Sports help to reduce stress

America is stressed out. Work is a stressor as are writing papers and taking finals.

So what is one way to de-stress? For many, sports is the answer.

Some others like to watch sports, enjoy participating, while others just like to run and exercise. All of these types of people believe their interaction with sports can help to reduce their stress levels.

Watching sports and the causal athlete

On Saturday mornings, senior Ryan Hudnall usually sits in front of his TV, watching college football. Hudnall said he loves to watch sports.

"For me, it's something I'm passionate about, so it reminds me of my passion," Hudnall said. "It allows me to get excited about something that I don't get to do in my everyday life."

Hudnall said several factors in his life cause him to have stress. The main factors include getting good grades in school, maintaining relationships and participating in other outside activities. He said watching sports allows him to get away from the stress.

"On Saturdays, let's say I'm watching a game, for a given three-hour period," Hudnall said. "I can release all my own concerns and simply worry about the outcome of the football game."

Hudnall spends some time watching a sporting event almost every day. He said he always watches the Chiefs play and usually watches Monday Night Football, Thursday night college football and college basketball.

Hudnall said he participates in intramural sports and believes they can be a good form of stress release, although watching sports is a better form of release.

Graduate student Kimberly Smith said she also thinks watching sports helps. Smith spent four years as a Truman Bullets rugby player. She said the best form of stress release for her was to hit someone when playing.

"I miss it," Smith said. "It's unlike any stress reliever you can think of, really. I mean, some people like to hit a pillow or squeeze a stress ball, but tackling someone, it's great."

Varsity Athletics

Senior Melissa Snodgrass is a defender on the Truman women's soccer team. She said fitting soccer into her routine has helped to take her mind off stress.

"I go to practice, and I have to run for a couple hours straight, and it clears my mind," she said.

Snodgrass, however, said although soccer can relieve her stress, it also can be a cause.

"A big game coming up, you think about it the whole week before," Snodgrass said. "But you still have to go to class and do your homework and all that kind of stuff, so I guess it does add a little bit."

Andy Calmes, a senior forward on the men's basketball team, said playing basketball at the collegiate level has not been a cause of stress for him.

"Most people I know, especially at this level, won't get stressed out [during] big games because we all made it to the same level, so we've probably been through stressful situations," Calmes said.

Calmes said that when he steps on the court, the game takes his mind off stress.

"I believe it can," Calmes said. "Because I know when I'm playing basketball, I'm not really thinking about anything that's going on outside. [I'm] just having fun playing, just thinking about what I've got to do, not thinking about homework or school or the outside life."

Men's head basketball coach Jack Schrader said he thinks collegiate athletes can use their sports to reduce stress, as long as they remember they are supposed to be fun.

"People play games because they're fun, so hopefully some of that original ingredient's still there, the fun part, and it acts as a release and an escape from other things," Schrader said.

Exercising for a

healthier lifestyle

Dan Martin, director of the Thompson Campus Center at A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, said he believes that inactivity and the poor health of Americans contributes to the American culture being stressed.

"Go figure that 60 percent of the population or more being overweight, people feeling very stressed," Martin said. "Gosh, it seems to me that there's some correlation there."

Martin said there is proof that physical activity can help people get over stress and depression.

"You may need some medication, and you may need some counseling, but once you get yourself moving," Martin said. "I think the incidents of depression become fewer and fewer in those who stay active."

He said he thinks many adults stop exercising because of some bad experience in their past.

"Everybody's got this like, 'We're all adult survivors of a bad P.E. experience,' but some people don't get over it," Martin said. "They choose to remember seventh or eighth grade and some humiliating episode that was somehow tied to being active."

Martin said the key for these people is to get back out there and try something different.

"I always tell people to go out and create all new mistakes," Martin said. "Find something different to do."

He said there is usually an obvious difference between people who exercise and people who do not.

"You can actually sometimes tell the people who have exercised if you're around them," he said. "They just don't seem so anxious most of the time."

Most Americans understand that they need to exercise on a regular basis, Martin said.

"Most of us know what we need to do, and even if you did anything, you'd get most of the benefits," he said.

The key to staying with your exercise routine is to stay positive about the situation, Martin said.

"You have to create your own positive experience, and if you've had a negative experience, and it works like a barrier to keep you from doing what you want to do, then you're kind of stuck," he said.