Discover the 5 great benefits
of playing sport

We all know that sport is good for us all, both physically and mentally. Read this blog to better understand the ways that sport can be beneficial.

1. Sport helps to build your skill set:

There are many other personal skills that can be developed through sports. We can learn how to work well in teams or as individuals, it also gives us the opportunity to develop leadership skills, and the ability to motivate yourself and the team around you, both of which are great skills to develop from a young age and then carry into adult life and future careers.

The self discipline of athletes is often seen to be carried across many other aspects of their life whether at home, in school or work, sports people are driven, motivated and will put in the work to reach their goals.

When we think of sports, many of us automatically think of the team setting, where we rely on good communication with our team mates to succeed. Sport teaches you how to work in a team whether you win, lose or draw. If we don’t succeed we learn and adapt in order to be successful in the future. Particularly team captains or leaders develop the ability to make the adaptations quickly and efficiently in order to harvest success.

Of course, the flip side of this is that some sports are individual sports, where we have the ability to train, practice, compete or play as an individual. In this case, we learn how to motivate ourselves without the focus of a group, without the need for a leader or constant guidance.

Some sports can also have a group or team element too, for example people who run or compete in athletics can do so as an individual, but can also take part in team events such as relays, tennis is another sport where you might play as an individual, but you can also play in groups of 2. Essentially, this means that you then learn how to work both as a team and as an individual, both which can be valuable in their own ways, particularly if you have the ability to change from one setting to another when needed.

2. Sport is proven to reduce stress & depression:

We have all heard by now that sport, or any sort of activity or exercise is good for our mental health and wellbeing. Sport is a natural mood enhancer that also combats depression and can reduce stress and anxiety. For many people, sport is either a great way to start your day right, setting you up for productivity and success in the day ahead, or it is an outlet at the end of a hard day’s work and ultimately, it allows a release in endorphins helping to boost our mood.

Whether it is a five-a-side football game with some friends on the weekend, or even if you train 5 days a week, you are guaranteed to feel glad that you did some form of movement when you finish. There are many sports out there for us to discover and some may make us feel better than others, while some might be more accessible to us for a host of reasons. But regardless, you are sure to find some sort of exercise to suit your ability, budget and most importantly that makes you feel good!

It is these “feel good” moments that reduce stress and depression and fill us not only with good feelings and great memories, but also with goals and targets that we can set for ourselves to keep us motivated to continue with sport when days get colder and evenings get darker. The hardest part is discovering a sport that you enjoy and can grow a passion for, thankfully at Decathlon we have over 70 different sports available both online and in our spectacular Decathlon Dublin Sports Hub in Ballymun.

3. Sport helps to develop a strong heart & body:

Sport isn’t only a hobby or a personal choice, your heart and body actually has a need for exercise. Our heart is one of the most important muscles in the body, it needs to be able to pump blood all over the body each and every day. This means that without a doubt, exercise is important, because taking part in activities or sports help us to strengthen and improve our hearts performance, improving our overall health and reducing the risk of heart disease and even stroke.

Our bodies are complete with muscles and organs that appreciate it when we take the time to move each day. Sport and exercise helps to keep our muscles strong and mobile, and paired with a relatively healthy diet can help to keep a balanced lifestyle.

The best thing about some activities or sports, is that more often than not, there are many sports that we don’t even consider as sports or physical activities, even though you are moving and keeping active, some sports are so fun and engaging that you don’t feel like you are exercising. At the end of the day, sport is about moving and keeping active and there are lots of different ways to do this, particularly many that involve family, friends and fun! Some of our favourite examples of sports and activities that don’t feel like sports are table tennis, pool or billiards and golf.

4. Sport helps us to develop social connections:

We also know that being a part of a sports community, local sports club or team opens our social circle to new people, new cultures and different backgrounds. Sport is a way for us to meet new people and it can help us to develop lifelong friendships with people that have a similar interest with us.

The people we meet through sports, clubs and communities are often friends for life. Team mates will always have your back both on and off the pitch and these relationships and bonding carry forward long term. We love and appreciate the stories of sport bringing people together and it is something that many people will resonate with. Many may have played sports in school or college who may have made a friend from another neighbourhood, county or even country who joined their local team and went on to create unforgettable memories as a team.