Basketball is a powerful way to build strong mental health. Particularly for young people living in deprived communities, basketball offers these people an opportunity to escape from the hard realities that life can bring.
Basketball gives young people hope and allows them to build mental health skills they can utilise throughout their life. Basketball allows young people to build essential confidence, empathy and teambuilding skills.
Contrary to popular belief, confidence can be built and basketball is the perfect way to help young people improve their self-esteem and confidence.
Here we outline how basketball can be utilised to promote positive mental health. We then fill in the gaps by helping you get involved in this fantastic game yourself.
The Physical Benefits of Basketball
When you play basketball, you work your entire cardiovascular system. This means your heart and lungs will greatly benefit from your decision to play basketball. Also, you will burn around 750 calories when you play a game of competitive basketball, meaning you should lose weight if you play consistently throughout the year. You are able to burn 300 calories an hour merely by shooting hoops!
It’s no secret that physical and mental health are closely related. When you are fit and healthy, your mental health also benefits. When you are overweight and unfit, you are more likely to suffer from poor mental health. Playing basketball is a fantastic way to fend off mental health disorders such as anxiety and deppression.
Basketball is also capable of extending your life. Because basketball keeps you fit and slim, you are less likely to suffer from heart disease or a stroke as a result. Simply put, playing basketball is a highly effective way of improving your general health.
To get the maximum amount of physical health benefits from playing basketball, we recommend you try to play at least two-to-three times per week. Playing competitively yields the most benefits since this is high-intensity.
The Mental Benefits of Basketball
Basketball offers fantastic health and mental cognition benefits. When you play basketball, you must remain constantly aware of what is going on around you. This serves to sharpen your mental focus. You need to be aware of where other players are situated and what moves to make next. Decisions must be made in a split second and you are often under pressure to react quickly and accurately to your opponents.
Because basketball helps to improve motor skills and coordination, you will find other areas of your life improving that also make use of these skills. Basketball will help you to build confidence and to improve your overall self-esteem. Basketball will help improve your sleeping habits and reduce stress.
When you play basketball, the brain will release ‘feel-good’ hormones such as dopamine and endorphins. These chemicals make playing basketball positively addictive.
The Social Benefits of Basketball
Humans are social animals. This means the need for social interactions is innate. If you play basketball competitively, you will satisfy the need for regular human interaction because you will meet lots of new people. It’s unarguable that basketball brings with it a range of social benefits.
If you find yourself isolated from others, then why not give basketball a chance. Below, we outline how you can become involved with a local basketball team even if you do not have any connections in the sport.
Basketball gives many people a sense of belonging they may otherwise find lacking in their lives. The sense of belonging is an essential tenant of positive self-esteem. Basketball allows you to have fun with your teammates and opponents alike.
