Recent years have seen great excitement over the practice of mindfulness, which has been portrayed by celebrities, in the media – and in some research – as a panacea for mental health.
Many schools have invested in mindfulness-based interventions to support student welfare and emotional wellbeing (Felver et al, 2016). However, the effectiveness of such interventions has come under question.
Research in the area has been poor and the evidence is equivocal (Felver et al, 2016; Kallapiran et al, 2015). Often, the reported benefit is small, and since there is generally no control group for comparison, it is unclear whether these benefits actually reflect the practice of mindfulness or would have occurred without it.
A meta-review of research (Farias & Wiholm, 2016) concludes that when mindfulness is compared to other activities and treatments, there is insufficient or only inconclusive evidence that it is effective. More worryingly, the data suggest that while some individuals may benefit from mindfulness techniques and others will not be affected in any substantial way, a number of individuals may suffer mild or even severe adverse effects (Lustyk et al, 2009).
Given current issues surrounding mindfulness, it is worth re-examining how elements already in the school curriculum, such as sport, music or art, might benefit mental health, and how their impact could be improved. Having tackled music last week, this article looks at sports and exercise.
Music, arts and sports and their links to good mental health
- Music and mental health: A powerful way to destress? Published November 14, 2022
- Sports and mental health: Is exercise better than mindfulness? This Article
- Art and mental health: Catharsis or distraction? Due November 30
Claims for PE/sport and wellbeing
All the major health authorities in the world state that participating in physical activity or sport is beneficial from childhood to old age. Research supports this claim: being active has positive effects on physical and mental health at all ages (Bailey, 2006; Merkel, 2013).
More specifically, it has been claimed that participation in PE/sport has benefits for every area of development: physical, social, cognitive, personality, resilience and emotional control, self-esteem, and mental health (Talbot, 2001).
However, these claims have often been criticised as lacking empirical support (Bailey, 2004). Furthermore, research has also identified some negative effects of participation in PE/sport for all of these areas of development (Bailey, 2006; Merkel, 2013).
What benefits some may harm others. The impact of participation in school sports is more complicated than is represented in the rhetoric in this area. A better and more nuanced understanding of the positives and negatives may help us to optimise outcomes.
Positive benefits of participation in PE/sports
Apart from improving overall fitness, the hope is that participation in school PE/sport may convey long-term benefits, countering the development of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, and fostering bone health through life.
However, the validity of that hope is unclear. Long-term health benefits are said to derive through the experience of school sport fostering a more active adult life (Sallis & Mckenzie, 1991). The evidence that school sport actually fosters more active adult life is equivocal, with some studies supporting the claim and others not.
Furthermore, the evidence that participating in PE/sport at school benefits health even in early adult life is also equivocal. One large-scale study (Logan et al, 2020) found that for those who continued to participate in sports beyond school and into the college years, there is a significant reduction in BMI at age 26 by comparison to those who don’t continue beyond school. However, the benefit is unimpressive: BMI in the benefited group averaging 24.7 at the age of 26 (borderline obese) in this American sample.
Likewise, there is some evidence that participation in PE/sport can convey cognitive benefits while participation continues, perhaps by enhancing blood flow and oxygen to the brain and hence improving mood and mental alertness (Hills, 1998), though this explanation remains controversial.
Interestingly, there is evidence from a review of several studies that increased time given to PE/sport, with consequent reduction in time for academic teaching, does not reduce – and may even enhance – academic performance (Shephard, 1997).
Most interestingly, there is evidence that regular activity can have beneficial effects on psychological wellbeing, improving self-esteem (Fox, 2000), reducing stress, anxiety and depression (Hassmen et al, 2000).
Frequent physical activity can reduce feelings of hopelessness and suicidal tendencies (Taliaferro et al, 2008). It can also reduce risky behaviours (Pate et al, 2000), including smoking and illicit drug use – but notably, participation does not affect binge drinking levels. Team membership, a sense of belonging can be a potent source of social connection and emotional wellbeing (Merkel, 2013).
In sum, school PE/sport is potentially a powerful resource in supporting mental health and wellbeing in the young, a claim more robustly supported in research than those for mindfulness.
Negative effects of participation in PE/sports
While the research shows that many may benefit from participating in school PE/sport, some do not – and may even be harmed (Bailey, 2006; Merkel, 2013).
Participation does not always foster positive engagement in school life or academic work, nor necessarily reduced risky behaviour (Bailey, 2006). Some individuals find school PE/sport alienating – often as a result of favouritism, poor teaching skills and pressure to win, all of which can create a negative reaction (Hedstrom & Gould, 2004).
PE/sport can itself cause anxiety and depression in those who find competition stressful, and in those who are less successful in these activities (Merkel, 2013).
And participation does not always build “esprit du corps” – it can also marginalise and exclude some individuals (Collins & Kay, 2003), further exacerbating depression and anxiety.
The benefits of PE/sport can be undermined not only by individual factors, but by factors relating to gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity too (Pate et al, 2000).
