Wakacje to najlepszy czas na rozwijanie swojej kultury fizycznej oraz poprawianie zaległości z rok szkolnego w tej dziedzinie. Ale sport to nie tylko to nie tylko sposób na dobrą kondycję fizyczną, ale także skuteczny sposób na poprawę zdrowia psychicznego. Jak to działa? Przeczytajmy bardzo dobry artykuł Oli Szczerbuk, naszej absolwentki, który pojawił się w letnim numerze szkolnego periodyku w języku angielskim AimHigh Magazine.
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Sports vs mental health
Sports boost your overall health and offer other benefits. You might enjoy playing sports because you can spend time with your friends. Or maybe you like sports because they keep you fit. Sports benefit your mental health too. Playing them makes you happier or less stressed. Sports calm your mind, strengthen your muscles, and improve your overall well-being. It’s easy to start playing sports and receiving these benefits in your life.
About 75% to 90% of doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses. Sports help you manage stress. 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. Studies have shown that 20 to 30 minutes of exercise each day can make people feel calmer. This calmness continues several hours after exercise.
Training improves your mood. Playing a sport such as archery or skiing forces you to put aside your worries and concentrate on the task at hand. This helps you clear your mind and calm down. It also helps you sleep better.
Taking part in sports in a group has a greater impact on mental health than individual sports. Researchers in Australia found that women who played tennis and netball in clubs had better mental health than those who exercised alone, like walking or working out at the gym. There were no differences in physical health between the two groups.
A study of teenage athletes found that those who played individual sports were more likely to report experiencing anxiety and depression. This may be because those in team sports often play for fun. Individual sports don’t require another person to compete with and may cause the athlete to experience more stress than enjoyment.
Sports also help treat depression and fight addictions. Exercising has a positive influence on people who have mental disorders like schizophrenia or hallucinations.
While sports provide many benefits, they can have negative effects on the mental health of more advanced athletes, especially elite athletes. Elite athletes play at varsity, regional, national, or professional levels.
The first and most common issue is stress. 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.
The second point is depression. Many high-profile athletes struggle with mental health issues. Researchers say certain factors may increase the risk of depression among athletes. These include injury, retirement from the sport, and performance expectations. It’s also possible that there may be underreporting of depression among athletes.
Another dangerous thing is eating disorders. 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.
Ola Szczerbuk
