It’s common sense that practicing sports has many health benefits and that everyone should exercise. However, not much is said about the specific benefits of being part of a sports team for physical and mental health and life in general.
THE IMPACT on LIFE
A study made by the University of Brasilia (UnB) shows that, as well as reducing anxiety and depression, sports, when practiced with a team, increases confidence and the ability to work collectively. Training, competing, winning or losing as a team gives us the feeling that we are part of something bigger and naturally increases our sense of unity and teamwork. This makes us more empathetic, patient and proactive, positively impacting on all areas of life, such as work and social situations.
The psychologist Ana Streit told Glamour Magazine that doing sports, in a friendly context, makes the whole process of practicing physical activity feel light and natural. Equally important, it increases socialization, self-discipline, self-control and ethics, not to mention the physical benefits such as the release of dopamine and serotonin.
Besides that, we know that many people associate physical exercise solely with an aesthetic purpose. Going to the gym, for example, has become a trend on all social networks, prompting millions of teenagers to join gyms with the sole aim of changing their bodies. This mentality ends up reducing sport to an unpleasant obligation, which is why so many people start exercising and don’t continue.
Team sports break this mentality. Team training is about having a common purpose with other people that goes beyond society’s oppressive beauty standards.
Adding to the university context, university sports can change the student experience and it is extremely stimulated by athletics teams, which are always looking for new athletes. Joining a university team gives you new friendships, new experiences, new acknowledgements. In addition to reducing your stress and being good for your health. It can also be fundamental for your professional training, once sporting experience increases your leadership skills, your ability to work as part of a team and your discipline. It’s an investment in your life and your maturity.
There are many examples of university teams that you can know and learn about, such as the Boston University team, Duke team, Casper Libero team and the USP Politécnica team.
THE ‘THIRD PLACE’
“Third place”, the concept created by the sociologist Ray Oldenburg that is now more discussed on social media, is used to refer to a place where you spend time when you’re not at home or at work/school.
Home would be the first place, work/school the second one and, in his theory, it would be essential to exchange ideas, build relationships and have quality leisure time in a third place.
The third place is an alternative to build a different community, which is getting more important than ever to our society since cities have this natural tendency to get more individualized, causing human distancing.
A Sports Team can be a perfect third place. It promotes socialization, creates deep bonds and it also helps with physical and mental health care.
A PROFESSIONAL’S PERSPECTIVE
I spoke to the psychologist and psychoanalyst Gabriela Rufato, to have a professional point of view about sports teams and its benefits for our health.
“Without a doubt, physical activity provides many benefits through the release of hormones such as dopamine and endorphins, which promote well-being and regulate mood.”
She also said that the physical benefits of individual and team sports are similar, but team sports promote greater socialization and can be more motivating because of the connections it creates.
Talking about how collective sports helps with mental health, she said:“Sport itself doesn’t replace therapy, but it always works as a tool for anxiety and depression (…) and it also helps with routine, focus and mood.” The psychologist made a fundamental point: “The practice of physical activity is self-care”, making the effort to practice a sport, which will bring benefits to your physical and mental health, is an act of self-esteem and self-affirmation.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
My personal experience shows that a person who has never liked sports can suddenly join a team and find themselves in a sport. When I joined the Casper Líbero Women’s Rugby team, motivated by the desire to meet friends and open myself up to new experiences, I was completely amazed by the way the team were receptive, and how much they love the sport and their partners in the field.
And I can tell that it was one of my best decisions. Rugby made me meet different people that I would never have met anywhere else. It made me love the sport, it made me more active, it taught me a lot about teamwork and it showed me that fighting with a team for the same purpose creates a kind of union that no other situation is capable of creating.
Every training session is my moment to switch off my mind, become less anxious and spend a few hours tiring out my body, in contact with nature with a team that I love.
Finding yourself in a team and in a sport is a path of no return.
In such an individualistic world, team sports can serve as a reminder to us of how socialization and collective experiences are fundamental to human existence.
Be part of a sports team and see the change in your life!
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The article below was edited by Bruna Blanco.
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