In recent years, more and more people around us love playing badminton. According to the “2020 National Fitness Activity Survey Bulletin” released by the National Physical Fitness Monitoring Center in June 2022, among the sports participated by adults, the participation rate of badminton ranks third (8.9%), second only to walking and running.
This is not surprising, after all, badminton is a sport that is easy to learn, interesting enough, can be played in singles or doubles, and can be played on any open space. However, friends who have played badminton must have discovered that the real attraction of this sport is not just the low threshold and the ability to sweat. More importantly, there is an indescribable sense of relaxation after every play.
In fact, a large number of psychological studies have consistently shown that the sport of badminton has many excellent effects on improving mental health. So, today we will talk about how the sport of badminton can heal us.
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Benefit 1: Not only reduces stress, but also fights anxiety and depression
After playing a game of badminton, many people will intuitively feel that although their body is tired, their mood is comfortable. This is actually the most direct impact of badminton on psychology.
A large-scale survey study involving more than 1.2 million people found that compared with people who do not exercise, people who exercise regularly report an average of 1.49 fewer days of poor mental health per month, a decrease of 43.2%. This is especially true for those with previous diagnoses of depression. Exercise can reduce the number of days of poor mental health by 3.75 days per month, a decrease of 34.5%. Moreover, among all types of sports, ball sports have the best effect, able to reduce the psychological burden by approximately 22.3%, and badminton is one of them.[1]
Source: Reference[1]
If the evidence from the survey is not enough, let’s look at an experiment conducted by Chinese psychology researchers. They found that after 160 graduate students trained in badminton for 12 weeks, even the most basic skill training can continue to reduce the participants’ anxiety levels.[2]
This is because in our daily life and work, emotions are often suppressed or delayed release. These unexpressed emotions continue to accumulate in the heart, which will continue to consume our psychological energy. As a confrontational sport, badminton provides us with an excellent outlet for emotional release. Imagine you complete a continuous movement of accelerating, taking off, swinging and smashing on the badminton court. Wouldn’t you feel particularly happy? This is actually the feeling of comfort after emotions are released.
From a physiological level, playing badminton promotes the release of endorphins, which can bring a sense of satisfaction and pleasure, while reducing the alert level of the nervous system, thereby relieving stress and anxiety. Moreover, playing badminton regularly for a long time can also significantly improve the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, which can make our emotional regulation system more resilient. When facing stressful events, the cortisol level in the body can return to normal faster, thereby avoiding the body being in a long-term stress state, and the emotional response will be milder.
Therefore, playing badminton more often can not only relax quickly, but also make our emotional regulation system stronger.
Benefit 2: Make the brain stronger
Badminton is a typical open skill exercise, that is, a sport played in a dynamic and unpredictable environment. People must constantly adjust their movements according to immediate changes in the external environment (such as opponents, teammates, ball paths), including badminton, tennis, table tennis, etc. In contrast, there are closed skill exercises, such as running, cycling or swimming, which have almost no external interference and the movement patterns are fixed and repetitive.
Obviously, relatively speaking, open skill sports can exercise our brains better, because in this type of sports, the brain needs to integrate complex information such as vision, space, and movement, and make decisions quickly in a changing environment. This kind of continuous cognitive challenge can stimulate the brain to become smarter and more flexible. A meta-analysis study involving more than 1,800 participants showed that compared to closed skill sports, open skill sports can improve people’s various cognitive functions, including visuospatial attention, cognitive flexibility, and problem-solving abilities.[3]
Moreover, if we can persist in playing badminton for a long time, it will have more benefits for the brain. A brain science study shows that after participants persist in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for one year, the volume of the hippocampus will increase by about 2% on average, which is equivalent to reversing 1 to 2 years of age-related brain shrinkage. At the same time, since the hippocampus is mainly responsible for memory-related functions, this also significantly improved the participants’ memory ability.[4]
Source: Reference[4]
This process of changes in brain structure and function is called brain plasticity (Neuroplasticity), and it is the neural mechanism that enables us to learn and grow throughout our lives. The important substance that promotes this process is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which can be said to be the “fertilizer” of the brain. It can promote the survival, growth and differentiation of neurons, and enhance the neural pathways related to learning and memory. Researchers have found that the reason why long-term regular exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus and improve memory ability is because it increases the level of BDNF in the brain.[4]
All in all, playing badminton regularly seems to strengthen the body, but in fact, unconsciously, the brain also gets a good exercise.
Benefit 3: Enhanced self-efficacy
The rules of playing badminton are simple and easy to learn, and the learning curve is relatively gentle. Even beginners can experience the positive feedback of successfully receiving the serve in a short period of time.
