Benefits of Sports Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Sports Essay Sports serve as an excellent physical exercise. Those who play sports have a more positive body image than those who do not. Sports often involve physical activities like running, jumping, stretching and moving about which turn out to be a good body workout. Playing sports is energy put to good use. Engaging in sports since an early age strengthens your bones and muscles and tones your body. It helps you increase your stamina and endurance. Sports that involve jumping and stretching help increase height; for example basketball. Games that involve running, kicking or throwing a ball help strengthen the arms and legs; for example soccer and cricket. Swimming provides a full body workout. Thus sports provide the body with complete exercise and engaging in sports directly translates into overall fitness. Research shows that sports improve Math skills in children. Sports that involve aiming and hitting skills, for example, tennis, badminton, baseball and cricket help them increase focus. They help develop leadership qualities and foster team spirit in kids. They involve competition; they involve winning and losing. This exposes children to both aspects of life, successes and failures. Sports build a competitive spirit in children and teach them to be participative irrespective of whether the result is victory or defeat. Playing sports teaches them to accept both successes and failures with a positive spirit. Sports teach you to think with a cool head. The most important benefit of sports is the sportsman spirit they inculcate. Sports help you become more sporting, more positive and stronger. Playing sports is very beneficial for the development of social skills. Sports teach you to interact with people, communicate with them and collaborate as a team. Sports foster collective thinking and harness your planning and delegation skills too. Sports build confidence. Winning a game gives you a sense of accomplishment, which boosts your confidence further. Playing sports involves directed thinking. It requires you to strategize. You need to devise ways to score goals, runs or earn points, as the case may be. You need to devise strategies to win, you need to decide whether to take an offensive stand or a defensive one. You need to judge your opponents strategy and modify yours accordingly. This definitely involves clever thinking, which sports encourage. Studies show that kids who play sports regularly fare well in academics and do well in school. Sports make you happy. I know anyone would agree with this. Jumping about, running around, racing to get ahead, hitting, throwing, bouncing, kicking (the ball, I mean! ), shouting, clapping, cheering, falling and standing up again all a part of playing sports. And there is no match to the happiness this brings. They give you the high by increasing the production of endorphins in the brain. In other words, sports are a form of exercise which generates happiness molecules in your body, thus restoring your mental health. Playing sports, you cant be sad. In fact, they bust the sorrow and the stress. Sports generate a positive energy in you, around you. When sports are played at the state or national level, they increase the players sense of belonging to their community or country. International sports events foster patriotism and a feeling of oneness among the team members of a country. Playing sports at these levels opens many employment avenues for not only sportsmen and women but also people who join tournaments as volunteers, cheerleaders or in the capacity of sports doctors and physical therapists. As developments are undertaken in cities hosting sports events, sports can lead to urbanization of rural areas. Many cities have started becoming hubs for sports tourism. Sports parks are being developed in many tourist destinations. It is the increasing inclination for playing sports which is responsible for such developments. Playing sports reduces several health risks. As sports serve as an excellent form of exercise, it wont come as a surprise that they offer health benefits like lowering blood pressure, maintaining blood sugar and cholesterol levels and reducing other health risks. Yes, if you are playing a sport regularly, you are at a lesser risk of developing diabetes or heart diseases. Playing sports reduces the risk of hypertension and several other stress-related disorders. Research shows that people who play sports regularly can deal with stresses and strains in a better way. Those who engage in sports activities are less prone to depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders. Physical Health Benefits The fact is quite evident that playing any sport makes a person energetic. Team sports, at times, benefit more than solo ones because a person is always happy to play them with ten other people having a similar way of thinking. A team sport keeps health problems at bay. They provide you with the necessary exercise and endurance to maintain a healthy body. It keeps your body in shape and saves you from problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases and weak bones. Women should specially take active part in team sports as it keeps their monthly cycles regulated and prevents them from all the gynecological problems. Research reveals that 60% of the women who play team sports are prevented from breast cancer. On the other hand, kids in a growing age get used to torn knees and injuries and thus do not become susceptible to it. It helps them develop strong muscles and a good physique. People who are above the age of 55 years should also actively participate in team sports. It keeps them fit when it is most needed. Social Benefits As Aristotle says, Man is a social animal, it is clear that a person needs a company of other people one day or the other. He cannot survive alone. Team sports help the man to become socially interactive. The more he communicates, the more he comprehends. The basic quality of understanding each other develops when a person begins to talk and listen. Team sports help to construct better friendships. Often, it is observed that a team which plays together, stays together! The team spends a lot of time discussing new ideas, opinions and methods with each other. This makes them bond well and add to the team spirit. Moral and Emotional Benefits Every individual has an ego that is hidden inside him and which pops up as a devil most of the time! One of the best things about playing a team sport is that it kills the ego and converts it into self respect. It is said that, while talking is very important, listening is even more important when you belong to a group. Team sports help develop the quality of listening to each other. We must agree to the fact that speech is silver but silence is golden! On the other hand, team sports build a good self-esteem in individuals. It helps you overcome your fears and mental blockages. It gives you the freedom to experiment and express. It is proven that children who play team sports are healthier and happier. They overcome their complexes with the help of the sport they play. Apart from this, leadership, support and acceptance are three such disciplines everyone needs to imbibe. Team sports make you a good leader. They teach you that a leader is not the boss but a considerate person who takes into account each persons say. They also teach you to accept failures and victory in the same spirit. Children, in the growing age, tend to believe that participation is far more important than victory. The knowledge that you gain, the values that you learn from your mistakes make you a better citizen and a humble individual. They keep you grounded. Read more at Buzzle: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/benefits-of-team-sports. html Sports boost self-esteem. Watching your hard work pay off and achieving your dreams brings about tons of self-confidence. If you can achieve something in a sport or with a fitness goal, then you know you can achieve any other goal you set. This is a very rewarding and exiting process. Playing a sport cuts down on pressure and stress. Exercising is a natural way to loosen up and let go of stress. Also, you will most likely make many new friends on the team who can be there for you as a support system. When you find you are having a lot of stress, you can call up team mates and head to the gym to talk it out and play it out.