Without a doubt, exercise has a lot of benefits and we all know how good it makes us feel by just being physically active. In this article, we are going to dive deeper and discuss the process that takes place in our body with exercise.
About 75% to 90% of doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses. Sports help you manage stress and lots of doctors and mental health specialists recognize exercise prescription as a treatment modality for a wide range of mental health conditions.
Mental health problems are common and account for the largest single source of disability (23%) in the UK.
Exercise is not just about aerobic capacity and muscle size. Sports boost your overall health and offer other benefits.
Whether you are playing sports, working out at a gym, or taking a brisk walk, physical activity triggers brain chemicals that make you feel happier and more relaxed.
Over time exercise can encourage the feeling of self-worth and make your body and mind feel stronger and more powerful. People with improved self-esteem can cope better with stress and improve relationships with others. On top of that, there is also the sense of achievement your mind gets from meeting a goal.
Exercise positively impacts levels of serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate mental health, and stimulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which improves mood. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, the chemicals in your brain that relieve pain and stress. It also reduces the levels of stress hormones, cortisol, and adrenaline.
Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, and ADHD and team sports enhance resilience, empathy, confidence, and empowerment.
Physical activity immediately boosts the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels—all of which affect focus and attention. In this way, exercise works in much the same way as ADHD medications such as Ritalin and Adderall.
Evidence suggests that by really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise, you can actually help your nervous system become “unstuck” and begin to move out of the immobilization stress response that characterizes PTSD or trauma. Instead of allowing your mind to wander, pay close attention to the physical sensations in your joints and muscles, even your insides as your body moves.
When you are physically active, your mind is distracted from daily stresses. Being active can help you to avoid getting bogged down by negative thoughts.
Participation in team sports reduces the risk of teen substance abuse and other reckless behaviors.
Studies show that exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication without the side effects. Researchers studied 9,688 children who had bad childhood experiences, such as physical and sexual abuse, or emotional neglect. They found that those children who took part in team sports had better mental well-being when they were adults.
a recent study done by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. Strong evidence exists showing a 20-30% reduction in depression in adults who participate in physical activity daily.
Exercise is a powerful depression fighter for several reasons. Most importantly, it promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being.
Sport and other forms of physical activity improve the quality of sleep. It does this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep.
Sleeping better can improve your mental outlook the next day, as well as improve your mood. Just be careful not to engage in sports too late in the day.
A study of Norwegian teenagers found that those who played in team sports were less likely to smoke cigarettes and use cannabis as adults.
addictive drugs stimulate the brain’s reward system. They do this by catalyzing a powerful surge of the pleasure hormone dopamine. Finding healthy ways to increase dopamine is key to successful recovery. This is especially true in the early days of recovery when withdrawal cravings can be intense.
Although these were all good reasons to train, there are limits and exceptions to exercise and mental health as well.
It is also important to consider mental health problems that may be more common in those who play sport professionally, not recreationally. Here, sport can bring pressure rather than the benefit to the participant’s mental health. Athletes may be more susceptible to particular presentations: eating disorders, alcohol use, and suicide. Certain subgroups among professional sports show increased prevalence of mental ill-health: retired elite athletes. those experiencing performance failure. those who have suffered an injury and other major negative life events (which happen to athletes more often as young adults).
While sports relieve stress, sometimes they create it. Parents or coaches may push children too hard. Older athletes may place pressure on themselves to perform well. This leads to burnout, which is when an athlete’s performance worsens despite intense training.
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are a problem in sports. This is especially so in sports where weight affects performance, such as long-distance running, gymnastics, and ski jumping. Elite athletes may feel pressured to have the ideal body type for their sport or may fear going over their weight class in their sport.