How can playing sports relieve stress

She has also worked as an employee assistance program counselor and a substance-abuse professional. Miller holds a Master of Social Work and has extensive training in mental health diagnosis, as well as child and adolescent psychotherapy. She also has a bachelor's degree in music. Does Exercise Increase Mental Alertness? Share on Facebook. Endorphins Whether you choose to engage in a group sport like soccer or baseball or a solitary sport such as swimming or jogging, physical activity of any type stimulates your body's production of neurotransmitters -- or brain chemicals -- known as endorphins.

Mental Health Sports and regular exercise provide physical and mental stress relief, which can help certain mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. Socialization For most people, socialization is a necessary part of any stress-management routine. Self-Esteem Engaging in a sport can help increase feelings of self-esteem and self-efficacy, which can significantly reduce your overall level of stress. Aerobic exercise is key for your head, just as it is for your heart.

You may not agree at first; indeed, the first steps are the hardest, and in the beginning, exercise will be more work than fun. But as you get into shape, you'll begin to tolerate exercise, then enjoy it, and finally depend on it.

Regular aerobic exercise will bring remarkable changes to your body, your metabolism, your heart, and your spirits. It has a unique capacity to exhilarate and relax, to provide stimulation and calm, to counter depression and dissipate stress.

It's a common experience among endurance athletes and has been verified in clinical trials that have successfully used exercise to treat anxiety disorders and clinical depression. If athletes and patients can derive psychological benefits from exercise, so can you. How can exercise contend with problems as difficult as anxiety and depression? There are several explanations, some chemical, others behavioral. The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis.

Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators.

Endorphins are responsible for the "runner's high" and for the feelings of relaxation and optimism that accompany many hard workouts — or, at least, the hot shower after your exercise is over. Behavioral factors also contribute to the emotional benefits of exercise. As your waistline shrinks and your strength and stamina increase, your self-image will improve. You'll earn a sense of mastery and control, of pride and self-confidence.

Your renewed vigor and energy will help you succeed in many tasks, and the discipline of regular exercise will help you achieve other important lifestyle goals. Exercise and sports also provide opportunities to get away from it all and to either enjoy some solitude or to make friends and build networks. Thomas Aquinas, "need leisure. Almost any type of exercise will help. Many people find that using large muscle groups in a rhythmic, repetitive fashion works best; call it "muscular meditation," and you'll begin to understand how it works.

Walking and jogging are prime examples. Even a simple minute stroll can clear the mind and reduce stress. But some people prefer vigorous workouts that burn stress along with calories. That's one reason ellipticals are so popular. And the same stretching exercises that help relax your muscles after a hard workout will help relax your mind as well. Regular physical activity keeps you healthy as it reduces stress. But another special sort of exercise known as autoregulation exercises can also reduce stress.

Stress comes in many forms and produces many symptoms. Mental symptoms range from worry and irritability to restlessness and insomnia, anger and hostility, or sensations of dread, foreboding, and even panic.

Mental stress can also produce physical symptoms. Muscles are tense, resulting in fidgetiness, taut facial expressions, headaches, or neck and back pain. The mouth is dry, producing unquenchable thirst or perhaps the sensation of a lump in the throat that makes swallowing difficult. Clenched jaw muscles can produce jaw pain and headaches. The skin can be pale, sweaty, and clammy. Intestinal symptoms range from "butterflies" to heartburn, cramps, or diarrhea. Frequent urination may be a bother.

A pounding pulse is common, as is chest tightness. Rapid breathing is also typical, and may be accompanied by sighing or repetitive coughing.

In extreme cases, hyperventilation can lead to tingling of the face and fingers, muscle cramps, lightheadedness, and even fainting.

The physical symptoms of stress are themselves distressing. In fact, the body's response to stress can feel so bad that it produces additional mental stress. During the stress response, then, mind and body can amplify each other's distress signals, creating a vicious cycle of tension and anxiety.

Because the root cause of stress is emotional, it is best controlled by gaining insight, reducing life problems that trigger stress, and modifying behavior. But stress control can — and should — also involve the body. Aerobic exercise is one approach; physical fitness will help promote mental fitness.

But there is another approach: you can learn to use your mind to relax your body. The relaxed body will, in turn, send signals of calm and control that help reduce mental tension. Autoregulation exercises are a group of techniques designed to replace the spiral of stress with a cycle of repose.

Several approaches are available. Even without formal meditation and controlled breathing, the gentle muscle stretching of yoga can reduce stress. But if that's not your thing, simple breathing exercises can help by themselves. Rapid, shallow, erratic breathing is a common response to stress. Slow, deep, regular breathing is a sign of relaxation.

You can learn to control your respirations so they mimic relaxation; the effect, in fact, will be relaxing.

Breathe in slowly and deeply, pushing your stomach out so that your diaphragm is put to maximal use. Repeat the entire sequence five to 10 times, concentrating on breathing deeply and slowly. Deep breathing is easy to learn. You can do it at any time, in any place.

You can use deep breathing to help dissipate stress as it occurs. Practice the routine in advance; then use it when you need it most. You then experience that your body no longer works properly, your usual go-getter mentality in solving problems fails, you no longer have any sense and energy for the fun things in life and it often feels as if you are powerless to deal with this misery.

It is good to keep an eye out for other causes of the depression. These other causes may require a different side approach.

Other causes may be, for example, the loss of a partner, a loved one, work or something else that is important to you, traumatic experiences or unprocessed negative childhood experiences. In case of severe depression, it is advisable to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist. Endurance sports i. The functioning of your heart, lungs, blood and blood vessels improves and therefore you can transport more oxygen to your muscles.

When your endurance improves, you become less tired from exertion and stay fit longer. In addition, sport brings more health benefits such as less risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Someone who is under severe stress or in a burn-out has lost a lot of stamina, has less energy and often takes less good care of themselves due to lack of energy and stress. Well dosed sport can reverse this. Strength sports also have health benefits, but in case of severe stress, endurance sports work better in the first instance. Through dosed exercise and gradual building you improve your endurance and maybe at the same time your strength, agility and coordination.

As a result, you have a successful experience: because you regularly work on something, you achieve progress and the one who deserves a pat on the back is you! Furthermore, you will feel more energetic and stronger. That is also good for your self-confidence and your self-esteem. If you achieve such a sports result when you are in a burn-out, it is often the first tangible result you achieve since your burn-out.

This is of course even better for your self-confidence. You are not only stressed in your head: stress causes many muscles in your body to tighten too much, causing them to cramp. Your legs, arms, neck, shoulders become sore, or stiff.

Moving makes your muscles supple and relaxed. Not only physically, but mentally as well. You feel fitter and you feel better. You can also cope better with problems, so that you get less stress. Also read: Why am I so tired: 7 causes of extreme fatigue. During exercise, all kinds of substances e. The rule of thumb of 30 minutes of moderately intensive exercise per day already takes care of this.

Moderately intensive means that you have an increased heart rate and breathing, and you can still talk well. We call this sports against stress: jogging. Watch the video about shogging at videos. Head full? And you forget a lot? Then move. Moving causes defragmentation: it cleans up your information and puts it where it belongs. The result is that you have more space left and therefore better remember, and your head is empty again. And so: less stress. Moving around with your friends, or at a club or association provides social contacts.

You hear from others how they deal with stress, you feel connected.