running has distinctive mechanics.
Running produces rhythmic up-and-down movement of the body and head that is much less pronounced during walking. Sensors used during the study measured this vertical movement, or head acceleration.
Interestingly, participants with greater vertical head movement tended to show larger mood improvements.
Researchers do not yet know exactly why. One possibility is that the rhythmic vertical motion of running stimulates the brain differently than other movements. Earlier animal research has suggested that head acceleration may activate neurons involved with serotonin, a neurotransmitter connected with mood. However, researchers emphasize that this explanation is still theoretical in humans.
So it would be premature to say the gentle “bounce” of jogging makes people happier. The association is interesting, however, and researchers plan to investigate it further.
A 10-minute mental reset
One of the study’s most appealing aspects is its usefulness.
Finding an hour to exercise can be difficult. Finding 10 minutes is considerably easier.
A short, slow jog could become a mental break during the day. Instead of browsing social media or sitting with another cup of coffee, someone might head outside for a relaxed session of slow jogging around the neighborhood.
Study supervisor Hideaki Soya suggested that a brief, slow run might help before a presentation or another mentally demanding task. The cognitive and mood benefits observed in the experiment appeared immediately after exercise.
There may be another benefit that isn’t as easy to measure in a laboratory.
A relaxed jog permits you to go somewhere without being in a hurry.
You can leave the stopwatch at home. Notice the trees. Listen to birds or music. Pay attention to your breathing. Let your thoughts wander.
For some people, that combination of rhythmic movement and quiet time may become a form of moving meditation. Instead of exercising to beat yesterday’s time, you’re moving simply because moving feels good.
That may be where slow jogging becomes as valuable for the soul as it is for the body.
Study limitations
Encouraging findings should not be turned into promises the research hasn’t established.
This was a small, short-term study involving 24 healthy young adults. Researchers measured what happened immediately after a single 10-minute bout of slow running. The study does not prove that 10 minutes of slow jogging prevents dementia, reverses cognitive decline, treats depression, or produces long-term improvements in brain health. It also does not establish that the same results will occur in older adults or people with medical conditions.
Those distinctions are especially important for seniors. Running – even very slowly – places different demands on the muscles, joints, cardiovascular system, and balance than walking does.
Anyone who has been inactive or has heart disease, balance problems, significant arthritis, joint replacements, osteoporosis, or other health concerns should talk with a physician or other qualified health professional before beginning any exercise program. Seniors should be particularly cautious about starting a new routine without medical guidance.
Walking remains an excellent option for anyone who cannot safely jog.
How to start slow jogging
If your health professional gives you the go-ahead, forget about becoming a “runner.” Your first objective is to experiment with the movement.
Start with a few minutes of comfortable walking to warm up. Then move into an extremely slow jog.
Take short, light steps rather than reaching forward with long strides. Keep your body upright and relaxed. Let your arms swing naturally at your sides. Most importantly, resist the urge to speed up just because the pace feels almost ridiculously slow.
That’s the point.
The traditional slow-jogging approach stresses a pace at which you can breathe easily, talk, and smile.
Beginners don’t have to jog continuously for 10 minutes, either. Try intervals such as:
- Walk for three minutes.
- Slowly jog for one minute.
- Walk for two minutes.
- Jog for another minute.
- Continue alternating until you’ve been moving for 10 to 15 minutes.
As your fitness and confidence improve, gradually lengthen the jogging portions.
Don’t worry about attaining a particular speed. In the new study, participants ran at a pace close to normal walking speed. Your breathing and comfort are more useful guides than your watch.
Choose a flat, familiar route with an even surface, especially when starting. A treadmill can also provide a controlled environment, although anyone with balance concerns should discuss treadmill use with a medical or fitness professional.
Comfortable, properly fitting athletic shoes also matter. If you have foot, ankle, knee, or hip problems, getting footwear advice from a physical therapist, podiatrist, or knowledgeable running specialist may be worthwhile.
And pay attention to pain. Muscle fatigue when starting a new activity can be normal; sharp or persistent pain isn’t something to push through.
Forget about speed
The hardest part of slow jogging isn’t physical. It’s psychological.
People tend to associate running with performance. How far did you go? How fast? What’s your mile time?
Slow jogging asks a different question:
How do you feel?
If you spend 10 minutes moving gently and come home feeling calmer, clearer, and more cheerful, it doesn’t matter that someone walking passed you along the way.
The new research from Japan is preliminary, and we need larger and longer studies – especially involving older adults – to understand how meaningful these effects may be over time.
Still, its central message is encouraging.
Exercise doesn’t always have to be exhausting to be worthwhile. A run doesn’t have to be long to count. And you don’t necessarily need to push your body to its limits to get benefits from movement.
Sometimes, 10 minutes and a very slow pair of feet are enough to improve your day.
