Playing sports has several positive effects on the health both physically and mentally. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, however, have come up with a more specific observation. According to the researchers, playing team sports affects the hippocampus in a way that reduces the depression among children, mostly boys aged 9-11 years. Involvement in team sports has led to the increase in the size of hippocampus and thereby reduction in the stress level among children. The study was carried out on 4,191 children aged 9-11 years as their parents provided data on the participation in sports and other activities. The team also collected other related information and later scanned the brains of the children. On observing the bilateral hippocampus volume, they could see the marked increase in size compared to that of the children who don’t participate in team sports. As suffering from depression is correlated with the reduced size of hippocampus, thus the researchers concluded that these children who participated in team sports also showed lesser chances of depression. Further research is yet to be taken ahead in the near future.
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