Monday 13th May is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, the focus of which is Body Image and how we think and feel about our bodies. The week brings attention to mental health through a series of publications, promotions and activities. Here at Abertay, there is a range of activities on during the week to highlight that “it's OK not to be OK” and to provide staff and students with some time to reflect upon their own mental health practices.

Mental Health in sport is a big topic in sport right now both in terms of elite performance (the recent news stories about speed skater Elize Christie, long-distance runner Eilish McColgan, and snooker player Shaun Murphy demonstrate the mental toll that serious training can take) and in terms of the power of sport to support those suffering from mental health challenges. Mental Health was also the topic of sportscotland’s #SportHour this month where various topics around sport and mental health were discussed and an old colleague of mine, Paul McNeill, recently discussed how his mental health improved through playing football in this video.

As a passionate champion of sport and physical activity, I welcome the prominence that sport has now as a vehicle to support positive mental health. As humans we have been designed to move, we have muscles, strong bones, ligaments, tendons and organs all designed to support our bodies to move yet the majority of us spend most of the day at a desk, in front of a PC in a sedentary position – it's little wonder the nation faces a variety of health issues. 

Sport and physical activity have an obvious role to play in challenging this and taking part in physical activity has been proven to:

  • Reduce stress
  • Improve sleep
  • Improve mood
  • Improve self esteem
  • Lowers the risk of depression
  • Slow cognitive decline

Feedback from our gym user and sport club member survey reflects this with the vast majority of respondents reporting that sport or physical activity positively effects mood, confidence and self-esteem. The Scottish Active Students Survey from Scottish Student Sport also mirrors these findings.

Sports challenge is to provide a range of activities to suit levels of interest, performance and expertise that allows everyone to take part. Abertay Sport recently became signatories of SAMH’s Mental Health Charter for Physical Activity and Sport (you can find us on their map), which involved creating an action plan detailing how we would “improve equality and reduce discrimination and ensure mental health and wellbeing is not a barrier to engaging, participating and achieving in physical activity and sport.”

Although we have some distance to go to achieve the targets in the action plan, we are certainly working towards it. We have a wider range of activities on the go ranging from Free Sport Fridays, Step It Up Abertay, HIIT IT for the Summer, new gym equipment arriving and plans for a wider “come and try” programme next year. But we are doing more than simply putting on more activities; we are actively attempting to promote sport and physical activity by celebrating those who just take part, championing the benefits of trying something new, having fun and making friends – the best set of results anyone could hope for.

In summary, consider the following when thinking about undertaking a sport or physical activity. And, remember, the mental battle is half the battle.

  • We all face challenges with our mental health (even Olympians!)
  • Being active helps us overcome these challenges
  • Use your time wisely to ensure that physical activity is part of your daily routine
  • Have fun!

Posted on 10th May 2019

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