Everyone knows, at least to some extent, that playing sports or participating in some form of exercise has a wide range of benefits for our physical health. From weight loss to gaining strength and ensuring our hearts and other organs are kept in the best condition, playing sports is a great way to get the exercise we need on a regular basis. 

Yet on top of this, there are some other important reasons to have sports in your life and the benefits that sports can have on your mental health rank up there with the most important. Mental health is something that is becoming much more prominent in terms of our overall healthcare, and we’re starting to understand the effects that the work around us can have on our mental health in both a positive and negative way. 

If you’re wondering how to improve your own mental health, then sports could be the answer. It’s always best to speak to a mental health professional first, of course, but once you have, it may be time to consider adding more sport into your life. Read on to find out what this might be and how it can certainly boost your mental health in a truly positive way. 

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Sport Improves The Mood 

Do you feel your happiness levels could do with an improvement? If so, sport could be exactly what is needed to give you that added shot of happiness. It doesn’t matter if you play indoors or outside, if you go for a brisk walk, if you’re on a bike, if you are sparring in a boxing ring, the fact is that any kind of physical activity is going to activate some of the important chemicals within your brain. These chemicals are called dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. When these chemicals are released, you will gain a ‘natural high’ that makes you feel great. 

What’s really remarkable about these chemicals is that, even when you have finished the physical activity that led to them being released, they remain, ensuring that you feel good for some time after you have finished playing your sport. 

Although we’ve said that any kind of physical activity will release these chemicals, playing team sports have been shown to release the largest amount in the shortest period of time. Therefore, to get a great shot of happiness, you should try a team sport such as football, baseball, or soccer. 

Sports Improve Your Concentration 

When you play sports, your brainpower has been shown to improve, and in particular, your concentration becomes better. Concentration is helpful in every walk of life, especially at work or school. The better able you are to concentrate, the more productive you can be, and that leads to not only more success but a better work-life balance too, since you’re not always working to catch up with yourself. 

Not only can you concentrate more, but you can also become better at critical thinking, your judgment becomes better, and you can learn faster. Clearly playing sports or being involved in sporting activities is good for you, and interestingly, you don’t have to participate in a lot of sports to benefit from these valuable traits. Just 30 minutes of aerobic activity three to five times a week is enough. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy others that are just as good for your mental health in between your more energetic sports. When it’s shooting season, for example, you might not be engaged in physical activity, but your brain is going to be working, and your concentration will undoubtedly improve. 

Sports Allow You To Relax 

We’re all very busy people, aren’t we? As the world becomes more reliant on technology, you might assume that that would give us more free time, but the truth is that the more technologically advanced we become, the more work we are expected – or are able – to do. We’re never truly shutting off from work anymore because we’re constantly able to be contacted. 

This is, unsurprisingly, not good for us. It’s certainly not good for our mental health. Being able to relax and be ‘in the moment’ is crucial, and taking a little time for ourselves, ideally each day, is something we all need to work hard to achieve. It can make a big difference in our happiness and overall mental health. 

Sport can help us be in the moment, distracting us from all the other things we usually have in our minds that stop us from adequately relaxing. When you play sports, you need to concentrate on what you’re doing (which is why your concentration will improve, as we’ve already mentioned); that means there just isn’t room to think about anything else other than the task at hand. Your negative thoughts will disappear, at least during the exercise, and you can finally relax, even if you’re taking part in a physical activity. By the time you’re done, your brain will be in a much better place, and even if you do think about everything else again, it won’t seem quite so overwhelming. 

Sports Reduce Stress And Depression 

We already know that taking part in sport means that we are focused on the task at hand, and the daily stressors and issues of life are no longer something we are thinking about, and we know that this is a good thing when it comes to relaxation. However, it’s also a good thing when it comes to reducing your feelings of stress and depression. 

Of course, a medical professional is always the right place to go if you feel that your mental health is seriously suffering, and you should never try to self-medicate or self-diagnose, but if you are feeling down, exercise can perk you up, and that is a great thing for your mental health. It can’t ‘cure’ depression all on its own, but it can make you feel better. 

Apart from the distraction of sports, and apart from the fact that, when you are focused on playing or taking part in whichever sport you have chosen, you can push out your negative thoughts, exercise actually reduces the amount of stress hormones released into your body. Cortisol, nicknamed the ‘stress hormone’ production will drop, and your levels of endorphins will increase, and stress and depression are replaced by happiness and optimism. 

Sports Improve Sleeping Habits 

Getting a good night’s sleep every night is a big part of improving your mental health or maintaining good mental health. The better you sleep, the more positive an outlook you’ll have, and the less stress you’ll feel. Plus, when you sleep, your body can take the opportunity to repair itself, and when you wake up, you’ll feel healthy and much more upbeat about the day ahead. 

Sport is a great way to help you sleep better. If you participate in physical activity, or even mental activity, your body and mind will be more tired, and sleep will come more easily. Not only will you be able to sleep better, but you will be more likely to stay asleep throughout the night. One of the most important aspects of sleep is not necessarily how long you sleep, but how well; if you keep waking up in the night and your sleep is disturbed, you’ll have a poor quality of sleep even if you get the eight hours that most people need. 

One thing to bear in mind, though, is that exercising too close to bedtime can be a mistake since you’ll feel too awake, and even if your body is tired, your brain will keep you awake, defeating the object and making you feel tired and cranky the next day.