Practicing sport on a regular basis has a positive impact on our physical and mental health. Through it, our brain releases chemical substances with relaxing and pleasant effects on our body, which help us fight stress and anxiety.
In addition, sport is a way of socializing and connecting with oneself that favors our self-knowledge and self-esteem. Did you know that a study found that sports make us happier than money? In this article we tell you the 7 incredible benefits of sport for mental health that you should know (if you still don’t know them). Take note!
The chemistry of sport and its many advantages
As we said, when we do sports, a series of neurotransmitters and hormones are released in our brain, which have an impact on our physical and psychological state:
- Dopamine: it is the neurotransmitter that is related to pleasure, the one that drives us to continue doing sports.
- Serotonin: raises our sense of confidence, as well as self-esteem
- Oxytocin: this hormone has the function of balancing emotional and affective ties, among others.
- Endorphins: promote a state of relaxation, very beneficial to combat stress or anxiety.
7 wonderful benefits of sport for your mental health
We talk about 7 of the benefits of sport for mental health:
Reduces anxiety and stress
One of the benefits of sport for mental health is the reduction of stress or anxiety. This happens because, by improving the physical condition of the organism, it is more likely that you will not feel stress or anxiety (or that these decrease, if they exist).
You can reduce the intake of drugs
When we practice sports, chemical substances with effects similar to those of certain drugs are released, this can help us reduce the intake of drugs, if taken.
Encourages sensory stimulation
Another of the benefits of sport is that it enhances our senses, that is, it favors sensory stimulation (also depending on the type of sport); For example, we must pay attention to the game, the ball, the coach, the rest of the team, memorize plays, etc.
This results in the improvement of certain cognitive abilities, such as attention or memory. In addition, sport also allows you to improve psychomotor skills.
Promotes self-awareness
Sport can also help us to get to know ourselves better, since it allows us to know what we like and what we don’t like, what we are good at and what we don’t, how we act in stressful situations, in situations that require teamwork, etc.
Improves self-esteem
And, linked to the previous point, another of the benefits of sport for mental health is that it helps us improve our self-esteem. Because?
On the one hand, because we know ourselves better (self-knowledge), and on the other, because we feel good after playing sports, we are able to recognize and test our strengths, it is a time that we dedicate to ourselves, we It allows us to test ourselves and overcome challenges (see that we are capable of doing it), etc.
Combat depressive symptoms
Sport is also an ally when it comes to combating depressive feelings such as anhedonia, sadness or apathy. Because?
Because it activates us (something very positive for apathy) and allows us to get out of those negative mental states, to focus our attention on “something outside”; In addition, the release of chemical substances such as endorphins, related to pleasure, also have a positive impact on this reduction in depressive symptoms.
Provides routine and discipline
Sport is also beneficial in that it helps us set a routine, establish schedules, plan our day to day and our tasks… In short, to manage time properly.
And planning, the fact of having a structured day, in turn, is very beneficial for mental health, since it gives us a sense of order. On the other hand, all this promotes discipline, another very useful skill for other areas of our lives (for example, work).
Does sport make us happier than money?
A study by the Universities of Yale and Oxford, published in 2018, ensures that sport can make us happier than money. More than a million Americans participated in the study, where researchers analyzed the relationship between mental health and the practice of physical exercise. One of the factors that they studied, in addition, was the economic income of the study participants.
Sport: an ally of happiness
- In the study, participants counted how many times they had felt down in the last month, due to stress or some kind of emotional problem.
- The researchers found that the number of times was significantly lower in those people who did sports regularly. And another piece of information: these people felt happier than those who had more income but did not play sports.
- It is important to highlight that, according to the results, the level of happiness was not proportional to the amount of sport practiced, but it was possible to determine how this had a positive influence on the person’s mental health.
Different sports, different impact
Continuing with the same study, it pointed out that not all sports have the same impact on our mental well-being. And it is that, the more the type of sport makes us socialize, the greater mental health we will achieve.
Excessive physical exercise, something harmful
- Sport is good for our mental health, but like everything, in its fair measure. Thus, the study experts recommend a minimum of three sessions of physical exercise a week, and a maximum of five, between 30 and 60 minutes each, to obtain that “dose” of happiness. Why is it important not to overdo it?
- Because too much sport could have a negative impact on our mental (and physical) health; in fact, the study found how participants who exercised more than recommended felt as unhappy as those who never did sports.
- Therefore, sport is a crucial factor in our emotional well-being, although not the only one. On the other hand, money, although according to the aforementioned research does not have such a noticeable impact on our mental health, the truth is that other psychological studies have determined how “money does not bring happiness”, but in cases of poverty this is not So.
- What do we mean by this? That once we have our basic needs covered, “money does not bring happiness”, but before (in situations of poverty), it does allow us to live better and, by extension, has a very positive impact on our mental health.
More sport, more mental health and less pathologies
- Definitely; Sport is physical health but also mental health as it helps us to disconnect, to know ourselves better, to feel more fulfilled and relaxed, to promote certain cognitive abilities, to be more disciplined… In addition,
- it can reduce the probability of suffering from certain disorders mental disorders (in addition to helping to combat them), such as anxiety disorders or depression.
- This is confirmed by a study carried out in 2015 by the University of the Balearic Islands, which included the participation of 1,422 people between the ages of 15 and 74, and which analyzed the impact of physical exercise on mental health.
- The results of the study showed that “sufficiently active” people (who have high or moderate levels of physical activity) have a 54-56% lower risk of suffering pathologies, compared to those “insufficiently active” people (with a low level of physical activity). of physical activity).