SPORTS: A GOOD THERAPY

The positive effects of sports and physical activities have been shown over the years. The role of physical exercise on the improvement of our well being is increasingly important in the context of increasing number of people with problems of anxiety and depression. It is a proven fact that people say they feel better after exercise, an effect that tends to stay for hours.
There are several hypotheses to explain how physical exercise generates these benefits in our body.

The distraction hypothesis.
It tells us that it is more than the activity, the distraction of stressful events which explains the benefits of practicing sports. I.e., we are able to escape the problems and focus on something that we like.

The endorphin hypothesis.
This is the most popular. The brain produces endorphins, which can reduce the sensation of pain and produce a certain state of euphoria.

In General, sporting activities have a great importance for the physical and mental functioning of our body, running at three major levels:
· At the individual level.
· At the group level and the feeling of belonging to a group.
· At the social level.

Given that the human body is designed for physical activity, we can say that the sedentary lifestyle and inactivity leads into a malfunction of our organism. The psychological benefits of any sport activity include:

· Improving the quality of life and depressive states of mind.
· It decreases anxiety.
· It improves emotional stability.
· Increase in self-esteem.
· More socialization.
· Stress reduction.
· It improves memory.
· Improvement of the capacity for concentration.

In short, spending more time on leisure activities makes us happier.

So, what are you waiting for to get going?

Silvia Asencio
Psychologist