How does sport affect mental health?
Considering how the onset of Covid has impacted many aspects of our lives, with many selecting, perhaps even resorting, to physical activities as a way to find a balance, an avenue to manage the dissonance and disruption in their lives.
The topic of mental wellness & health has been given much more prominence now and I found this paper insightful in addressing the discussion of what role does physical activity play and what is its impact on mental health, such as combating depression, anxiety disorders, loneliness, panic attacks and the likes. As such effects transcends gender, age, race, the authors suggests that perhaps "moderation levels of physical activity", within "reasonable achievable levels" for each individual, is the most ideal approach. Is this the best approach? does this achieve the desired results?
"Meeting the WHO PA (World Health Organisation Physical Activity https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity) recommendations has been shown to reduce the risk of developing depressive and anxiety disorder symptoms. It is thus important to encourage the general population to be physically active. However, the dose-response relation is less clear. Our findings indicate that the approach ‘the more, the better’ is not necessarily appropriate with regard to mental health outcomes. This is an important finding for coaches, sport clubs, psychologists, and general practitioners who are encouraged to prescribe exercise to improve mental health. We conclude that the promotion of modest, achievable levels of PA that correspond to an athlete’s interest, physical, and mental capacities, may lead to optimal mental health effects. Clearly, open and active communication between researchers, sport organizations, and associated stakeholders is essential." (Extract from "HOW DOES SPORT AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH? AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP OF LEISURE-TIME PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY" KATJA SIEFKEN, ASTRID JUNGE (University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia) ; LENA LAEMMLE (MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331867128_How_does_sport_affect_mental_health_An_investigation_into_the_relationship_of_leisure-time_physical_activity_with_depression_and_anxiety )
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