Here's How Sports Help Adolescents' Cope With Mood Swings

Adolescents get moody and cranky because their body is constantly going through hormonal changes. In addition to that, they deal with pressures and changes in school, friendships, and relationships. Lifestyle changes can ease your teen through the worst of adolescent emotions.

Teenagers are in the process of establishing their own identity and expressing their individuality. Conflicts with parents are also typical at this age and might influence teens' moods. Confusion and conflict accompany teens as they have to deal with stress and anxiety. Teens may feel self-conscious about their physical appearance, and they may worry about how they look and dress.

 The Relationship Between Sports And Health

Sports help adolescents to live a more active life, thus reducing the risk of health complications like diabetes, obesity, and BP. Moreover, playing sports does not only affect physical health but also mental, social and psychological health.

According to a 2010 West Virginia University study published in “Applied Research in Quality of Life,” teenagers who play sports are happier, feel healthier and are more fulfilled by life.

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 The Impact of Daily Sports on Mental Health

Science provides evidence of the positive impact of teen sports. According to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, students who play team sports in grades eight through 12 have less stress and better mental health as young adults.

Young people who develop athletic skills feel more positive about their bodies and their physical abilities. Therefore, their self-esteem improves.

In the study, 850 students from 10 Canadian schools were surveyed about their participation in school sports, such as basketball, soccer, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.

Subsequently, three years after graduation, researchers followed up with the participants. Specifically, they asked them questions about how often they experienced depressive symptoms and the amount of stress in their lives. Additionally, they asked them to rate their mental health on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent).

The researchers found that youth who were involved in school sports had better scores on all three mental health assessments, compared with those who did not play sports at all.

Therefore, the study found that playing school sports during adolescent years is significantly linked to lower depression symptoms, lower perceived stress, and better self-rated mental health in young adulthood. In other words, playing school sports from ages 12 to 17 protects young people from poor mental health four years later.

According to study co-author Catherine Sabiston, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, “Team sports offer a heightened emphasis on group goals, social support, and sense of connection that provide more opportunity for learning adaptive coping strategies that can be essential for long-term mental health.”

The Positive Link Between Exercise And Mood

Here’s why playing sports is essential for maintaining good mental health and are natural mood booster as well:

• Exercise positively impacts levels of serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate mental health.
• Furthermore, exercise releases endorphins, the body’s natural “happy chemicals.”
• Playing sports helps chronic depression by increasing serotonin (which helps your brain regulate mood, sleep, and appetite) or brain-derived neurotropic factor (which helps neurons to grow).
• Levels of the stress hormone cortisol go down when we exercise.
• Additionally, physical activity also stimulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which improves mood.
• It also reduces immune system chemicals that can make depression worse.
• Young people who develop athletic skills feel more positive about their bodies and their physical abilities. Therefore, their self-esteem improves.

According to a 2010 West Virginia University study published in “Applied Research in Quality of Life,” teenagers who play sports are happier, feel healthier and are more fulfilled by life.

• When we are doing something that absorbs all our attention, such as sports or another physical activity, we are distracted from stressful and negative thoughts.
• Athletics and other physical activities protect against substance use disorder.
• Moreover, when teens do physical activities during the day, they sleep better at night. Sleep is essential for maintaining teen mental health.

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Image Credits: Anxiety.org

Gaurika Taneja is an intern with SheThePeople.TV