Benefits of Sports

Are you as parents concerned that your kids are spending more and more time indoors and not engaging in sports and exercise? Our culture today promotes online activities including gaming and social media, making outdoor activities much less appealing. There are a lot of misconceptions about sports and parents often see it as something negative that robs away study time and hinders academic achievements from their kids. But the benefits of sports are much more far reaching than just staying physically healthy and fit. Sports are also vital for the youth’s emotional and social development.

Here are some of the known and more surprising benefits of sports and exercise:

1. Physical Health and Fitness
   Exercise strengthens the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Exercise burns calories reducing the risk of obesity. Exercise increases cardiovascular fitness and reduces the risk of heart disease. Lung function is improved and oxygen is absorbed into the body more efficiently. Exercise improves the utilization of blood sugar and reduces the likelihood of diabetes. Exercise also lowers the risk for several types of cancers.
2. Mental Health
   Sports can improve cognitive and memory function of the brain. Exercise increases our mental alertness, energy level and sense of well-being. Regular physical activity can reduce stress, anxiety and incidence of mood disorders. Studies have shown that there is a 20-30% lower risk for depression, cognitive decline and dementia for adults who participate in regular exercise.
3. Sports and Academic Performance
   Regular participation in sports and physical activity have a positive relationship with higher levels of attentiveness in class. This leads to a positive impact on academic performance by increasing a student’s ability to concentrate, absorb and recall subject matters. Students participating in sports develop better time management skills and are also more motivated to attend classes.
4. Self-Discipline
   Self-discipline is very important for success in life. Students participating in sports can nurture self-discipline which will lead to a positive effect in their working life. They are also far less likely to indulge in drugs and substance abuse as well as undesirable activities such as gambling.
5. Managing emotions
   Emotions can run high during sports. But sports can also teach students to control their emotions. They will learn how negative and positive emotions can affect their performance. Emotion management skills learned at a young age can help the students handle challenges later on in life.
6. Social skills
   Sports bring people together and help your kids develop social skills and sportsmanship. Sports enable youngsters to make friends with their teammates and opponents alike; they will learn to interact and communicate and become more self-confident.
7. Team Spirit and teamwork
   Team Spirit and teamwork are keys to success in many areas in life. In team sports, team members must collaborate with each other to win. When working on group projects, students with teamwork skills usually excel. In the business world, employers are more impressed with employees who can work well with their colleagues to achieve a set goal.