How Sports Help Us Fight Diseases
Sports are a great way to socialize and exercise at the same time. Sports are known for their benefits to health, but also for the possible injuries that an athlete, professional and casual, can obtain by practicing sports. Some people prefer sports betting and gambling, visiting online casinos which do their best to entice customers to join and partake in the experience.
Sports have some known health benefits and others that are not 100% proven but are close to proven. Sports can help us fight diseases and be stronger. Here is how.
The Overall Cardiovascular Benefits
We have heard at some point or another, that sports are really good for the heart. Why is that? Every single time that we exercise, our heart rate speeds up in a way that is healthy for our bodies. The body tries harder to deliver more oxygen to the muscles and the brain, which need the blood to function properly under a load.
The heart is a muscle, as we have come to know. Being a muscle, with regular exercise of any kind, we can also exercise the heart, making it stronger, more durable, and physically larger. A larger and stronger heart does not have to work as hard to deliver blood while we are resting and is much more efficient when we actually need the blood, for example, when ill or when exercising.
The Lungs – More Efficient and More Resistant
Exercise has many health benefits and our lungs also stand to benefit. The lungs have been in the limelight recently, mostly because of the ongoing pandemic and the way that the virus interacts with the lungs. Some get pneumonia, others do not even get a cough or even any discomfort.
When doing aerobic exercises such as running, of which there is a lot in football, basketball, and similar team sports on large courts/pitches, our lungs work hard to deliver as much oxygen as possible to our blood cells, which are then pumped towards the muscles. Muscles need oxygen, and so does the brain. While the heart pumps the blood, the lungs supply us with oxygen. The more we work on endurance exercises, the more our blood cells and lungs adapt to deliver oxygen better.
This has many health benefits, particularly when we are plagued by a virus that attacks the lungs first.
Immunity Through Exercise
Any time that we activate the adrenal glands we are somewhat stimulating our immune system. A cold shower is a good way to help an immune system that is struggling because it makes us immediately feel cold, which our body perceives as a threat. Immediate response through adrenaline and cortisol secretion is initiated, which also boosts our immunity.
Exercise has a similar effect, but keep in mind that heavy exercising when sick could lead to an extended period of sickness, particularly because the body would want to care for the damaged muscle tissue, as well as the part already affected by the disease.
Sports can be great for our health, particularly if we want to work on our immunity and overall fitness. A strong and healthy body, which is exercised regularly, is more likely to defend itself from a virus or bacteria, than a non-fit body. Sports can help in this regard.