A study published today confirms the beneficial link between physical activity and mental well-being, highlighting the importance of exercise during adolescence.
We know: sport and mental health go well together. What we did not know, however, was that practicing sports during adolescence had a positive impact years later. The results of this global study, conducted by the Japanese sports equipment manufacturer ASICS, are available today on its website.
A healthy mind in a healthy body
For this survey – aimed at confirming the positive link between physical exercise and mental well-being – 26,000 candidates from 22 different countries (Chile, China, Colombia, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Europe, India, Italy, Japan …) were questioned.
All participants had to complete a questionnaire based on their mental well-being (called “State of Mind score”) calculated based on the cumulative averages of ten cognitive and emotional traits (positive, resilient, relaxed, etc.).
Result ? The more active people were, the higher their State of Mind scores were.
More precisely, those who practiced regular physical activity (150 minutes or more of physical activity per week) had an average score of 67/100, while the score of inactive people (Less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week) week) was less than 54/100.
Every year of physical practice counts
Better yet, researchers revealed that being physically active as a teenager had an effect on one’s state of mind as an adult. Teenage athletic candidates actually displayed higher “State of Mind” scores once they reached adulthood. They were also more likely to stay active later in life.
Conversely, test takers who stopped exercising before the age of 15 showed the lowest activity levels as adults, as well as poor scores.
“30% of them are still inactive as adults and are 11% less concentrated, 10% less confident, 10% less calm and 10% less serene than those who were able to exercise all the time. throughout adolescence“, details the press release. “Indeed, each year of regular physical activity in adolescence corresponds to a better score on the State of Mind study scale in adulthood. Those who stopped exercising before the age of 15 had an average State of Mind score 15% lower than the global average, while physical activity declined at ages 16-17 or earlier. The age of 22 reduces their average score by 13% and 6%, respectively.
Young people don’t do enough sport!
If through this study, researchers confirm the benefits of sport on mental health, particularly during adolescence, young people do not have the same opinion. In fact, they are less and less active.
THE Members of Generation Z – aged 18 to 27 – thus display the lowest State of Mind scores, with an average of 62/100, compared to 68/100 for baby boomers and 70/100 for the silent generation.
Professor Brendon Stubbs, leading exercise and mental health researcher at King’s College London, said:“It is worrying to see this drop in activity levels among the youngest respondents at such a critical age, especially as the study draws parallels with poorer mental health in adulthood.”.
If researchers don’t provide key advice for learning how to get your teenager off the couch, you still have the words to try to convince them. On your sneakers!
