If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed everybody, including your doctor, will recommend that you do some exercise. Getting your heart rate up and burning off some energy helps to reduce stress hormones in your body and encourages it to release endorphins instead, which boost your mood and make you feel more relaxed. So, if you want to relax and unwind, sports are one of the best ways to do it. But which sports are best for beating stress?

Golf

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Golf has to be one of the most relaxing sports there is. It’s not too high intensity but walking is still great exercise and it will still get the blood pumping. But the best thing about golf is that you are outside in nature, and that has been shown to reduce stress levels too, so it has twice the stress busting qualities. If you are the kind of person that is prone to a lot of stress at work, why not consider taking some golf breaks instead of your next holiday? You can get away from the stress of work and take some time off while also benefiting from the stress reducing effects of a good game of golf. Failing that, you could just head to the local driving range and blow off some steam when you are stressed out. 

Boxing 

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You know when you’re really stressed and frustrated and you feel like you just want to lash out at something? That’s why boxing is such an amazing stress reliever. When you have all of that built up tension, you can let it out on a punching bag and you’ll feel much better afterwards. It’s also an incredible full body workout that really gets your heart going, so you’ll feel the effects of a lot of endorphins. If you start boxing on a regular basis, you’ll notice a huge improvement in your physical and mental health in no time at all. 

Football

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Football is the nation’s favourite sport and most brits follow it to some extent, even if they aren’t huge fans. But if you are stressed out, you should consider playing instead of watching. People don’t tend to think of football as a particularly relaxing sport but you’ll feel much better after playing a match. The fast paced, start-stop movements during a game of football give you an incredible cardiovascular workout and get those endorphins pumping. You will also get a big boost from the team spirit that is central to the game. Studies show that social activities are a very important part of managing your mental health and spending time with friends and family is an effective way to reduce stress. 

Swimming

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Swimming is a great all around sport because it gives you a full body workout and you can adjust your exercise depending on the results that you want. For example, if you are really stressed and you feel like an intense workout will help, you can do some sprint sets. But if you just want to switch off and relax, why not do a few slow lengths of breaststroke?

All exercise will help you to beat stress but if you want the best results, these are the sports you should go for.