5 Benefits of Playing Sports
Sports and It’s Effect on Mental Health
By Brooklyn Glasgow
Here is the first of a five part blog series about the Benefits of Playing Sports. In this blog we will discuss how playing sports may effect our mental health. If you would like to follow this series you can read a new blog post every other Monday.
In any year given, 1 in 5 people in Canada will face mental health problems or illness’. Mental health issues is something millions of people struggle with. Our mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Having poor mental stability can affect the way we think, feel, and act, which can lead to emotional, behaviorble, and physical health problems. As someone who participates a lot in physical activity, I understand the impact it can have on one's life. Playing sports has built my confidence and helped me improve my success rate. I feel it has affected the way I see myself and think of myself. According to the WebMD studies have shown that 20 to 30 minutes of exercise each day can make people feel calmer. I have struggled in the past with stress and anxiety. For me personally, sports have calmed my nerves and helped me manage my stress. A large number of young children deal with nervousness and have no outlet to help them calm their nerves. Going outside for a quick 15 minute run, throwing the ball around with a friend, or even going to the park and swinging on the swings can make a huge difference when feeling stressed or anxious.
“A bad day can be made better, by going to the gym.” -Unknown.
After I exercise I feel better mentally and feel as if I can achieve more. Physical activity has been shown to have a strong and positive influence on mental well being and some mental illness. According to an article from New Medical Life Sciences by Dr. Ramya Dwivedi, 57.7% of highschool students who played a fall sport dealt with minimal or no depression during the fall.
I find having good mental health is my most important goal in life. Everyday I look for new and fun ways to help improve myself and develop my mental health. For the last week I’ve been trying my best to express myself more, keep active, and eat well, to hopefully improve my psychological state. I find a lot of people, including myself, have a tendency to hold in their feelings and thoughts from others to avoid conflict. However, over this last week, I found expressing myself and being more honest about the way I feel to others has helped me feel more mentally sound. The more you hold in your thoughts and don't share how you feel, the more it can impact the way you act and see yourself. It may be hard, challenging, and awkward to tell others how you honestly feel but it will make a difference for you, and at the end of the day that's who should matter the most. Last week, I also tried my best to stay active. I play rep soccer 4 days a week, however my game got cancelled one evening and I was debating with myself whether or not I should go for a run and maybe head over to the field and quick the ball around. I ended up doing so and afterwards I felt so good about myself and felt as if I accomplished something amazing even though it was such a simple and easy task. Small things like this can change the way you see yourself and present yourself. Even adding fruit and veggies to every meal can have an impact on your life. I tried my best to eat a fruit or a vegetable every meal and by the end of the week I felt I looked happier and had less mood changes during the week. Doing these three simple things for a week has changed the way I think, feel, and see myself.
Having good mental health is something I hope everyone can achieve one day. I find so many people are struggling in silence and fail to realize that there are multiple outlets that can help them. Playing sports and being involved in physical activity is one of many different things you can do to help yourself.
“You don't have to struggle in silence.” -Demi Lovato
Please call 211 for information and referrals for community, government, and social and health service, including mental health resources throughout Ontario.