It is more than proven that regular sports are beneficial for overall health and prevent cardiovascular disease. In addition, it helps us to stay at a healthy weight and to be in shape to deal with certain situations that require good physical condition. But the emotional and psychological role is also essential.
“”The most immediate changes that occur in people are the improvement of health, which includes changes in the human being,”” says Rubén Barakat, Vice Dean of Research and PhD at the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and participant in the Cuidándote Active Life meeting organized by CuídatePlus, in collaboration with Sandoz.
The goal of this forum is to talk to different experts in Psychology, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Sciences and offer useful tips to help you have good health habits.
Sport, Barakat says, “”improves not only aesthetic health but also mental and emotional.”” It seems, almost immediately, effects on the good mood of people who practice it on a daily basis. In addition, it””improves depression and the processing of knowledge and information””.
Body-and-mind connection
It is, according to Alba Villamediana, spokesperson for the Sports Psychology Section of the College of Psychologists of Madrid, a two-way relationship. “”The mind and body are connected. If we improve the psychological part, we will improve physical performance and vice versa.”” Several studies show that “”at the level of academic and work performance doing sport has a direct benefit because it teaches us to put in place resources that will help us to face the day to day””, says Villamediana.
Conducting a competition, he exemplifies, “”is to put in place what we have learned during planning to achieve our challenge and to make everything work out.”” All of this, he recalls, “”it can be equated with a job interview or an exam.””
For María del Carmen Sáez, of the Nutrition Group of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Pharmacy,””living an active life and a proper diet will allow us to feel healthier, and that will help us to face the stress with a proper composition by having a better view of us.””
Likewise, as Villamediana points out, taking care of yourself in sports and eating a good diet “”is an improvement in personal image and, therefore, an increase in self-esteem.”” This, according to the psychologist, “”reinforces the trust we have in ourselves, something very beneficial when we are small, and that helps our autonomy and self-control.
