It comes as a surprise to no one that physical activity would be good for a child’s physical health, but many parents aren’t aware of the profound impact it has on their mental health. Study after study has shown that regular physical activity can lead to numerous benefits for children’s mental health, including improved mood, decreased anxiety and depression, and increased self-esteem.
This is especially important in a today’s society because many of us are more stationary and inactive than ever. Desk jobs, TV and phone screens, self-driving cars. The world is becoming less and less active with each passing day. While all of those things are nice to have, we need to remind ourselves how important it is for our kids to get up, get active, and become appreciative of the time they get to move around and exercise.
So today, we’re going to go over some of the biggest impacts that physical activity has on a child’s mental health.
Impact #1: Reduces Anxiety and Depression
Something many struggle with; physical activity has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression in children. Exercise releases endorphins, which is one of the main brain chemicals that helps reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, studies have shown that regular exercise can be just as effective as medication for treating mild to moderate depression.
This is doubly effective it we can get our children to realize the exercise is making them feel better. If we can instill that in them, then exercise will be the thing they turn to when they need to relax and de-stress. This is a significantly better outlet for negative emotions than many of the other things kids and teens turn to when it comes to coping with their emotions. Teach your kiddos this important lesson, and you’ll have made an insurmountable impact in their future.
Impact #2: Improves Sleep
Just like with adults, physical activity can also improve sleep quality in children. Exercise can help regulate the body’s internal clock, making it easier for children to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. It also gives the body the time it needs to regenerate so that they can be up and active the following day!
We’ve written before about the benefits of sleep for kids here. The short version, however, is that sleep has a large positive impact on childhood development. Plus, it’s much easier to convince children to go to bed at night when they are already tired and exhausted from a day of activity!
Impact #3: Boosts Self-Esteem
If there’s one thing I consistently hear parents wanting their children to improve, it’s self-esteem. When children participate in physical activity, they develop new skills and abilities, which can help them feel more confident in themselves. Being able to achieve something difficult, after all, is one of the most confidence-boosting acts someone can take!
Exercise can also provide a sense of accomplishment, which can boost self-esteem and help children feel more positive about themselves. This makes sense given that most activities (sports, martial arts, dance) have some sort of competitive element built-in. A child who works hard and achieve stellar results will naturally have much higher levels of self-esteem than one that isn’t given the opportunity to do so.
Impact #4: Reduces Stress
Similar to our first note; physical activity will end up reducing stress in your kiddo’s lives. Exercise helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone (cortisol) in the body, which can help children feel more relaxed and less stressed. Exercise can also help children release pent-up emotions and frustrations, providing a healthy outlet for stress relief.
Most times, when we look at pre-teens and adolescence, they turn to physical acts (sometimes violent) to release pent-up emotions once they reach a certain point. This can be tough to deal with and, at times, dangerous. Rather than allowing them to get to that point, giving them a physical de-stressing method (like we talked about earlier) will help them channel their stress productively and harmlessly.
Impact #5: Enhances Brain Function
When we exercise, we can all feel our blood pumping and our lungs fighting to supply oxygen to our bodies. In addition to that, exercise also helps to increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which can improve cognitive function, memory, and concentration abilities of children.
In martial arts, we talk often about the connection between the mind, body and spirit (or heart). If one of them is lagging behind, then the other two are limited because they are trying to make up for the weakness. If our physical body is healthier, it will be better able to provide nutrients and other necessities to the brain so that it can work at its fullest.
Impact #6: Fosters Social Connections
Physical activity can foster social connections in children. Whether it’s a team sport or a class activity such as martial arts, there is an inherent social element in many physical activities. As such, our kiddos will be given significantly more opportunities to make new friends and develop socially, as opposed to more inactive activities such as watching TV or sitting on a tablet.
Social connections are essential for mental health and can help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. This is especially important in their grade-school years, because a strong emotional and social foundation will help them better navigate the stresses that exist once they get to adolescence. Having a well-established social group that is filled with good influences can help tremendously to prevent bad decisions while in those vulnerable teenage years.
Impact #7: Develops Grit
‘Grit‘ is often a word many of our parents use to describe the determination and perseverance that they wish for their child to learn. The world is not an easy place to succeed in, after all, and you need thick skin as well as tenacity in order to push through and achieve your dreams. I’ve met very few people who think that they can achieve greatness in life without a great deal of hard work and setbacks.
Physical activities are great for developing grit, because they’re inherently difficult. Not only do they require a lot of energy, but rarely can a child succeed at a new activity on their first try. To get good requires practice, patience, determination and an understanding of delayed gratification (work hard now for benefits later). If our kiddos can learn these lessons while young, they’ll be way ahead of many of their peers.
Impact #8: Helps Develop Routine
We’ve talked before about the importance of routines and rituals in a child’s life. Children, whether they act like it or not, crave a structured environment. The predictability of knowing how their days are going to play out removes a lot of the guesswork from their minds and allows them to focus on whatever task is in front of them.
With physical activities, especially sports and activities, their is usually a set schedule for everyone to meet up. Maybe it’s a martial arts class, a basketball tournament, or a dance recital. Either way, it probably happens every week at the same time, and goes for X minutes every time. That structure and routine helps build consistency into a child’s life, which can be a habit they learn to embrace as they get older and older.
Body, Mind and Spirit: The Weakest Link
I was far from a physically active kid when I was growing up. I did have my martial arts training, but that was the only thing I did and I fought vehemently against it. I now have the opportunity to work with many kids and families on their journeys, and I’ve seen a very strong pattern. The kids who are involved in many physical activities are very determined, have great routine, and understand how to emotionally regulate when needed. It’s like night and day from kids who haven’t had the opportunity in their lives.
In the end, it goes back to the “weakest link” between the mind, body and spirit. If one part of someone’s life is unfulfilled or significantly deprived, it will always weigh down the other two. By working with our kiddos to help them find balance between the three, we can set them up so that when they enter the world as adults, they can succeed and achieve their dreams.