We all know that playing a sport is good for us. But do you know what it actually does to your body and mind?
1.Makes you alert and sharpens your reflexes
Have you ever noticed professional athletes? Noticed their laser sharp focus and the intense concentration they play with?
Team sports like basketball, cricket, football, tennis, badminton and squash are excellent in making you more alert because you have to pay attention to where your teammates and opposing team members are, where the ball is currently located, what your next move should be etc.
Although you might not be a professional player, you can still benefit from improved reflexes and better concentration that result from participating in team sports.
2.Keeps your heart healthy and reduce hypertension
While playing a sport your heart needs to beat faster in order to pump more blood. This not only strengthens other muscles in your body, it also helps your heart muscle become more efficient and better able to pump blood throughout your body. It means that the heart pushes out more blood with each beat, allowing it to beat slower and keep your blood pressure under control. When you play a sport regularly, your body’s tissue (including heart) does a better job of pulling oxygen from your blood. This allows your heart to work better under stress and keeps you from getting winded during high- intensity activities.
3.Makes you sexy
There’s something so interesting about people who play sports, the way they walk, their physique, their level of physical fitness. People who are regular players of any sport are naturally leaner and fitter. This is because a lot of calories and fat gets burnt through rigorous physical activity involved in sports. Plus it’s a fun way to shed those extra kilos.
4.Improves blood circulation and improves immunity
Blood circulation gets better when you start playing sports. This helps in the proper circulation of nutrients all over your body. The body remains well oxygenated. Thus, it remains more healthy and active. Regularly indulging in exercise and sports makes the body immune to common infections that affect a person due to weak immunity, and sports makes the body immune to many diseases that usually affect a person due to weak immunity.
5.Sports helps you become more positive and improves your mood
Any physical activity whether its playing a sport or working out triggers brain chemicals that make you feel happier and more relaxed. Team sports in particular provide a chance to unwind and engage in a satisfying challenge that improves fitness. Team sports also provide social benefits by allowing you to connect with teammates and friends in a recreational setting.
6.Helps you become more disciplined and increases team work
Discipline becomes a natural part of life when one starts spending time playing sports. This is because sports inspires people to live by certain rules and you require the discipline to practice regularly, so as to become better at it. Playing a sport also helps you build good relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and traits, thus giving you the ability to work with different people in a harmonious manner.
7.Makes you calmer
Playing a sport helps train your mind think calmly and find new strategies to deal with problems without getting too hyper.
8.Reduces stress and depression
Any physical activity keeps you distracted from the stress of everyday life. Exercise reduces the levels of stress hormones in your body and help you avoid getting bogged down by negative thoughts. At the same time, exercise stimulates the production of endorphins. These are natural mood lifters that help keep stress and depression at bay and help you feeling more optimistic and relaxed.
9.Improve sleep habits
Sports and other forms of physical activity improve the quality of sleep. They do this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep. Sleeping better can improve your mental outlook the next day, as well as improve your mood.
10.Sports help you build leadership traits
Team sports such as cricket, football, squash, tennis, basketball inculcate leadership skills. Studies reveal a correlation between sports participation and leadership qualities. Because of the opportunity to train, try, win, or lose together, people involved in sports are naturally more inclined to adopt a “team mindset” in the workplace and in social situations. The team mindset leads to strong leadership qualities over time.