When we hear facts about sports, we often hear how beneficial it is for the physical health and the figure. However, there’s much more to sports and physical education than this. No one can deny the importance of exercising and practicing sports in life for people of all ages. Even so, there’s one particular group of athletes that reaps more benefits than all the rest – students.
It is well established that students need sports. However, thinking that they only need physical education to stay in shape is very wrong. Sports don’t just offer the many physical benefits for students. They are also an integral part to the students’ academic success. Exercise boosts the health of the brain, as well as the body.
The four benefits below will definitely make your head spin and push you toward practicing sports more often. Here is how students can benefit from practicing sports.
1. Brain Development
A Harvard study has shown that exercise stimulates certain chemicals in the brain that positively affect the health of the brain cells. It also shows that exercise can have an impact on the survival and the growth of new brain cells. By practicing sports regularly, students strengthen the connection between nerves and increase the neural pathways.
This literally means that, those who practice sports, are bound to experience improvement in memory, focus, problem-solving, and creativity. Routine participation in physical education has had amazing results with making students more attentive and concentrated in school.
This benefit goes beyond just concentration. Cognitive development in young athletes has been proven over and over again. By frequently participating in physical activity from a young age, students are strengthening the learning and development of skills such as reading, remembering, problem-solving, and reasoning.
Finally, through the increase of blood flow to the brain which occurs during physical exercise and sports, as well as the increased norepinephrine and endorphins levels, sports encourage the enhancement of cognition and brain function.
2. Mental Health
Sports are linked to powerful benefits for the mental health. It is often used as a remedy against anxiety and stress, and even depression. Many studies show that athletes not only have an improved body image, but also report increased well-being on a psychological level.
All the social pressures and academic obligations can make a student stressed and anxious, causing health issues such as obesity, diabetes, as well as insomnia. In the middle of all that hassle, sports can serve as the perfect outlet to rid the student from negative thoughts and stress.
Back when I was in school, I found sports to be the best way to forget about my endless tasks and personal life troubles. It was my outlet against worries about living expenses, school debt, exams, and deadlines. In addition to sports, I also found my salvation in college essay writing services that I called whenever I couldn’t meet a deadline. Being able to pay someone to write your paper without others finding out brings such a relief to a student.
3. Teamwork
Teamwork is an essential life skill. Students must possess this skill to be able to work alongside peers and educators, too. Thanks to sports, students can learn a lot about teamwork. Sports consist of many rules and, if coached properly, they can help students build their skills for communication, collaboration, as well as mutual understanding.
When a student participates in sports, this provides them with a great opportunity to interact with other athletes. Many students have built lifelong relationships with members of their sports team. But, even after they leave the field and enter the classroom, they carry around the teamwork spirit with them.
Sports that are based on teams are especially beneficial in overcoming the big divides and are even used to beat discrimination around the world. They instill a sense of fellowship, identity, and purpose between the athletes who practice them.
4.Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is one of the greatest results of practicing sports. When you practice sports regularly, you get better and better in them. This in result, builds the self-confidence in athletes. Physical activity is frequently linked with self-esteem, which is an excellent skill for the introvert students and those who are often shy in the classroom.
Conclusion
Sports are amazing for an array of different reasons. For students, they bring many different benefits that positively affect their well-being, health, figure, but also their academic performance.
Author’s Bio
This was contributed by Joshua Robinson. Robinson is a baseball coach at a high school in the US. He also works as a freelance nutritionist, making healthy plans for those who want to change their lifestyle to a better one. You can read a lot of his professional advice in his blog posts and guest posts on various websites.