How playing sports benefits your body … and your brain

Playing sports is a kind of exercise, but so is going to the gym or working out on your own.

How are the two things different? Do they have a different kind of impact on you despite both being a means of exercise?

Let’s find out!

Contents

What are the health benefits of exercise?

If you start exercising at a young age, then it benefits you in the years to come as well. It helps strengthen your bones, keep your cholesterol in check and decreasing the tendency of you suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.

Other benefits include the well being of our mental health. Engaging oneself in exercise releases happy hormones called Endorphins. They help one experience Runner’s high, a sense of euphoric pleasure. This, in turn, impacts your memory as it improves your focus and concentration power while strengthening your memory.

Is exercising alone different from being a part of a sports team?

Although both activities seek to work wonders for your health, it is the latter that shapes you into being a better person as well.

Being a part of a team brings a sense of belongingness with it. It improves your relationships with others since it requires you to shed your inhibitions and trust one another while learning to help each other in times of need. A community is built through these actions as each and every single member of a team strives to attain a common goal. Being on a team becomes a support system. You end up pushing each other to the full potential of your abilities, which ultimately boosts your confidence and self-esteem as well.

Team participation also reduces your chances of suffering from depression. In a way when you continue to train regularly, you also train your mind to never give up. Even if you aren’t able to achieve a goal initially, with the help of your members and a supportive coach you keep pushing yourself to learn something new and master that practice. This notion builds up optimism in you.

Finally, through sports, you learn to overcome your fear of losing at something. Sports training teaches you that even if you’re losing at something today, you can win it another day by working hard. This becomes a great learning lesson as it helps you in the long run by building up your endurance, resilience and even helps you come to terms with defeat.

Playing on a team is a great teacher in itself. If you feel like a specific sport is meant for you, then you’re free to switch over. Being a team player isn’t only going to nurture your body and mind, it will also help you to build a support system while having fun.

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