Tag: adolescents

  • Averting Depression Through Participation in Team Sports

    Averting Depression Through Participation in Team Sports

    Numerous prior studies of exercise and mental health have found that consistent exercise can reduce depression and improve feelings of physical and psychological well-being. Studies have shown that both aerobic and resistance exercise can produce this effect and, in some cases, reduce or eliminate the need for pharmacologic interventions. These benefits have been found to…

  • Hopeful Horizons: Nurturing Academic Achievement in Adolescents

    Hopeful Horizons: Nurturing Academic Achievement in Adolescents

    When you hear stories about a person or group of people who accomplish something unbelievable, against impossible odds, what do you think is the common thread in these stories? Perseverance? Determination? Grit? How about hope? Is hope an essential characteristic for everyone who embarks on a challenging journey? Can hope be cultivated, and can it…

  • Elevating Child and Adolescent Mental Well-Being Through Movement

    Elevating Child and Adolescent Mental Well-Being Through Movement

    Connections between exercise and healthy psychological functioning are abundant in research on adults and the elderly. As a lifestyle choice, people who choose to exercise can’t go wrong! There is accumulating evidence that exercise can be equally beneficial for adolescents with mental disorders such as depression. What about the role of exercise in promoting overall…

  • Empowering Depressed Adolescents: The Transformative Role of Exercise

    Empowering Depressed Adolescents: The Transformative Role of Exercise

    While there are well-established treatment options for depressed adolescents, these treatments often come with significant costs or drawbacks. Anti-depressants have side effects, including “weight gain, sleep disturbance, and reproductive dysfunction” whereas psychotherapy “is associated with perceived stigma for attending the therapist” (p. 2). By comparison, exercise has been proven to reduce depression in adults in…