Psychological Benefits of Sports and Physical Activities
Open accessAbstract
Growing evidence is converging to suggest that different metabolic and cognitive functions are improved by and after physical exercise.They include prevention of certain mood impairments such as depression, strengthening of the immune system to cope with certain diseases or reducing stress subjective perception and disability causes by specific pain.In this last sense, the discomfort threshold has been demonstrated to be modified in habitual sportsmen and sportswomen, being more resistant to pain.Physical activity acts on many metabolic aspects and we will expose in this review article three of these pillars of action, with examples and scientific references.On the other hand, variables such as frequency and pace of physical exercises are important to consider for possible health profits.In this sense, seconds, minutes and repetitions of each specific exercise are of much importance for its accurate benefits and for taking into account to design a proper working out sport training routine.
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Regular exercise enhances cognitive function, which plays a crucial role in regulating mood and reducing anxiety symptoms.
“regular exercise has been shown to enhance cognitive function, which plays a crucial role in regulating mood and reducing anxiety symptoms [65].”
From The Effect of Anxiety and Nutritional Habits on the Body Distortion of Athletes. (2025) · cites this paper as [65]
Section 3 reports that exercise is associated with positive mood changes and may improve attentional resources, a component of cognitive function. It does not establish that improved cognition regulates mood or reduces anxiety symptoms; it also says evidence that exercise causes mood improvement is inconclusive. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Garcia-Falgueras, A.
- Venue
- British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science
- Publisher
- Sciencedomain International
- Published
- 2015-01-10
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1-7
- ISSN
- 2278-0998 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2994651126
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Education Society and Behavioural Science (publishedVersion)
- Journal of Education Society and Behavioural Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Physical education and sports games research
- Keywords
- physical activity, sport, psychological benefits, depression prevention, stress reduction, pain threshold, immune system, cognitive function, metabolic function, exercise frequency, exercise intensity
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