Sometimes we find ourselves immersed in multiple situations that could alter our mental health. Surely many are solvable, but in the process they take us out of focus, or keep us in undesirable states. There are many alternatives that help us in this regard, such as a simple conversation with a friend, family member or therapist, going to allopathic or natural medicine, choosing a sport such as soccer, basketball or even paddle tennis, the idea is to learn techniques, especially how to dominate a ball or even how to take the padel rackets, this in order to distract us and drain our energy. We generally associate sports with activities that help us have a healthy body and achieve the ideal figure, and we only do high-impact sports to achieve the desired calorie expenditure, but we do not think that there are many disciplines that can help us improve our well-being mental, and in turn burn calories, believe it or not. It has been proven that sports practice has been used as a therapy for psychiatric patients for anxiety, depression and some with autism, having positive effects on self-esteem, emotional stability, motivation, self-control and even memory improvement. Some studies indicate that sports are allies in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia, since it acts as a neuroprotector of cognitive functions. How can sports help mental and emotional well-being? As is known, the practice and adoption of sports habits could produce improvements in mental health, since it improves some disorders, because when they are executed, a series of hormones responsible for both emotional and physical well-being are secreted. We are talking about the named serotonin, endorphins and dopamines. Endorphins or hormone of happiness, is called that because it generates feelings of joy and ecstasy by behaving as a natural pain reliever in the body, which reduces anxiety, feelings of pain. For its part, dopamine is a neurotransmitter of pleasure, which causes a feeling of joy and relaxation after physical exercise. Serotonin, on the other hand, affects our state of mind, leading us to calm down and fall asleep Which sports can help mental health Even when practicing sports does not cure, we point out some benefits that the execution of any of them implies in your mental health . Yoga is an activity that allows you to control your breathing, improve coordination and concentration, improve sleep, control blood pressure and emotions. It has been proven that cycling, in addition to helping to tone muscles and improve circulation, is of great help to improve oxygenation of the brain, also favoring mental coordination and body balance, injecting endorphins and serotonin, which as we said increases self-esteem, reducing stress, lowers depression and anxiety. With boxing, large amounts of endorphins will also be released and this not only helps us fight depression, but it is also a way to release tension with each blow that is thrown. If what you need is to improve flexibility and the respiratory system, swimming is the best sport, as it is one of those that activates both hemispheres, thus improving cognition and neural links. Additionally, diving involves concentrating on your breathing, thereby improving concentration levels, which in turn helps release stress and reduce depression. Basketball also helps you with depression, to release stress and anxiety, favoring sleep, reducing tension, in turn improving motor skills and helping coordination and balance. The execution of pilates is ideal to reduce panic attacks. The practice of paddle tennis helps coordination and stress release Tai Chi, despite being considered the discipline of grandparents, turns out to be a good practice to improve hyperactivity problems, and helps with attention deficit Running is ideal if you have insomnia problems, it has also been proven that it helps circulation and improves heart rate. And if we talk that the brain is a muscle that requires attention and work, chess will allow you to improve reading skills, language, and improve memory and concentration. You see how several of the sports we know can help, not only with in improving your physical condition, but also to increase mental well-being and in many cases, an ally in improving psychiatric problems such as anxiety and depression.