Fighting Disease through Sports and Games

Dating back to the B.C, small sports were created for people to have some sort of entertainment and a way to avoid the problems people were facing. These sports were then put into the greek olympics where people competed in different categories and their goals were to amuse the audience and showcase their skills. This is what inspired the concept of sports and since then sports have become one of the most talked about topics and continues to be used for strength and amusement. Doing sports was a way to face fears and overcome difficulties. In fact, sports were what got people through the most difficult times each country has battled. The whole purpose of a sport was to serve as a distraction from reality, but times have changed. Sports have developed into a major justification for the amount of people getting diagnosed with a mental disease. Sports take away the time and energy an average person needs to live healthy and happy. The newer generations don’t realize how sports can have a large effect on a person.

Today there is an ever growing debate on whether competitive sports are beneficial or harmful to children. While many people believe that they can be harmful, in this article I will show you some of the many ways they can be helpful to kids. There are three reasons I decided to outline here; there are life lessons can be learned, sports help improve health and they help to build self-esteem and confidence.

For some athletes, sports can be a good way to cope with stress. When they hit the court or the field, they feel as if all of their worries from that day vanish. But for others, sports can be how a person identifies his or herself and where they derive most of their self-esteem. So that moment when you realize something in your body or your mind isn’t right, you push through it and tell yourself it will go away. But sometimes the pain gets worse. So you have two

Sports—which involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and play—provide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. research has expanded into numerous areas such as imagery training, hypnosis, relaxation training, motivation, socialization, conflict and competition, counseling, and coaching. Specific sports and recreational specialties studied include baseball, basketball, soccer,

There are a great variety of sports all throughout the world, but the most popular worldwide are: Futbol, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Track, Bicycle, etc… One of the advantages of playing sports is that you get healthier as you play and have fun. Also you get more social skills, and so it could help fight depression or anxiety. Sports use more math than you may think. For example all the averages in Basketball, or

An issue that is hotly debated is, should kids play competitive sports or not. It’s clear that the overall people feel that competitive sports are good for kids. Competitive sports teaches kids life lessons, makes them more responsible and teaches them healthy habits. Millions of American children and teenagers are overweight. This obesity epidemic has made the early onset of health problems such as diabetes, are more common. Over forty millions of boys and girls were participating in organized competitive sports in 2008, and this will help bring down the obesity rate.

To Begin with School sports should be in schools to help people that has problem with stress. According to, “ NO! Sports Are More Important Than Ever”, “ When you’re stressed, your brain releases hormones that can interfere with your ability to sleep and concentrate.” This proves, that when you are stressed

Balancing that ratio is one of the most difficult aspects of being a student athlete, as it can add stress to an already stressful time in people’s lives, but Christianson said sports can also help relieve stress.

Playing sports is a great way to help with mental health. When students don't have the option of playing sports it can lead to, “...too much screen time and not enough hands on activity,” (“Play is Important”). Many studies have recently exhibited citing the risk of excessive screen time for developing brains, everything from socialization, concentration, speech and writing skills can all be studied. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that children in America spend a gargantuan amount of time looking at electronic devices, approximately seven hours a day. If sports were no longer available for children to participate in, the average amount of hours spent on electronics would be increased. Other statistics reveal that kids the age of two regularly play iPad games and have toys in their bedroom that involve touch screens. Getting out the house is a good way to stay healthy and “...Exercise can help reduce depression and anxiety,”(Carson Barrett, “How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?”). For many kids in middle school, the need to have perfect grades causes many of them to have anxiety. Many families have younger children that have to deal with deaths and having to deal with a loss can be a main trigger to depression. If those kids were taken away from the opportunity to play sports, the anxiety and depression would most likely increase. Sleep is a big factor of mental health; and being active by participating in sports can increase the amount of sleep children get. Sports “...do this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep,”(Kathryn Watson, “The Top 7 Mental Benefits of Sports”). When children come home from a sport, most of the time, their exhausted which would lead to a more reparative sleep, allowing the brain and muscles to rehabilitate more thoroughly. Getting a good amount of sleep can improve your mental outlook and mood the

One of the ways football helps with one’s health is that it helps improve their mental health. According to (Kathryn Watson whose article was medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg). It states that playing sports helps with one’s depression that one could have. It also stated that playing a sport helps with one’s self-confidence. Also according to (Bonnie Swain Schindly) who has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Temple University. Playing a sport helps reduce stress. Also according to (Kathryn Watson) playing sports help improve one’s mood, and also allows one to have improved concentration.

The ability for high school sports to give athletes a break from the classroom allows them to clear their minds. Students have the chance to forget about the things that may be bothering them as well as allowing them to have fun for a bit. Research shows that the movement of the brain’s physiology has an effect on the way that a person does things throughout their life. In fact, a study shows that people who have been physically activity or have participated in sports when they were younger are happier because they have been releasing endorphins which releases stress. Stress is the leading cause of depression in the United States and by exercising, the rate of stress in which a person has can be lowered. High school sports does not just benefit a person's mental health but also a person's physical health.

I believe that sports have a positive impact on children. Sports can improve children’s health,

One thing that is a positive outcome in sports is the overflowing happiness people get when they participate in competitive sports. One example is that “children who were involved in sports were more assertive, had greater confidence in their skills and physical appearance, and reported more positive feelings than those who didn’t participate. (Merkal, Donna, Youth sport: positive and negative impact on young athletes, 201, May 31).” If children hold an extreme love for the sport they play, most children use that sport as an escape. Playing sports blows off steam and helps people relax. “Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research ,Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity, 1998).” Playing sports can help bring families or other kids together to build strong bonds. “It appears that US children are healthy and happy as they engage in this traditional pastime, and families report higher levels of satisfaction if their children participate. (Macdonald, Brian, Kids in Sports, Part 5: Can sports help shy kids to make friends?, 2009).” A pat on the back from a parental figure is enough to keep kids going and doing their best. Because sports make children happier, they are more prone to keep playing which all in all makes children happier and it teaches kids to do what makes them happy. With suicide being the second biggest fatality for adolescents doing what makes them happy can be a life or death situation.

“Sports are for fun, but they also offer benefits and lessons that carry over into all aspects of life”. This well-known anonymous quotation conveys the message that sport is the game which has some rules and custom. It is not only for fun and entertainment, but there are also some benefits of playing sports and which gives some important lessons for life. Every kind of physical sports is healthy because it involves running, jumping, stretching, mind skills and much more. There are so many sports available in the world nowadays, but we can categorize them by the numbers of players, the three main categories are individual sport, dual sport and team sport.

In today’s society children are increasingly becoming less active. Lack of physical activity in childhood leads to obesity, can increase one’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status. Physical inactivity also increases one’s risk for dying prematurely, dying of heart disease, and colon cancer. Technology and video games have become a major factor in this and have seemed to take over and control lives of many children. Less children are involved with sports and few play outside. The lack of physical activity as a child, can pay huge dividends in the child’s health, into his/her adulthood.