Matteo Zanfanti
Staff reporter
All people have stress in their life, and everyone handles it differently, but an outlet to reduce the stress is always necessary, and the key is often the sport. This applies to adults stressed by work, or students stressed by school, or any other category of people. Sport makes no distinctions and can be practiced by anyone, with all the benefits, that come with it. Studies have shown that 20 to 30 minutes of exercise each day can make people feel calmer. This calmness continues several hours after exercise. To most people sport means more than just a movement of the body.
“Sports can bring people together and give people a sense of identity. They also provide a unique insight for other people into the values held by sports-playing communities.” As reported by journalist Francesca Butt on a “rightforeducation” website’s article. Sport is rich in values and leads us to improve our community life, and consequently, the way of life in our country. Especially for young people, since the childhood, sport plays a key role in their growth. In addition, practice sport improves your mood, it makes you happy, distracting you from any life’s problem. Obviously, sport, like any other thing, has negative aspects as well. If you practice sport at high agonistic level, and you do not have a great mental strength, it can produce the opposite effects of what was mentioned above, causing problems of anxiety and performance stress. It usually happens when parents or coaches put a lot of pressure on you, or when you practice professional sport, and therefore, you also get a lot of pressure from the media and the public opinion.
In some parts of the world, sport is not simply physical activity, but becomes a tangible way of life, that is what happen in Europe and Latin America with soccer, or in North America with Basketball or Football, for example. These sports have a particularly important influence on people daily routine and on their attitudes. This influence can be positive or negative. A positive passion for a sport, in a country, can increase the number of people who practice physical activity, and that brings a lot of benefits to people physical and mental health. A negative aspect is, however, when clashes between fans occur, and this happens when the passion is so great that it becomes harmful, and people do not respect others’ thoughts.
To conclude, it is important to get movement and practice any sports, especially if you are a teenager, it will make you feel better, and it will ensure mental and physical benefits in the future as well.
Sources: https://rightforeducation.org/2019/04/02/sports-so-important-to-our-culture/ https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/benefits-of-sports-for-mental-health