When exercised regularly, physical activity makes it possible not to succumb as easily as a sedentary person to various addictions. However, these effects fade over time.
- Sport delays initiation to drugs or alcohol compared to sedentary people.
- In the long term, the effects fade and people give in more easily.
Exercising is essential for good health. However, can sport prevent people from succumbing to addictions such as alcohol or drugs? Previous studies had already shown that alcohol consumption increased during periods of confinement, while physical exercise decreased. It is only this basis that researchers from the University of Plymouth (United Kingdom) relied on to find out whether increased physical activity could help reduce excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs after the lifting of confinement. This high consumption can lead to mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety. The results of this study have been published in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity.
To fully understand this mechanism, the research teams conducted two separate experiments. In the first, the researchers understood that physical activity prevented the initiation of alcohol but not its consumption. Even if rigorous, in the long term, its effect on consumption became insufficient.
Sports and addictions
In the second, they wanted to see with qualitative data people’s opinion of physical activity in reducing or abstaining from the consumption of alcohol or substances. With this information, they were able to determine that physical activity was used by regular users of alcohol and other substances to manage their consumption.
In the past, members of the research team have visited treatment centers in Canada, the United States and Belgium, where exercise facilities are used to promote recovery.
“We know that physical activity is important for our health and well-being, but the question of whether it helps reduce drug and alcohol consumption — and, if so, to what extent and what factors we should take into account — is not an area that has been explored well enough”, indicates Tom Thompson, researcher at the University of Plymouth.
.