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12 October 2020
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Story Arina Engelbrecht
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Arina Engelbrecht from Organisational Development and Employee Well-being believes physical activity has a number of benefits for one’s health, including stress relief.
Being physically active plays a big role in preventing the development of mental-health problems and in improving the quality of life of people experiencing mental-health problems.
Treatment for depression
Physical activity can be an alternative treatment for depression. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with medication and/or psychological therapy. It promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns are formed that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It releases endorphins – powerful chemicals in the brain that energise your spirit and make you feel good.
Physical activity can be very effective in relieving stress. Research in adults has found that physically active individuals tend to have lower stress levels compared to individuals who are less active. It also leads to improved sleep. When a person sleeps better and feels more rested, overall quality of life improves. They cope better with daily life stressors.
Reduce Alzheimer's risk
Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by up to 50%. It can also slow down further deterioration in those who have already started to develop cognitive problems. It stimulates the brain’s ability to maintain old connections as well as to make new ones.
A study asked people to rate their mood immediately after periods of physical activity (e.g. going for a walk/run, cycling, doing housework) and periods of inactivity (e.g. reading a book or watching television). Researchers found that participants felt more content, more awake, and calmer after being physically active compared to after periods of inactivity.
In conclusion, people who are physically active feel a sense of well-being, feel more energetic throughout the day, sleep better at night, have sharper memories, and feel more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives.
“Being physically active not only changes your body, it changes your mind,
attitude, and your mood.” – Arina Engelbrecht
KovsieTennis wins gold at USSA – again
2014-12-10
The annual University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament was hosted by the KovsieTennis Club from 1 – 5 December 2014 in Bloemfontein.
This year was the first time that KovsieTennis entered two teams in the tournament. Our first team played in section A, while our second team competed in section B. Both sections were divided into two pools with round robin matches during the first three days. Thursday presented the cross-over with the finals taking place on that Friday.
During the round robin phase, our first team beat Rhodes University, University of Witwatersrand and University of Pretoria. On the Thursday, they met North West University (Pukke) in the semi-final and beat them 8-5 in matches. The last match was not played, since Kovsies already won the semi-final. For the third year in a row, Kovsies faced Stellenbosch University (Maties) in the final. After some brilliant tennis in sweltering heat, Kovsies found themselves 7-5 down in matches with the last two mixed doubles still to be played.
Janine Erasmus and Duke Munro, as number one couple, and Arne Nel and Heidi Murray, as number two couple, played outstanding mix doubles to win both matches, tying the score on 7-7. Due to the fact that Kovsies lost three of their matches in three sets they were crowned champions, winning with 17-14 on sets.
It is the eighth year in a row that the Kovsie club managed to win gold during USSA. We are also the only team that has won the tournament since the format changed to combined teams from 2010.
After the tournament Arne Nel, Duke Munro and Christi Potgieter were included in the squad from which a team will be selected, should tennis feature at the World Student Games in Korea during July 2015. Janine de Kock , KovsieTennis manager, was also appointed as manager of the SA Student team and Marnus Kleinhans from Kovsies will be their coach.
The second team beat Tshwane University of Technology, University of Kwa-Zulu- Natal and University of Cape Town during the round robin and in the semi-finals they won against University of Pretoria. Unfortunately they lost in the final against the North West University, but the club is extremely proud of the players since it was the first time all of them played in a USSA tournament. They gained a lot of experience that will greatly contribute to the value they will add to the team next year.