With over 60% of first-year college students reportedly experiencing overwhelming anxiety, we’ll all agree college life can be stressful. One has like a million of potential causes of stress, and looking for a solution to this problem is probably one of the primary goals one should achieve.
Barrages of classes to attend, essays to complete and a social life to manage, it is easy for anyone to feel overwhelmed dealing with all of these. With time, stress, anxiety and depression can set in, and you need to be prepared.
You can find some help with your classes by using educational websites. And while resources like https://eduzaurus.com/free-essay-samples/anxiety/ can help with your college assignments, sports is something that can help you deal with other stuff. Finding free essay samples is a nice step to deal with your studies, but if you need a solution to feel better mentally: tennis to the rescue!
Like any other mentally and physically-stimulating aerobic exercise, tennis improves mental health and lessens stress. How does this happen? Below, we’ll briefly outline how students can overcome anxiety by playing tennis among other benefits.
Playing tennis in college
Played and practiced at varying intensity levels based on your specific needs, it is a game you can play alone or with one or more partners.
How Does Tennis Works For Anxiety And Stress?
- Engaging in tennis or any other physically-stimulating exercise or sport when stressed and anxious diverts your mind from the issue.
- Your heart rate changes chemistry, causing an increase in the availability of serotonin, endocannabinoids and other beneficial anti-anxiety neurochemicals.
- Tennis, like many other exercises, stimulates the frontal regions of our brains. These regions control the amygdala known to react to threats; real or imagined.
- Tennis and other aerobic sports boost and build the body’s resilience to negative emotions.
Benefits Of Tennis For College Students
While exercises are generally beneficial to our minds and bodies, very few sports provide the same level of physical and mental benefits as tennis.
As it is a sport requiring high physical and mental agility and strength, it offers so many benefits for your mind and body. Here, we’ll discuss some of the incredible benefits and how to ease anxiety by playing tennis or any other aerobic sport.
Mental stimulation
Unlike some sports requiring mostly athletic skill, tennis requires a certain level of strategy. You have to think and respond quickly. You should be able to prepare for your partner’s next move and deliver a suitable response in just seconds.
As you flex and improve your mental strength, it is also prepared for better academic performance.
Improved mood
As mentioned earlier, tennis triggers the release of beneficial brain neurochemicals like serotonin and endorphin. Alongside other benefits, these neurochemicals help to improve the mood.
Also, with the mind focused on defeating the playing partner, the student is naturally removed from the other worries and issues that’d have dampened their mood.
Tennis improves self-esteem
Tennis, like most other aerobic sports/exercises, improves body image. With frequent play, coordination, speed, balance, and self-esteem significantly increases, and this expectedly enhances confidence. With an improvement in body image, comes even stronger confidence in virtually every other aspect of college life.
Mental alertness and stress reduction
Because tennis requires a high level of athletic skills and strategy, it can help to improve concentration and memory. Players are inclined to think on their feet. Their head is also in the game, and this can help them remain alert both during and after games.
Also, tennis helps students with anxiety find a healthy and regular physical outlet for stress. Because they also get the opportunity to work out their body’s tensed and stressed muscles, their cardiovascular health.
Tennis and improved memory for college students
As we grow into adults, the hippocampus (an area of the brain responsible for controlling the formation, retention and the recalling of memories) begins to shrink slightly.
College students need their brain working at its best to learn and successfully retain information. In this area, a sport like tennis can be helpful. In one study, exercise was shown to prevent shrinkage of the hippocampus and also promote regrowth. Put simply, activities like tennis can help to improve memory retention and recalling of college students.
Easing And Anxiety And Stress By Playing Tennis?
Education is stressful, especially in college. It is not surprising, therefore that a significant number of first-year college students have reported high-stress levels – not unconnected to the amount of studying required, an overwhelming amount of essays and other personal and social commitments.
By making time for physical activities such as tennis in college, students can perform better academically thanks to the profound mental and physical improvements from the sport.
The best part? Playing tennis in college does not require much. Make time for it and if you want, include other physically-stimulating activities like hiking, running or even swimming (if you know how to). Just a 30-minute session each week will do a world of good for you.
