AP31202

Science Summary

One of the most simple and effective ways of enhancing one's health is regular exercise (Boyd, 342). This seems to be especially true in a recent study done on 850 students throughout 10 Canadian secondary schools. The study focused on how participation in their school sports affected the amount of stress in their lives and how often they experienced depressive symptoms. Stress is defined as the physiological and psychological response to a condition that threatens or challenges and individual (Boyd, 318). As a result to this study, they found that students who were involved in school sports, rather than those who played no sports at all, had better scores on the ‍three mental health assessments ‍that the researches had them complete (Health Behavior News Service, 2014). The sports could have acted as uplifts, or positive experiences in life, which would minimized a lot of the hassles, everyday stressors, in their lives (Boyd, 320). Jack Raglin, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington, states that "there are also meaningful protective psychological changes, including the feelings of mastery and accomplishment that result from gaining a sports skill" (Health Behavior News Service, 2014). I also believe there are social aspects involved too. There is always the popularity tag that goes along with school athletics. Students who feel popular, generally don't have the urges to always have to prove their worth. Of course there would have to be more in depth studies to prove this true. There is always more to learn.

References:
 * 1) Wood, Samuel E., Ellen R. Green. Wood , and Denise Roberts. Boyd. //Mastering the World of Psychology //. Fourth ed. Boston : Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Print.
 * 2) Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health. "Mental health wins when teens play school sports." ScienceDaily . ScienceDaily, 1 July 2014. .

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