Improving benefits from PE/sport
Overall, the research suggests that while school sports potentially offer a powerful benefit to emotional wellbeing and mental health, mere participation is not enough to secure those benefits for the young, still less benefits that may last a lifetime (Bailey, 2006; Merkel, 2013).
Activity in itself can be beneficial to physical health – but in a school context, the social dynamics surrounding sports determine how beneficial (or otherwise) it will be to mental health. The research offers a number of suggestions for improving outcomes.
Enhanced training for school PE/sport teachers and coaches: The better trained the teacher, the better the outcomes of participation in school sport (Barnett et al, 1992). Effective training can reduce the risk of injuries (Merkel, 2013). Equally importantly, direct training in fostering “feel-good” factors improves outcomes: coaching that is sensitive to both individual and group needs, and which emphasises positive reinforcement and feedback – in other words, praise – improves participant satisfaction, motivation, self-esteem, and wellbeing, and reduces alienation and drop-outs (Smith et al, 1995).
A focus on fun, not competition: The competitiveness of sports is a serious cause of anxiety, depression and alienation in many. There is no way competitiveness can be completely eradicated – the young instinctively judge one another and compare themselves whatever we do. However, a skilled coach can create an environment where the fun, the pleasure of the activity per se, is emphasised over winning – which reduces stress and boosts mental health benefits (McKenzie et al, 1997; Merkel, 2013).
Foster a sense of agency and empowerment: The young benefit more from sports when they feel empowered to make decisions about their involvement and experience feelings of competence (Ferrer-Caja & Weiss, 2002). Empowerment creates an intrinsic motivation to participate that plays a key role in supporting the emotional and mental health benefits of participation. Details of how sports are organised can nurture (or undermine) such feelings of empowerment and involvement.
Actively build team spirit, mutual support, the stronger players supporting the weaker: A strong team spirit and an emphasis on the collective rather than the individual can integrate those marginalised by ability or other forms of disadvantage (socio-economic, ethnic or individual). It is when school sports foster feelings of inclusion and belonging, when they foster strong social relationships, that the benefits for mental health are strongest (Bailey, 2006; Merkel, 2013).
- Dr Stephanie Thornton is a chartered psychologist, author and lecturer in psychology and child development. She is the co-author of Understanding Developmental Psychology (Macmillan International/Red Globe, 2021). To read her previous articles for SecEd, visit http://bit.ly/seced-thornton
Further information & references
- Bailey: Evaluating the relationship between physical education, sport and social inclusion, Educational Review (56), 2004.
- Bailey: Physical education and sport in schools: A review of benefits and outcomes, Journal of School Health (76), 2006.
- Barnett, Smoll, & Smith: Effects of enhancing coach-athlete relationships on youth sport attrition, The Sport Psychologist (6), 1992.
- Collins & Kay: Sport and Social Exclusion, Routledge, 2003.
- Farias & Wiholm: Has the science of mindfulness lost its mind? BJPsych Bulletin (40), 2016.
- Felver et al: A systematic review of mindfulness-based interventions for youth in school settings, Mindfulness (7), 2016.
- Ferrer-Caja & Weiss: Predictors of intrinsic motivation among adolescent students in physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (71), 2002.
- Fox: The effects of exercise on self-perceptions and self-esteem. In Physical Activity and Psychological Wellbeing, Biddle, Fox, & Boutcher (eds), Routledge, 2000.
- Hassmen, Koivula, & Uutela: Physical exercise and psychological wellbeing: A population study in Finland, Preventative Medicine (30), 2000.
- Hedstrom & Gould: Research in youth sports: White paper summaries of the existing literature, Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University, 2004.
- Hills: Scholastic and intellectual development and sport. In Sports and Children, Chan & Micheli (eds), 1998.
- Kallapiran et al: Effectiveness of mindfulness in improving mental health symptoms of children and adolescents, Child and Adolescent Mental Health (20), 2015.
- Logan et al: Youth sports participation and health status in early adulthood, Preventative Medicine Reports (29), 2020.
- Lustyk et al: Mindfulness meditation research: Issues of participant screening, safety procedures, and researcher training, Advances in Mind Body Medicine (24), 2009.
- McKenzie et al: Long-term effects of a physical education curriculum and staff development work, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (53), 1997.
- Merkel: Youth sport: Positive and negative impact on young athletes, Open Access Sports Medicine (4), 2013.
- Pate et al: Sports participation and health-related behaviors among US youth, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (154), 2000.
- Sallis & McKenzie: Physical education’s role in public health, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (62), 1991.
- Shephard: Curricular physical activity and academic performance, Pediatric Exercise Science (9), 1997.
- Smith, Smoll, & Barnett: Reduction of children’s sport performance anxiety through social support and stress-reduction training for coaches, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (16), 1995.
- Talbot: The case for physical education. In World Summit on Physical Education, Doll-Tepper & Scoretz (eds), Germany, 2001.
- Taliaferro et al : High school youth and suicide risk: Exploring protection afforded through physical activity and sport participation, Journal of School Health (78), 2008.