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Sports and Recreation Poster
- 1. How does fitness affect people’s well being? Introduction There have been numerous studies that suggest that there is a strong relationship between exercise and well-‐‑being. Alsha Patel Sports & Recreation It defines how people feel and function in their lives as well as their happiness. It also relates to peoples abilities at engagement, relationships and their purpose for life. Well being is influences by many things including genes, experiences and environment. What is well-‐‑ being? Exercise is most commonly associated with its benefits on Improving health and reducing risk of cardiovascular diseases however there have been increasing reaserch studies on its effect on mental health. These have summarised the potential for exercise as a therapy for clinical or subclinical depression or anxiety, and the use of physical activity as a means of upgrading life quality through enhanced self-‐‑esteem, improved mood states, reduced state and trait anxiety, resilience to stress, or improved sleep. Regular exercise is also very theraputic and has shown trmendous results on people without mental illnesses. There are several mental benefits in addition to the physical ones. One of which includes sharpening brainpower. The endorphines released help you concentrate better as well as Stimulating the growth of new braincells which helps to prevent age-‐‑related decline.
- 2. 2 The science behind it… When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "ʺeuphoric."ʺ That feeling, known as a "ʺrunner'ʹs high,"ʺ can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life. Endorphins act as analgesics, which means they diminish the perception of pain. They also act as sedatives. They are manufactured in your brain, spinal cord, and many other parts of your body and are released in response to brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. The neuron receptors endorphins bind to are the same ones that bind some pain medicines. However, unlike with morphine, the activation of these receptors by the body'ʹs endorphins does not lead to addiction or dependence. CONTROLS WEIGHT Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain and keeps you in great shape. COMBATS HEALTH CONDITIONS Being active boosts high-‐‑density lipoprotein and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and several others. IMPROVES MOOD Regular exercise leaves you feeling more relaxed and happy. It’s a great way to reduce stress, boost confidence and improve your self-‐‑esteem. You also feel less anger and frustration. BOOSTS ENERGY Physical activity improves your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Your heart and lungs work more efficiently to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. PROMOTES BETTER SLEEP Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. This leaves you feeling more energized the next day. How does exercise effect behavior? Frequent exercise leads to significant improvements amongst people suffering from depression. People that exercise experience anxiety less often as they are much more confident. Exercise also reduces stress and allows you to feel much more relaxed. When faced with mental or emothional challenges in life, those who exercise regularly are able to cope with it in a healthy way rather than resorting to drugs, alcohol or other negative behaviors that simple worsen the situation. Exercise has also shown to increase optimism and people taking a more positive approach to life. The benefits of EXERCISE:
- 3. 3 Survey Results: I decided to investigate and see if there really is a connection between fitness and well being. I sent out a survey and received over 135 responses. Here are my findings: Do you think you are fit? This was the first question I asked as I wanted to understand people’s views on themselves and weather or not they believe they are fit as this would influence the way the respond to the survey. I had quite a balanced outcome. 14% of the people exercise everyday which I was very surprised by. 13% exercise 5 times a week. The majority (46%) exercise 2-‐‑3 times a week. 24% exercise once a week and 3% exercise once a month. This information shows me the exercising habits of my local community. How frequently do you exercise? What do you most often do for exercise? This allows me to familiarize myself with common exercise routines within my school. As you can see most people prefer to go for a run or play a team sport. How much exercise do you think you get? Over half the responses (56%) indicate that people are not happy with their exercising habits and feel they need more. I am interested to find out why. 42% of the people feel they get sufficient exercise whilst only 2% think they get too much. How important is exercising to you? 97% of my responses show that people think exercise is somewhat important to them and 3% show that its not. These results were as expected as exercise is a crucial part of both health and well-‐‑being. How do you feel after exercising? 5% of the people don’t feel a difference before and after exercising. 2% feel terrible after exercising whilst 71% would describe it as great. 22% of the people feel “really good” after exercising. One of the comments stated “I feel amazing after exercising, it really has a big impact on my mood for the rest of the day”. Do you think exercise effects your mental health? Rate your happiness out of 10: 10 /10 -‐‑ 12.24% 9 /10 – 10.20% 8 /10 – 34.69% 7 /10 – 24.49% 6 /10 – 7.14% 5 /10 – 6.12% 4 /10 – 4.08% 3 /10 – 0.00% 2 /10 – 0.00% 1 /10 – 1.02%
- 4. Tips and Suggestions to improve your well being: Meditation has shown a lot of positive results in improving well being. It’s a simple process which if practiced regularly is soothing and relaxing as it helps clear your mind of any impurities. Inspiration is another great way to improve well being and exercise can help you with that too. You should also start to appreciate all the little things and show gratitude as it improves your own happiness. Exercise is commonly practiced by everyone and is very beneficial as it releases endorphins into your brain which makes you motivated and allows you to carry out tasks more efficiently. How to make the most out of your exercise: • Make an exercising schedule and aim to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week. “Moderate Exercise” means being energetic enough that you: o Breath heavier than normal, but aren’t out of breath o Feel warmer but don’t necessarily end up hot and sweaty. • Instead of working out in an enclosed room, get some fresh air and exercise with nature surrounding you (e.g. at a park, go for a hike, at the beach etc.) • It is much better to exercise with a group than by yourself so bring someone along with you. • Set goals to motivate you. These can also be used to measure progress and build up a sense of accomplishment (which is great for self-‐‑esteem and confidence). BIBLIOGRAPHY: Medical News Today. MediLexicon International. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245751.php>. "ʺ9 Tips to Improve Your Wellbeing."ʺ ReachOut.com. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://au.reachout.com/9-‐‑tips-‐‑to-‐‑improve-‐‑your-‐‑wellbeing>. "ʺCan Exercise Improve Behavior? Help Encouraging a Child Who Has Autism."ʺ Autism Speaks. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2013/06/14/can-‐‑exercise-‐‑improve-‐‑behavior-‐‑help-‐‑encouraging-‐‑child-‐‑who-‐‑has-‐‑autism>. "ʺExercise and Depression: Endorphins, Reducing Stress, and More."ʺ WebMD. WebMD. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-‐‑depression>. "ʺExercise and Mental Health."ʺ Exercise and Mental Health. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-‐‑ information/mental-‐‑health-‐‑a-‐‑z/E/exercise-‐‑mental-‐‑health/>. "ʺGet Active for Mental Wellbeing."ʺ -‐‑ Stress, Anxiety and Depression. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-‐‑anxiety-‐‑ depression/pages/mental-‐‑benefits-‐‑of-‐‑exercise.aspx>. "ʺHow Exercise Benefits Depression, Anxiety, and Stress."ʺ : Using Physical Activity to Improve Your Mental Health. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.helpguide.org/articles/exercise-‐‑fitness/emotional-‐‑benefits-‐‑of-‐‑exercise.htm>. "ʺMotivation to Exercise Affects Behavior."ʺ ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213134135.htm>. Tartakovski, Margarita. "ʺ15 Tips to Boost Your Well-‐‑Being and Happiness."ʺ Psych Central. 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-‐‑tips-‐‑to-‐‑boost-‐‑your-‐‑well-‐‑being-‐‑and-‐‑happiness/00010428>. "ʺWellbeing Index."ʺ What Is 'ʹwellbeing'ʹ? Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mywellbeing.co.nz/mw/what-‐‑is-‐‑wellbeing.html>. "ʺWhat Is Well-‐‑being?"ʺ | Learn | National Accounts of Well-‐‑being. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org/learn/what-‐‑is-‐‑well-‐‑being.html>.