Main athletics benefits for physical and mental health are to prevent obesity and diabetes, improve cholesterol levels, increase muscle mass, improve breathing, increase self-confidence, among others.
Athletics is a sport that encompasses many disciplines grouped into running, jumping, throwing, combined events and marches. All these activities are characterized by high aerobic exercise.
Aerobic activities are considered the physical activity practices that report the greatest health benefits. Many studies have focused on investigating what effects these exercises provide both on the physical and mental health of people.
In this sense, athletics is the sport that provides the greatest benefits on the physical state of the body and on the psychological functioning of the person who performs it..
The movement of the body provides direct benefits on the physical state of people. In fact, to keep the body in good condition it is necessary to carry out a minimum dose of physical exercise daily.
A sedentary lifestyle is the worst enemy of physical health, while athletics is one of the main allies.
In general, studies indicate that all physical activity is beneficial to increase the state of health of the body. However, aerobic exercises are those that have shown a greater correlation with physical benefits.
Thus, athletics is the sport that can have the greatest beneficial effects on fitness. The twelve that have shown the most scientific evidence are discussed below..
Practicing athletics enhances the use of fatty acids as an energy substrate to carry out a certain level of physical effort. In this way, it saves muscle glycogen.
It increases the general metabolic activity both during the performance of the activity and during the hours (or days) afterwards. Practicing athletics automatically translates into a higher energy expenditure of the body, thus allowing you to lose weight and prevent obesity.
On the other hand, aerobic exercise also avoids excess fat reserve and favors a distribution of body fat with a healthier pattern, contributing to weight control.
When doing athletics, the body increases its sensitivity to insulin. The levels of these hormones in the plasma are reduced and the survival of the endocrine pancreas is prolonged.
Thus, athletics is one of the best practices to prevent diabetes mellitus and combat the effects of this disease.
Carrying out aerobic exercises accelerates the metabolism of plasma lipoproteins and reduces triglyceride levels..
On the other hand, it also improves cholesterol levels, reducing the level of cholesterol linked to low and very low density lipoproteins..
Athletics is one of the sports that provides the greatest benefits for regulating both cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood..
The effects on the cardiovascular system cause the main health benefit of athletics. This practice improves the performance of the heart by reducing energy needs for a certain level of effort..
Heart rate and blood pressure increase more smoothly. Likewise, the maximum cardiac output value is increased, without increasing the heart rate above normal values in sedentary conditions..
For this reason, athletics improve cardiovascular function and prevent the development of this type of disease..
Likewise, it contributes to the control of blood pressure at rest and during exercise in individuals with different degrees of arterial hypertension..
In addition, it increases the number and density of blood capillaries in the vascular territory. And it causes an increase in their caliber during physical exertion..
Muscles are one of the organs that work the most during athletics. Its performance increases the aerobic capacity and the power of the oxidative systems of the muscle cells.
These factors motivate a better functioning of the body's muscles and increase the muscular endurance of the person..
Playing athletics regularly allows muscles to stretch and strengthen, increasing flexibility and preventing muscle injury.
In fact, many studies postulate that this sports practice is one of the ones that works best to acquire optimal muscle flexibility.
During athletics, the respiratory rate increases and maximizes performance..
In this way, the lungs get used to a more intense functioning, a fact that allows them to enhance their health and prevent related diseases..
Physical activity increases body resistance at all levels. In this sense, practicing athletics increases respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular resistance, and prevents fatigue.
Consistently practicing athletics encourages greater activation of multiple parts of the body. Most organs contribute to the performance of this physical exercise, so everyone benefits from the activity practiced.
In this sense, there are many studies that have shown that athletics prevents, in a general way, the physical deterioration of the body.
When athletics are performed, not only does the functioning of the physical organs increase, but the brain also increases its activity.
Practicing athletics is also postulated as one of the important factors in the prevention of cognitive deterioration and the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The data on the effects of athletics on the development of cancer diseases are somewhat more controversial than the 8 previously discussed.
