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

This claim tends to pyschologially proven as a way to greatly increase mental well-being. While sports have been commonly seen through the lens of physicality and performance, the benefits go further than the body. There are many pyschological benefits related to sports and building mental strength and emotional well being. Some of these benefits include stress reduction and anxiety relief, boosts in self esteem and confidence, enhancing focus and mental clarity, building emotional resilience, even building social connections and emotional support.

https://momentsinwords.com/the-psychological-benefits-of-sports-building-mental-strength-and-emotional-well-being/

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I agree with this, physical activity helps reduce tension and improve mood, making it an effective way to manage stress. Additionally, playing sports encourages teamwork, communication, and cooperation, which are essential social skills. Whether in a team setting or casual games, sports bring people together and create a sense of community.

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As an athlete, I can agree to a certain extent, playing sports releases stress and is beneficial for mental health. I love going to the fields and playing soccer with a few of my friends after a long day of school work because it makes me feel better. However, I believe that participating in competitive team sports whether it's in high school, club, or even at the college and professional level, does the opposite. This is because of the constant pressure that the coach put on the players to be perfect in every aspect of the sport and the unrealistic expectation win every game. For some people, this pressure is what motivates them to do better. Except for most other people, these expectations and constant pressure add stress and in manny cases may even be the cause of some mental health issues.

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The claim that sports are a great way for people to release stress is true. CDC’s article about health benefits of physical activity for adults mentions sport causing improved sleep, reduces feelings of anxiety and reduces blood pressure. The article from seattle anxiety website talks about positive and negative aspects of sport on mental health. Self esteem boost being one of the most notable effects is being followed by stress reduction through release of endorphins which leads to reduced depression. The next effect is social interaction through team sports offering the establishment of strong connections which act as protective factors against loneliness. All those facts support the main claim making is correct!

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

https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/health-benefits/adults.html

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I love how this article goes into so much detail about the benefits and the importance of sports and physical activities. Clearly the people who created this article are very well informed and put a lot of info into the research I couldn't find a better source to back your claim.

Answer 1

I agree with this claim and think the article is a reliable source. In an article by WebMD on the “Benefits of Sports for Mental Health”, it’s found that about 75% to 90% of doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses. Exercise releases endorphins, reduces stress and allows your brain to focus on something other than your worries. Not only do sports improve mental health as a child, but the positive effects go into adulthood. Additionally, sports are a great way to socialize with people. However, sports can cause eating disorders and burnout as sports get more serious and intense over the years. 

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/burnout-symptoms-signs

Comments

Hi Natalie! I really liked how you sited an article and added important commentary onto that. And you mentioning an overlooked part of participating in sports is important as well. I think your fact check would be even stronger if you used a different website to discuss the benefits of sports, WebMD has been known to lack context and include some misinformation. I also think it would help to add a little more commentary and evidence for your last claim about sports causing eating disorders! Otherwise I think your fact check was easy to follow along and added to the overall claim.

Answer 2

I agree with this because sometimes I struggle with mental health. Being away from my parents and what not. But when I'm playing sports it all goes away and makes me feel great while i'm playing them. 

Answer 3

i believe this is true as well because of the impact sports have on me. They definitely make me happier when things seem tough and have provided me with a sense of self. 

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

Answer 4

The claim is true, and it has the evidence to back it. Participating in sports is something vital for kids, as it can help boost self esteem and create a sense of confidence in kids. It also is a way to be able to have fun with friends and express yourself, and find certain things you enjoy doing. It's been tested that playing sports has improved psychological wellbeing for people and helps lead to a happier life.

Answer 5

Coming from personal experience I do agree that sports can boost your mental well being because it keeps you disciplined, makes a good distraction on hardships going on in your life as well as physical heath. But as in adults I think there would be a greater risk for them participating in sports on the physical aspect. On a further note, I came to the conclusion that this source is reliable with including publishers, authors and reliable sources backing up the claims.

Answer 6

This claim appears to be true and is backed by many other sources. Even institutions such as the National Institutes of Health have proven that this is true and for good reason. The site sourced for the claim is a viable website, and itself references countless other sources, past experiments, and concluding results to ensure that the reader knows this is true. It checks off every type of criteria possible and thoroughly explains its reasoning for doing so.

Answer 7

I agree, it has been well documented that their is a relationship between mental health and the amount of time you spend either outside or playing sports. Not only does it often provide a serotonin release for people playing outdoor sports, it gives kids an outlet to release energy as well as a chance to build social skills and relationships. Further backing up this claim, the National Library of Medicine found "A significant association was reported between sport involvement during adolescence and lower depressive symptoms, lower perceived stress, and higher self-rated mental health.", displaying how sports play a valuable role in promoting positive mental health.

Answer 8

The claim that participating in sports can greatly increase mental well-being is factual. Regular participation in sports and physical activity has been tied to greater health benefits resulting in better moods and mental health. The Mental Health Foundation states, “Physical activity is not only good for your body, but it’s also great for your mind. Being active releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good - boosting your self-esteem and helping you concentrate as well as sleep well and feel better.” Saybrook University cites, “A 2022 study published in PLOS ONE that explored how playing team sports can improve mental health of children and adolescents found remarkable results. Participation in organized team sports leads to the following changes among the study’s 11,235 children aged 9 to 13: 10% lower anxious/depressed scores, 19% lower withdrawn scores, 17% lower social problems scores, 17% lower thought problems scores, 12% lower attention problems scores.”

The source provided in this claim concurs with the fact that physical fitness is linked to mental health benefits. The linked source cites a study done by BioMed Central that found, “that for adults, sports participation is associated with better overall mental health, mood, higher life satisfaction, self-esteem, body satisfaction, HRQoL, self-rated health, and frequency of laughter. Sports participation has also shown to be predictive of better psychological wellbeing over time, higher positive affect, and greater life satisfaction.”

Answer 9

After doing my research, I can conclude that the claim that engaging in sports can definitely increase mental well-being, from just engaging in running once a day or getting outside, are both linked to improving mental well-being. The article that was cited from Biomed Central explains how a child in adolescence has a lot to gain from competing in sports and that participation in team sports can lead to more drastic responses, both positive and negative. If we don't look at other factors such as bullying in a team or being made fun of by teammates, sports are an amazing outlet to help your mental health. For some people, the competition aspect of the sports may be frightening, but there are so many sports that are done individually; there really is no excuse not to go outside and participate!

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

Answer 10

This claim that playing sports can improve mental health is true. It's been proven amongst children that those who play sports have a decrease in mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. 

A study published by PLOS ONE discovered that "...participation in team sports compared to non-sport participation was associated with 10% lower anxious/depressed scores, 19% withdrawn/depressed scores, 17% lower social problem scores..." 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0268583