sports and mental health

When many of us tune in to watch our favorite basketball, football, or volleyball team, student-athlete mental health is often the last thing on our minds—and tend to only feel upset if our beloved team loses. From our perspective in the bleachers (or from the couch), it might seem like…

Every fall, college and professional football games command center stage in living rooms across the country. Sitting down to watch sports can be relaxing, entertaining, and may even increase our self-confidence (unless our team loses). The benefits of watching sports have been apparent to psychologists for some time; but for…

When even the word “Olympian” means god-like, it’s hard to ignore the superhuman connotations behind the Olympics. And when we think about the great Olympians of our time like Michael Phelps or Simone Biles, we usually think about the ways in which their physical gifts and strength set them above…

For some, it’s just a game. But for others, it’s a lifestyle. I’m talking about the players of course, but there’s another group that fits the bill: die-hard sports fans. For players and die-hard sports fans alike, there’s more on the line than a game lost and a slight blow…

Sports are a longtime love of mine—I may not tune into Sunday night football every week or follow my basketball team the whole season through, but I respect, support, and even envy what the players do for a living. When I was just 5 years old, I laced up my…

Sure, sports is primarily all about being an elite athlete, but the mental game is what tends to separate the good players from the truly great ones. Athletics is just as much about being physically superior as it is about being able to mentally dominate your opponents. While it isn’t…