However, some research indicates that aerobic exercise seems to have a protective effect against colon cancer due to the greater activity it originates in the abdominal area, facilitating intestinal transit and reducing constipation..
Other studies suggest that the preventive effects could also extend to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women.
The results in the prevention of osteoporosis are clearer since athletics produces an increase in bone density, and causes a delay in the appearance of this common disorder in old age.
On the other hand, the practice of this sport allows to increase the activity of the processes involved in the remodeling of the bone and reduces the rate of bone wear that occurs over the years.
Physical activity not only has positive effects for the body, but is also highly beneficial for psychological functioning. There are many investigations that show a clear association between physical exercise and psychological disorders such as anxiety or depression.
In fact, nowadays the practice of physical activity constitutes a psychotherapeutic tool in the treatment of different psychological problems. However, the benefits of physical exercise on the mental state are not limited to the treatment of psychopathologies.
All people who practice physical activity frequently experience benefits directly in their psychological functioning. The main ones are:
The first psychological benefit of athletics is obvious. Practicing this sport significantly increases activity.
The brain requires a certain level of physical activity to function properly. Otherwise, mood and emotional disturbances can easily be experienced..
In this way, practicing athletics allows to increase the physical and mental activity of the person, thus improving their state in a generalized way..
Sport is one of the main activities that builds self-confidence. Practicing athletics allows the person to be aware of their strengths and increase self-confidence.
One of the hypotheses on the psychological effects of physical activity is that it modifies the functioning of certain neurotransmitters.
Specifically, it seems to have a direct influence on monoamines such as serotonin or dopamine, a fact that allows regulating brain function and contributes to the emotional stability of the person.
The practice of physical activities in childhood has a great educational and socializing utility.
Specifically, athletics has been shown to be an important factor in the moral development, the acquisition of values and the promotion of the independence of children.
Mood is one of the psychological components that can benefit the most from athletics..
Performing this sport immediately causes a greater release of serotonin and endorphins. These two substances are directly related to mood. That is, the more there are in the brain, the better mood you have..
Athletics can improve your mood and keep it stable. Factors that can lower people's moods can be effectively counteracted by doing this sport..
Athletics provides direct effects on the body silhouette, reducing fat levels and strengthening the body's muscles. However, its effects on body image are not limited to the acquisition of a leaner or more athletic body.
Athletics promotes positive body image by sending direct inputs on the proper functioning of the body and the personal capacity to perform and improve..
Sport is also an important source of emotional release and behavioral regulation. Practicing athletics allows to increase personal self-control and the focus of emotions.
The data that relate athletics with sexual satisfaction are somewhat more contradictory than the rest.
A recent national survey found that people who were physically active had significantly higher sexual satisfaction rates.
There is evidence of the effects of exercise in the symptomatic reduction of stress, at a physiological and psychological level. In this sense, its effects are comparable to those of relaxation, for example, in terms of reducing cardiovascular reactivity to stress.
In this sense, athletics is a good stress management technique and its practice allows the short-term reduction of psychological symptoms such as agitation, nervousness or repetitive thoughts.
Physical-sports activities such as athletics contribute to the improvement of self-esteem and the integration of many people with mental or physical deficiencies.
The official organization of this type of activity is already common, where many times it is as important to win a competition as the feeling of usefulness and personal fulfillment for the participants..
Although exercise is generally considered to reduce anxiety, there is little contrasted evidence on its therapeutic efficacy in treating anxiety disorders in clinical patients.
The greatest effectiveness of athletics has been described in cases of generalized anxiety and simple phobias.
Likewise, there is some evidence that the practice of exercise is accompanied by a decrease in anxiety states and nervousness in the moments after the practice, especially if the people presented an abnormal altered state.
There is general agreement that physical exercise contributes to the improvement of people's well-being, allowing them to feel more energetic, more easily complete their daily tasks and helping them sleep well.
The description of benefits such as improved self-confidence, self-esteem, self-image, self-concept, emotional stability or the feeling of self-control is also frequent..
All these factors contribute to experiencing feelings of well-being and improving people's quality of life..
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