Investigating the effectiveness of exercise on the level of self-esteem, happiness and quality of life of young people

Dissertation for Master's degree (M.A.)

Trend: General

Evaluation of the effectiveness of sports on the level of self-esteem, happiness and quality of life of young people

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of sports on the level of self-esteem, happiness and quality of life of young people. For this purpose, among the beginner athletes who referred to the Darab city fitness club in the summer of 2013, 60 people were available and 60 people were selected from normal people and they were matched with the experimental group in terms of age, gender, and education. After selecting the sample groups, sports training was carried out by the physical trainer for 3 months per week for 3 sessions of 2 hours on the experimental group (beginner athletes). The participants completed the Coppersmith self-esteem, Oxford happiness and World Health Organization quality of life questionnaires in the pre-test and post-test. The data of this research were analyzed using descriptive statistics, MANOVA test and SPSS-16 statistical software. The results of multivariate analysis of variance indicated the effectiveness of exercise and a significant increase in the scores of self-esteem, happiness and quality of life and their components in novice athletes after the test. It is suggested to use exercise as a factor to increase physical and mental health in society, considering its physical and mental benefits and lack of side effects. Keywords: effectiveness of exercise, self-esteem, happiness, quality of life. Introduction Studies conducted in various fields of medical and psychological sciences indicate that there is a correlation between health and people's lifestyle.  In 2001, the American Heart Association considered lifestyle to be one of the most important predisposing factors for disease and death in the United States of America, and considered that about 70% of all physical and mental diseases are related to lifestyle (American Heart Association, 2001).

Among the factors affecting a healthy lifestyle and mental health, the role of exercise is very important and has been emphasized in several studies (Khair Jo, 2013), so that in the year In 2002, the slogan of the World Health Organization was called "Movement is the key to health". The application of psychology in sports has also been specifically emphasized (Well and Greenless [1], 2003). Also, psychological factors involved in sports performance have been of interest to athletes, coaches and sports psychologists for a long time (Gossiardi, Gordon and Dimek [2], 2009). The impact of sports activities on physical and mental health has been tested in various studies (Landers, 2005). This research aims to measure the impact of a continuous and regular sports activity on the quality of life, self-esteem and happiness of athletes. The three variables that are the main components of mental health and each of them includes individual, social, family and environmental dimensions of the athlete. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to investigate the effectiveness of a period of sports activity on increasing the quality of life, self-esteem and happiness of athletes. 2-1-Statement of the problem The term lifestyle [3] is a common term that is often used to refer to people's way of life and reflects the full range of social values, attitudes and activities (Baghiani, 2003). Lifestyle includes behaviors such as eating habits, sleep and rest, physical activity and exercise, weight control, smoking and alcohol consumption, immunity against disease, adaptation to stress and the ability to use family and community support (Phipps [4], 2003). More than a third of all deaths in the world are due to several health-threatening behaviors that are caused by incorrect individual and social lifestyle, and the most important of them include improper diet, lack of activity. body, smoking and sexual behavior are inappropriate (Phipps, 2003). Controlling risk factors in lifestyle and health habits, such as improper nutrition, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol and drug use, can reduce premature deaths by almost 50% (Charkazi [5], 2009).

In the field of the relationship between exercise and mental health, it was previously believed that sports activities are beneficial for physical health. Nowadays, it has been noticed that exercise can be effective in improving mental health in addition to physical health (Landers, 2005). Research has shown that regular movement activities have a tremendous positive effect on the physical and mental state of people (Setquiz and Mazer[6], 2006).  Landers and Petrozillo [7] (1994) in the context of examining the results of 27 studies between 1960 and 1991 showed that 81% of the researchers concluded that physical activity is related to anxiety reduction. Riley and Start [8] (1995) have also stated that student athletes are higher than non-athletes in the scales of dominance, socialization, self-acceptance, socialization, and feeling healthy. Also, research has shown that sports increase mental health, strengthen feelings of self-worth, reduce anxiety and depression (Giacobi, Hazon Blass, and Fry [9], 2005) and increase mental strength (Levy [10] and Levy, 2005).

Exercise has beneficial effects on people's mood, some research evidences have shown that muscle activity causes the release of substances in the brain that cause happiness and joy in a person.  Today, exercise has received the attention of sports medicine and psychotherapy in the treatment of mental and psychological disorders. The mental and nervous pressures that increase every day with the mechanization of life and the daily stresses of life have increased, has prompted specialists and experts to use exercise as a vaccine for the treatment of physical and mental diseases, because exercise is one of the simplest, safest, least expensive and most natural ways to deal with physical and mental problems (Banaei, 2014). When exercise is done in a group, it makes people contact and communicate with each other, strengthens a person's social relationships, and the expression of emotions makes the body flourish. Also, coordinated activity is one of the methods that has beneficial effects on a person's mood and thoughts and eliminates negative and destructive thoughts (Graft [11], 2000).

In the last twenty years, much attention has been paid to the issue of psychotherapy with physical activity and The beneficial effects of exercise have been associated with mental health (Martinsen [12], 2004). Engaging in sports activities in some way causes emotional discharge, which means that some of the negative emotions, contradictions and internal conflicts of the person are discharged and the sense of self-confidence, self-respect, feeling of freshness and physical health is represented in the person. In other words, it can be said that planned exercise and physical activity strengthens and improves body systems such as the heart and breathing and improves physical fitness in a person, because the human body and mind act as a single component, so it can be expected that the improvement of one will have a positive effect on the other. Danporfin, which has a soothing effect. The role of continuous exercise in increasing growth hormone, which creates motivation and enthusiasm for life in a person, has its maximum release at the age of 20, and according to expert research, 15% of the release of this hormone decreases every 10 years, while regular exercise regulates the release of growth hormone in the body at old ages. Another benefit of exercise is preventing high blood pressure and heart and brain strokes. Continuous exercise reduces harmful blood fat (L.D.L) and increases beneficial blood fat (H.D.L), which prevents the accumulation of intravascular fat and the narrowing and blockage of arteries, and prevents the occurrence of heart and brain strokes and blood pressure. So when the body's immune system becomes stronger as a result of exercise, cancer cells show themselves less and this reduces the possibility of cancer in people. Each of the organs of the body has a specific lifespan, for example, the human heart beats about 2 billion times during life, and in this regard, the heart rate of anxious and angry people is about 80-85 times, and by multiplying this number per minute, hour, and day and dividing it by 2 billion, the average life span of angry people is about 50 years, but considering that the pulse of athletes at rest is about 50 times per minute (the heart rate of an athlete that is in the lactic acid system or anaerobic work is about 151 times) by performing previous operations, the average life span of these people reaches about 85 and this shows that athletes live about 30 years longer than other people (Bagheri, 2018). We can mention self-esteem [13], mental happiness [14] and quality of life [15]. In general, the evaluations that a person makes of himself form his self-esteem (Henry Masson, translated by Yasai, 2015).