The role of physical exercise in promoting mental health
College students are a special group, and their physical and mental health is the foundation of success. Their physique and health level are directly related to the health level and scientific and technological benefits of high-tech teams in the future. Because we are too busy to cope with the heavy schoolwork burden and other things, we neglect physical exercise. In addition, our usual study and life make us unable to move for a long time, so we need physical exercise to keep fit.
The accurate health view should be the trinity health view put forward by the World Health Organization, which closely combines human health with the physical and psychological state of the body and its adaptation to society.
Among the three elements of health, physical and physiological health are the foundation. It is the premise and guarantee for the development of other health factors. Physical health should be based on normal body function, coordinated functions of various organ systems and good metabolism. A higher level of physical health is manifested in good physical quality, which is an ability to meet the needs of life and have enough energy to complete various activities. It comes from the energy and material storage organs of the human body. Physical exercise is a key way to improve physical fitness and an effective way to improve health.
Mental health is an important part of physical and mental health, and it is the embodiment of comprehensive concern for health. It means that a person is in a state of feeling good about himself and maintaining harmony with others and society. Good mental health is inseparable from physical exercise, which can cultivate tenacious will, adjust psychological balance and reduce nervousness.
Social adaptability is a scientific extension of the concept of health and reflects the further requirements of the development of the times. It means that individuals interact with others and society, and have good interpersonal relationships and the ability to play social roles.
A large number of studies show that physical exercise can eliminate people's nervousness, vent their inner impulses, boredom and monotony, improve people's self-confidence and sense of responsibility, meet people's communicative and beneficial needs, and temper people's character and will. Regular physical exercise can significantly relax people's nervous state, improve people's self-feeling and eliminate depression and disappointment. This is an important way to maintain and improve mental health and eliminate mental illness. Physical exercise is an effective means to improve mental health, with the characteristics of low consumption expenditure, low risk and low side effects. In view of the low level of mental health of some college students at present, according to the characteristics of sports and the psychological state of college students in sports activities, this paper discusses the influence and function of sports on college students' physical and mental health.
The positive impact of physical exercise on mental health is mainly manifested in the following aspects:
(A) improve the emotional state
Emotional state is the most important index to measure the influence of physical exercise on mental health. Living in a complex society, people often have emotional reactions such as sadness, tension and depression, and physical exercise can shift individual unpleasant consciousness, emotions and behaviors, so that people can get rid of troubles and pains. Due to various exams, mutual competition and worries about future job assignment, college students often have persistent anxiety. Regular physical exercise can reduce their anxiety.
Improve intellectual function
Regular physical exercise can improve a person's intellectual function, not only improve the exerciser's attention, memory, reaction ability, thinking ability and imagination, but also make him emotionally stable, cheerful and tired. These non-intellectual components can promote a person's intellectual function.
(C) to establish a good self-concept
Self-concept is an individual's overall subjective evaluation of his body, thoughts and emotions, which consists of many self-understandings, including "who I am", "what I stand for", "what I like" and "what I don't like". Because insisting on physical exercise can make people strong and energetic, physical exercise is very important to improve people's physical appearance and self-esteem.
Body image refers to the body image formed in the mind. Appearance disorders are common in normal people. It is reported that 54% of college students are not satisfied with their weight. Compared with men, women tend to overestimate their height and underestimate their weight, and obese individuals are more prone to physical appearance and physical self-esteem disorders. Physical self-esteem mainly includes a person's evaluation of his exercise ability, physical appearance (attraction), physical resistance and health status. Body image and body self-esteem are related to the overall self-concept. Whether men or women are dissatisfied with body image, they will reduce individual self-esteem (self-esteem refers to the positive degree of self-concept) and have symptoms of insecurity and depression. Research shows that muscle strength is positively correlated with physical self-esteem, emotional stability, extroversion and self-confidence, and strengthening strength training will significantly enhance individual self-concept.
Cultivate a strong will.
Will quality refers to a person's determination, tenacity, self-control, courage, tenacity and initiative. Will quality is not only manifested in the process of overcoming difficulties, but also cultivated in the process of overcoming difficulties. In physical exercise, we should constantly overcome objective difficulties (such as changes in climatic conditions, sports difficulties or unexpected obstacles). ) and subjective difficulties such as timidity and fear, fatigue and sports injuries. ). The more the exerciser tries to overcome the subjective and objective difficulties, the more he can cultivate good will quality. The quality of strong will cultivated from exercise can be transferred to daily study, life and work.
(5) eliminate fatigue
Fatigue is a comprehensive symptom, which is related to human physiological and psychological factors. When a person's mood is negative or the task is beyond his ability, physical and psychological fatigue will soon appear. The continuous intense study pressure of college students can easily lead to physical and mental fatigue and neurasthenia. Maintaining a good emotional state and participating in moderate-intensity physical exercise can relax the body and mind.
(6) Treatment of mental illness
Physical exercise is a recognized psychotherapy method. According to an American survey, among 1750 psychologists, 80% think that physical exercise is one of the effective means to treat depression, and 60% think that physical exercise should be used as a treatment to eliminate anxiety. Among college students, many people have anxiety and depression because of setbacks in study and other aspects. Physical exercise can slow down or eliminate these psychological diseases.
College students are the hope of future social development and the main force of modernization, and their mental health is the condition and foundation for their all-round development. Having healthy psychological quality is an important guarantee for the growth and success of contemporary college students. As an important means to improve the psychological environment and enhance mental health, physical exercise is irreplaceable by any other means. As a cross-century generation of college students, they should consciously strengthen their self-cultivation, give full play to the important role of physical exercise in the coordinated development of their body and mind, and promote the healthy development of their psychology.