Participating in Sports Can Greatly Increase Mental Well-Being

Question

Sports are a great way for people to release stress and greatly benefit from increased social skills. It gives participants an opportunity to connect with one another and create lasting friendships through a shared passion or activity.

Comments

While this fact-checker does address whether or not they believe the fact to be true they do not provide any concrete evidence to support their beliefs. To improve this fact check, they could provide one or two sources that support their agreeance with the original claim.

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Connecting your experiences in athletics in relation to the article further enhances the strength of your claim. I connect with your idea that being in teams sports helps create with social skills and creates connections.

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All though I agree with the claim and find that the source is true there is also cons to getting into sports as an adult. The article I found provides the pros and cons to how sports may help or may not help with relieving stress. I my self found that sports can be stress relievers but it also has the potential to make stress worse. With unreachable expectations from teammates or coaches. Finding a good middle ground and not letting unreachable expectations ruin the fun. I found that finding people that will support me and challenge me is the best way to relieve stress while playing a sport.

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/benefits-of-sports-for-mental-health

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This factcheck was well done! When I read the source you provided it had good details and seems like a well reliable source! Your evidence was clear and concise and did a good job explaining how well sports contribute to good mental health!

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I totally agree with this claim such as i have personally been in a sport team i have found it has been a great way to cope with anything going on and plus your teammates as how over the time you play with them and talk to them you start to get a good friendship and that i found that this source is reliable

Answer 1

I agree with this claim. Between this and other sources I found online, I believe sports can improve mental health. I saw many other trusted resources such as WebMD and multiple universities saying the same things. This source can now be trusted because of the quality of the experiment used in this article. There were many clear and well-identified steps all a part of the scientific method. Everyone involved in this experiment was a professional researcher and even had their Google profiles when you searched them up. While the article was made last year, this theory has been around for a long time, which is the only knock. Lastly, the article was written in a very unbiased way and used professional language to match the title of the source.

Answer 2

This claim is true! I found an article by the National Library of Medicine which is a credible source, backing this claim above. As summarized from the article, on a biological level, neurotransmitters and endorphins are released during physical activity, such as sports, which are good for the brain. These endorphins are a mood booster, and they also can help to counteract mood disorders. The article also explains how self-esteem can grow, with participation in sports. Overall, there are many healthy aspects to participating in sports.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10819297/#:~:text=Through%20the%20release%20of%20neurotransmitters,additional%20layers%20of%20emotional%20support.

Answer 3

The statement that sports better peoples mental health is true. The source that is being used seems to be very credible and has lots of data to support its claim. Not only that but the authors of the article are established at Universities and seem to have done lots of research before this article. Not only that there are many other articles that support this claim with similar data, as well as some other data that had been conducted. Overall the facts of this article and the plethora of other data shared in other articles and studies help to support this claim being true.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11603721/

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/athlete-mh

Answer 4

The statement is true. I was able to find a research that confirms the claim, specifying that the team sports have positive impact on mental well-being thanks to the team support and feeling of belonging. In the research from 2024, published on National Library of Medicine website, the author finds that "the support network provided by these communal activities plays a vital role in reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are often associated with depression and anxiety". Team sports can positively prevent depression symptoms and benefit mood regulation. 

The link to the research:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10819297/#:~:text=Participating%20in%20team%20sports%20or,associated%20with%20depression%20and%20anxiety.

Additionally, I have found more articles supporting the claims on NIH.

 

Answer 5

Yes, this claim is true. Participating in sports has several positive impacts on the overall well-being of those who participate. The primary source from which this claim stems, Systematic Reviews Journal, says, "...participation in sport of any form (team or individual) is beneficial for improving mental health and social outcomes amongst adults." The article explains that playing a sport can increase self esteem and lower levels of anxiety and depression. The National Library of Medicine also backs this up by saying, "Participating in team sports or group fitness activities fosters a sense of community and belonging, essential for emotional well-being. The support network provided by these communal activities plays a vital role in reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are often associated with depression and anxiety." Not only is playing a sport great for physical well-being, but it also creates a sense of community that helps build self-esteem and overall mental well-being. Another source that backs this claim up is the Seattle Anxiety Specialists, they say, "Engaging in sports has a profound impact on mental health, offering a range of psychological benefits that contribute to overall well-being. From boosting self-esteem to reducing stress, the effects of sports on mental health are becoming increasingly evident in research and everyday life." Overall, this claim is backed up by several reputable sources, making it true and reliable.

Sources:

https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-023-02264-8

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10819297/#:~:text=Participating%20in%20team%20sports%20or,associated%20with%20depression%20and%20anxiety. 

https://seattleanxiety.com/psychiatrist/2023/9/15/exploring-the-psychological-impacts-of-participating-in-sports

Answer 6

The claim that playing in sports increases stress and social skills is true, depending on the sport. In the article, "The Mental Health Benefits of Extracurricular Sports for Kids" it talks about how sports that cause you to interact with other individuals have a vast amount of psychological, cognitive and physical benefits. One example of this being that playing sports and exercising increases serotonin and dopamine into the body, in relation to this a persons mood is more likely to improve. Another article I found that backs up this claim is, "Mental Health Benefits of Playing Sports", this shares a study that was placed on kids who did vs did not participate in group sports. This article states, "In addition, the study found a 20% lower rule-breaking-behavior score in team sport participants compared with children with no participation in sports. Playing team sports helped children become more confident, social, inquisitive, respectful, and engaged." One thing I will say is that individual sports have a very beneficial effect on children and people as well, but not always. The article, "Mental Health in Team Sports Compared to Individual Sports" says, "When an individual sport athlete loses, they feel they have failed themselves because they are the only one to blame for the loss. The sense of failure that they put on themselves can lead to feeling depressed and cause them to feel some anxiety when they go to compete the next time." Individual sports are different because you do not always have a teammate or other individual to pick you up when you're feeling down, much of the time individual sports can cause more anxiety and tension for the individual playing in said sport. However, as we talk about this,  physical, cognitive and psychological benefits are still happening whether it is an individual sport or team sport. Individual sports can also have benefits that team sports may not have such as proving focus and concentration. Both have pros and cons to it and it is important for everyone to get their body moving and to stay as happy and healthy as possible! 

https://www.trine.edu/academics/centers/center-for-sports-studies/blog/2021/mental_health_in_team_sports_compared_to_individual_sports.aspx

https://https://www.simoneskids.org/the-mental-health-benefits-of-extracurricular-sports-for-kids/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAy8K8BhCZARIsAKJ8sfQcxsT4BWYJ3n5sA57QbTastAqWIqRqXniAmgO-1ZP3iODfX1K-MaAaAoL0EALw_wcB

https://www.saybrook.edu/unbound/mental-health-benefits-playing-sports/

Answer 7

The claim that participating in sports can greatly increase mental well-being is true. The source you provided used published studies on sport participation and mental health and the results showed that the people who participated in sports had an increased mental well-being. Another source https://www.saybrook.edu/unbound/mental-health-benefits-playing-sports/ (A university website) did a study that showed children age 9-13 who participated in sports had a 10% lower anxious/depressed scores, 19% lower withdrawn scores, 17% lower social problem scores, 17% lower thought problem scores, and 12% lower attention problem scores. With all this information it is safe to say that if you participate in sports your mental health will increase.

Comments

This factcheck was well done! When I read the source you provided it had good details and seems like a well reliable source! Your evidence was clear and concise and did a good job explaining how well sports contribute to good mental health!