Team sports that improve children’s mental health
THE benefits of exercise for your physical health are well known by most of us, but did you know getting your child to participate in team sports can also help them with their studies?
A University of Kansas study showed that more than 97% of those who played team sports made it to college level with their average marks being 10% higher than those who didn’t participate in sports.
And as one of Ireland’s top female athletes, Ashling Thompson is keen to get more young women and men involved in sport on a team basis as she says it helps her keep a balance in her life.
‘Sport has a huge impact around how you feel and they way you think,’ the Cork camogie legend explains. ‘It is a great way to motivate yourself to do other things in life.
‘For children and teenagers it is a great platform for them to go to the next level, whether in their sporting career or anything else they want to do down the line or in the future.
‘For me playing sport goes hand in hand with mental health and physical fitness. Whenever I am having a bad day I go to training and I always feel much better. That’s what gives me the motivation in life, getting that physical fitness.
‘It motivates me to do what I need to do and get where I want to be.’
Exercise helps mental health by decreasing stress levels and aiding sleep while the social aspect of being in a team releases the hormone oxytocin which also increases feelings of relaxation, reducing stress levels.
Ashling is someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety issues herself and she credits her recovery to being part of the Cork camogie squad and the mentoring of her Milford club coach Frank Flannery.
And in the current climate where smartphones among children are rife, Ashling says being part of a sporting team can help when it comes to promoting self-worth and a positive body image.
‘Ten years ago social media wasn’t a big thing,’ Ashling says. ‘Now young people are following a certain type of celebrity and a lot of influencers and people on Instagram are posting pictures that are photoshopped and young girls in particular feel they have to live up to them.
‘A lot of sportswomen have very muscular bodies and are not like the posts you see on Instagram and elsewhere — they are probably just advertising a product.
‘I think that’s why there is an advantage to being involved in team sports. You are around that environment with people who have the same standards and the same look as you. It gives you confidence in who you are and what you look like. It gives you confidence because you don’t think you should look a certain way.’ A SHLING, who is currently a fitness ambassador for Red Bull, wants parents to encourage their children to sign up to a team.
‘Sport was my first love from a young age and when things weren’t going well for me it was what I fell back on. I always say that you should never give up on something just because things aren’t going well.
‘Always think back to what makes you feel good, what makes you feel happy. Sport never lets me down.
‘I love being in a team with the other girls and being in that environment helps me forget any things I am worried about.’
Ashling says that she uses training as a way to de-stress and take control when she is feeling anxious.
But she insists it is important for parents to get their children involved in sports from a young age.
‘You do need the motivation to come from somewhere,’ she says. ‘My parents got me involved from a very young age.
‘My mother was a teacher at the national school and I started playing camogie at the age of six.’
And Ashling also says it’s never too late to get fit or sign up to a team, as other people will help motivate you.
‘It’s very hard to go to the gym on your own,’ she says. ‘You need someone to motivate you get involved in some sort of class like boxing or dancing or whatever it is round you.
‘There is nothing wrong with picking up the phone and asking your sister, your brother, a friend to even come for a walk with you. And clubs are like family so there is always room. The door is always open — that is the beauty of a sport like GAA.’
the truth is that many of the tablets we dish out cause as many problems as they solve. The consultant explained that often it would have been far better if the patient’s GP had waited to see if things resolved on their own rather than prescribing pills.
This was vividly illustrated by one old lady transferred to our team following a hip operation. About a year earlier, she had gone to her doctor because of problems sleeping. She was in her 80s, in good health and had never taken regular medication.
The GP prescribed a sedative — the side-effects of which included urinary incontinence, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation and, as you would expect, sedation. And many times over the next few months, she returned to her doctor’s surgery complaining of these very symptoms.
She was then prescribed two types of laxative, a drug for her urinary problems and eye drops.
One morning, while over-sedated from the initial sleeping pill, she fell and fractured her hip. After it was fixed, she was given medication to strengthen her bones. These caused heartburn, for which she was prescribed still more drugs.
From one simple complaint, she ended up on seven medications.
The consultant reviewed the history and crossed off every tablet she was on. ‘If you can’t sleep at night,’ he told her, ‘listen to the radio. It’s a lot safer.’
EAT WHAT YOU LIKE BUT IN MODERATION
THERE is no magical food that all people who age well seem to eat. Instead, rather than what they eat, it’s the way that they eat that makes the difference.
Certainly, I’ve never met a super-ager who had a faddy diet. They’d eat a bit of cream when they felt like it, and they might have butter on their toast. They eat everything, but only — and this is the key — in moderation. They don’t over-indulge.
Despite what all these ‘clean eaters’ like to think, diets that cut out entire food groups aren’t healthy; they aren’t going to ensure you have a long and healthy life.
DON’T ‘EXERCISE’ — DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE
ASKED if they exercise, healthy older people will often tell me they don’t. They then explain that although they don’t exercise, they swim every day, or play golf or walk the dog — all of which is, of course, exercise. What is interesting is that they never thought of it as exercise. Exercise is a chore — whereas they did things they enjoyed.
So find a form of exercise you love — and do it lots and lots!
TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR APPEARANCE
A WISE and brilliant professor I trained under was obsessed with his elderly patients brushing their hair. The first question he’d ask when assessing them was when they’d last done this.
In fact his question was based on years of observation that when people decline into old age, one of the first things to slip is taking care of their appearance, starting with brushing their hair.
This doesn’t mean brushing your hair will keep you young, but the central idea is an important one: take pride in your appearance. You rarely see a healthy older person enjoying life who doesn’t take care of how they look.
DEVELOP INTERESTS OUTSIDE WORK
MANY of us define ourselves by our work. When we retire and that goes, often we’re left bereft.
Rates of ill-health and death peak after retirement because, I think, people have lost the thing that used to define them. They cease to know who they really are, putting body and mind under huge strain.
A fulfilling job is important — but remember not to make this the sole focus in your life.
Super-agers always have hobbies or interests that they are passionate about.
ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE
THE one thing that every super-ager I’ve met has in common is their relaxed attitude to life. They tend not to get stressed.
That’s not to say they can’t be bloodyminded at times, but overall they find life interesting and fun.
This was reflected in the recent study. Super-agers tend to have sunny dispositions. They are interested in the world around them and have a purpose.
We might not be able to do anything about our genes, but we can try to adopt a positive attitude.