Health Benefits of Playing Sports

benefits of sports — (Source: insportscenters)

Sports are all forms of competitive physical activity that aims to utilize, maintain or enhance physical ability and skills through casual or organized participation.

Sports have a significant effect on a person’s daily life and health, both physical and mental. While you are involved in any kind of sports, intense physical activity improves heart function, decreases the risk of diabetes, and reduces blood pressure and stress levels.

Want to know more about the benefits of sports? Stay tuned!

Physical Health Benefits of Sports

1. Control Weight Gain

One of the major benefits of sporting activities is it helps you to control weight gain. A sedentary job and an unhealthy lifestyle are some of the main causes of obesity. Obese people have a higher risk of hypertension and heart diseases.

If obese people involve themselves in sports that demand intense physical activity, they can burn more calories, shed extra body and reduce the chances of unnecessary weight gain. Thus, they can ensure and maintain a good physique. Choosing the right sport as per your health conditions and following a balanced diet can help individuals control weight gain.

2. Lower Cholesterol Levels

Another health benefit of sports is it helps to control cholesterol levels. People who are involved in physical activities like sports have lower cholesterol levels in comparison to those who do not actively participate in sports or other physical activities.

3. Improve Blood Circulation

Sport is good for health as it helps to improve blood circulation. Any kind of sports game requires active participation, which increases haemoglobin and blood volume.

Wondering how?

When you play any kind of sport, your heart pumps faster and puts additional pressure on your heart muscles. Thus, this additional pressure strengthens heart muscles and improves blood flow.

4. Reduce Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major health risk that can cause stroke and other heart-related issues. Playing sports helps to keep the blood pressure normal. Almost all kinds of sports demands running, stretching and other physical activities. When you perform such activities, it makes your heart stronger, and the force on arteries decreases, which reduces blood pressure. Thus, by participating in sports, you can efficiently manage your blood pressure level.

5. Stronger immunity

Wondering how sports can ensure stronger immunity?

Sports and regular exercise improve the White Blood Cells level. White Blood Cells (WBCs) are the primary agent of the body that fights disease.

Moderate to high-intensity exercises improve blood circulation, which enhances the immunity system. Sports and regular movement helps to combat pathogens and other harmful organisms. Hence, stronger immunity gets into the list of health benefits of playing sports.

6. Stronger Muscles

If you are willing to have a proper muscle workout, you can get involved in sports-related activities. Muscle training activities such as lifting weights can help to maintain muscle mass and strength. Further, through sports like soccer, tennis, baseball, you can tone your muscles and train them to work in a perfect manner. This is known as neuromuscular programming. The longer you stay active in sports, the more your muscles improve and stay stronger. Also, playing sports help to tone your muscles and burn fat simultaneously.

7. Stronger Bones

The list of physical benefits of sports for your health includes stronger bones. While participating in any kind of sports, you put stress on your bones with maximum strength movements, which helps increase bone density and make bones stronger. For instance, if you put additional stress on bones, the increased level of pressure enables bones to adapt to this condition and become denser. Therefore, if you continue this intense activity for a long duration, your bones get stronger. With advancing age, bone density reduces, but if individuals keep themselves involved in light sports, they can maintain a good bone density level.

Now that you know what the health benefits of sports and physical activities are, let us move to the section of mental health benefits of sports.

Mental Health Benefits of Playing Sports

Similar to physical benefits, sports have an immense effect on mental health. Wondering how do sports help you mentally?

Read along!

1. Improves Mood

Playing sports like golf or skiing compels you to concentrate on the activities and keep worries aside. As physical activities trigger brain chemicals, individuals become happy and relaxed. Hence, sports can improve mood.

2. Reduces Stress

Today around 75%-90% of people visit a doctor to treat stress-related issues. The positive effects of sports on mental health can help individuals significantly. Physical activities result in the release of endorphins. Endorphins are the chemicals in the brain that help to reduce stress and pain. Playing sports also helps to reduce stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. Studies reveal that 20-30 minutes of daily exercise allows individuals to stay calmer, which stays hours after exercise.

3. Combats Depression

One of the significant effects of sport on mental health is that it helps treat depression. As per some studies, sports, i.e. exercises, combat symptoms of depression and lower the risk of relapse. Further, in one study, light sports or a modest amount of exercise has been seen offering similar benefits to antidepressant treatment.

4. Improves Sleeping Habits

Sports improve the quality of sleep. An intense workout makes you fall asleep faster and also deepens your sleep. For instance, individuals who engage in 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise can experience better sleep compared to days when they did not do exercise.

5. Boosts Self-Confidence

Playing sports or participating in regular exercise can help boost self-confidence. While you engage in any kind of sport, your strength and skills increase; thereby improving your self-confidence.

Apart from physical and mental benefits, sports can provide you with other benefits as well. Willing to know about these in detail? Read along!

Other Health Benefits of Playing Sports

If you have chronic health issues, sports or regular exercise can help you to tackle the symptoms and maintain an improved health condition. Check the list of diseases and relevant exercises mentioned below,

Diabetes: Regular exercise helps to reduce blood sugar levels. Further, if you have type 2 diabetes, exercise can reduce heart disease chances.
Asthma: If you have asthma, you can lower the control frequency and severity of attack by playing sports. Exercises improve lung capacity, reduce inflammation, strengthen muscle and enhance cardiovascular fitness.
Arthritis: Individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis need to stay physically active. There are several sports or physical exercises such as stretching, walking, water exercises that are easy on joints and help in muscle strengthening and reducing joint stiffness.
Cancer: Individuals who have recovered from cancer can improve their health by doing some exercises. Exercise reduces the risk of dying from prostate cancer and breast cancer.
Dementia: Benefits of sports can be realized in patients with dementia. Regular exercise can improve cognition and lower the chances of cognitive impairment and dementia.
Heart Disease: Health benefits of doing sports apparent in individuals with heart diseases. Studies reveal that interval training works well in patients with heart diseases. Also, by doing regular exercises, people with high blood pressure can reduce the chances of dying from heart disease and further progression.

The above-mentioned piece talks about the benefits of sports on physical health, mental health and people with chronic diseases. Engage yourself in various types of sports as per your health condition and get the benefits mentioned above.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ Can sports help fight addiction?

Yes, sports can help fight addiction.

✓ Can sports help build team leadership qualities?

Yes, sports can help build team leadership qualities.

✓ What are the mental health benefits of playing sports on children?

The mental health benefits of playing sports on children are similar to that of adults. However, the major difference that can be seen among children is that children who engage themselves in sports at an early age are more likely to remain active at an older age. Further, sports help to enhance academic performance, more involvement in school programs.