So maybe it is time to talk about why we should start sporting. We all know about the physical benefits. But what about other factors? In the article mentioned below they talk about mental benefits.
There are 5 major benefits.
Improve Mood:
Physical activity should release brain chemicals which have a positive influence on our mood. Team sports not only provide a challenge to improve your fitness, but they can provide social benefits because you can connect with teammates and friends in a recreational way.
Improve Concentration:
Sporting three to five times a week for at least 30minutes can be enough to keep your thinking, learning and judgement sharp.
Reduce Stress and Depression:
While reducing stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol), exercise makes us produce more endorphins. It helps you cope with stress and depression, and makes you feel more relaxed.
Improve Sleep:
Regular exercise improves your sleeping pattern. You sleep faster and deeper. Which again helps improve your mood.
Boost Self-Confidence:
When you are working hard to get better results or improve your scores, you are building on your self-esteem. Especially when all this hard work pays off. You are proud of what you have achieved and feel in control. You feel like you can take on the world and all of its challenges.
I sure believe that these benefits exist when you exercise or sport regularly. Maybe some of them are a bit hard to measure. Like how can you tell that you have more endorphins in your body? From personal experience I can tell that sport really can reduce stress, it gives me a way to escape all responsibilities and deadlines for a moment.
Article:
http://www.healthline.com/health/mental-benefits-sports
I agree with the fact that you need to sport. But you can’t only sport to be healthy. You had to live healthy! If you sport 3 times in a week it hasn’t a big effect when you eat 3 times in a week fast-food!
Good point you raise there! We are looking for some articles to look further into living healthy by taking care of what you eat.
I don’t doubt that sporting is healthy, but sport also have certain risks. Normaly injuries are temporary, but some injuries remain permanent. Children injure themselves quickly and when the body isn’t fully grown yet this might lead to greater risks at later ages. So what sports are safe? Should there be an age limit on certain sports?
Some sport have a minimum age, but will this really help? I mean children will always be active and run around. It is not a matter of will children hurt themselves but when will they do. Everybody has had injuries in their lifetime, especially as a kid.