Regular socialization and connection with others is extremely important to good mental health, and team sports can play a part in that. Not only does being a part of a team teach you how to work well with others and make you feel like you’re part of a community, but it comes with a variety of mental health benefits as well. Check out five of them below!
- Team sports improve your mood.
When you train for sports or engage in other forms of exercise and physical activity, chemicals called endorphins are released in your brain. These endorphins boost your mood, making you feel happier and more relaxed. The positive social interaction of team sports can also make you feel more positive and promote feelings of belonging and camaraderie.
- Team sports provide an opportunity to socialize with your peers.
Whether you play for a school team or an adult recreational league, playing team sports gives you a great opportunity to spend time with your peers and get to know people that you may not have talked to otherwise. Being socially connected in this way can reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, sharpen your cognitive skills and memory, increase your sense of wellbeing, and even prolong your lifespan.
- Team sports reduce symptoms of mental health disorders.
One study showed that children who experienced difficult situations got through them with less mental health issues if they played team sports when they were young. Clearly, engaging in this type of socialization and physical activity has a lasting effect. Plus, multiple studies have shown that exercise and team sports can have a beneficial effect on psychiatric symptoms of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia! For those living with schizophrenia, team sports are a great way to improve quality of life through an activity that leads to success, achievement, and satisfaction. To learn more about schizophrenia, visit Mind Diagnostics. Team sports are also great for general stress, as well as mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
- Team sports can boost your confidence.
When you play team sports, you increase your endurance, physical strength, and coordination. This in itself can boost your confidence! In addition, playing sports is all about setting, working toward, and reaching goals–and we all know how amazing it feels when you achieve something you’ve been working toward. Plus, regular exercise through practice, games, and conditioning can improve your physical fitness, making you feel more confident in your body. In addition, many team sports players quickly learn that when they doubt themselves, they don’t perform as well and can even let down the team. Therefore, confidence is an important trait to have while playing team sports, and many players learn to be more confident in order to do well when game time comes around.
- Team sports can improve your sleep.
Regular physical activity, like the kind that takes place in team sports, helps you to fall asleep more quickly and spend less time laying in bed awake at night. Your sleep is also much deeper and higher-quality when you get plenty of exercise each day. The physical activity that comes along with team sports can improve your energy during the daytime as well, eliminating the need to take naps, which can negatively affect your nightly sleep habits.
The Bottom Line
Team sports are a great way to stay in shape, make friends, and even improve your mental health! Regular exercise in the form of team sports can result in benefits like improved mood, reduced stress and depression, increased confidence, and better sleep. Plus, team sports provide a wonderful opportunity to socialize with peers and reap all the benefits of regular interaction with others.
Leave a Reply