This kind of positive feedback is actually the main source of self-efficacy. This concept refers to an individual’s belief in his or her ability to complete a specific task or cope with a specific situation. Although self-efficacy is a subjective judgment of one’s abilities, it can actually affect people’s performance. A meta-analysis study involving more than 20,000 participants found that people with higher self-efficacy also had higher job performance, with an average improvement of 28%.[5]Moreover, self-efficacy is also an important protective factor for mental health. People with higher self-efficacy tend to be more optimistic, have stronger self-esteem, and are less prone to symptoms of anxiety and depression.[6]
Because although a person with a high sense of self-efficacy may not necessarily be better than others in ability, they are more willing to regard challenges as problems that can be solved, are more likely to take the first step of action, and are less likely to give up after frustration, so they can always do better than others. More importantly, the self-efficacy developed on the badminton court can also be transferred to other areas such as life and work, allowing people to gradually internalize a self-belief that “I can gradually get better” and “I can cope with these difficulties.”
Therefore, this sense of self-efficacy is by no means blind optimism, but makes people more confident in the face of uncertainty and failure, and makes it easier for them to exert their original abilities.
Benefit 4: Lower risk of illness and death
If you like badminton doubles or have a stable playing partner, that would be even better.
Because badminton is a low-pressure, high-reward form of social interaction, we don’t need to wear any “social masks” on the court and only need to focus on the cooperation between two people. According to the Stress Buffering Hypothesis in psychology, good social support has a buffering effect on stress and can reduce the negative impact of stress on physical and mental health.
Brain science research has also proven that people with higher levels of daily social support have lower cortisol levels when facing social stress (representing a smaller response to stress), and weaker activation of brain areas related to social pain. In the long term, this more resilient neural response can significantly reduce the risk of diseases related to chronic stress.[7]There is also a large-scale meta-analysis study of more than 300,000 people, which shows that good social relationships can reduce the risk of death by 50%.[8]
Especially for those who are usually under high pressure, finding a partner to play badminton together is a very good stress-relieving activity. It can not only move the body, but also provide more benign and supportive social relationships in life, which will make the body and mind healthier.
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About playing badminton
Some simple and helpful advice
Badminton itself is a fast-paced and highly confrontational sport that involves both teamwork and victory. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to safety, we must also pay attention to avoid deviating from the original intention of relaxation and letting it become a new source of stress. The following simple suggestions can help everyone better enjoy the fun of badminton.
1
Reduce self-judgment
Badminton is naturally competitive, and when there is competition, there is comparison. This makes it easy for people to fall into self-judgment and worry too much about their own mistakes and losses, which is not conducive to our enjoyment of the sport itself.
Therefore, it is recommended that everyone should aim at “enjoying and relaxing” and “focusing on mastering skills rather than comparing wins and losses”, that is, changing from result-oriented to process-oriented. This will make it easier to stimulate our internal motivation, make the game more relaxed, and enable us to persevere.
2
Find the right match
A suitable partner means that two people have similar levels, compatible personalities, more comfortable communication, and consistent goals. Especially for beginners, it is recommended to try to avoid teammates who prefer to put pressure and evaluate, as they are likely to increase your psychological burden. Moreover, choosing friends who make you willing to date repeatedly is a kind of psychological protection for yourself.
3
Maintain moderate exercise
Playing for the purpose of relaxation does not require that the greater the amount of exercise, the better. It is best to maintain a moderate amount of exercise, that is, breathing and heartbeat will be significantly accelerated, and you can have a normal conversation with your teammates, rather than being so tired that you cannot finish a sentence.
This intensity can ensure that we have the best emotional regulation effect without being overtired.
4
Pay attention to your post-exercise experience
After playing, you can take a few minutes to simply notice your current state, such as whether your emotions feel released, whether your body is less tense, whether your mind is more refreshed, etc. This kind of active self-awareness can enhance the positive feedback brought by exercise and improve our motivation to persist in exercise.
Finally, I sincerely suggest that if you feel stressed and depressed recently, you might as well make an appointment with a few friends, pick up your racket, and go play a hearty badminton game!
References
[1] Chekroud, S. R., Gueorguieva, R., Zheutlin, A. B., Paulus, M., Krumholz, H. M., Krystal, J. H., &Chekroud, A. M. (2018). Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1· 2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study. The lancet psychiatry, 5(9), 739-746.
[2] Zhang, Q., Kong, J., Fan, R., &Fu, J. (2025). Effects of different types of badminton training on sleep quality, anxiety, and related baseline physiological markers in graduate students with sleep disorders: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 1390.
[3] Gu, Q., Zou, L., Loprinzi, P. D., Quan, M., &Huang, T. (2019). Effects of open versus closed skill exercise on cognitive function: a systematic review. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1707.
[4] Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., Prakash, R. S., Basak, C., Szabo, A., Chaddock, L., … &Kramer, A. F. (2011). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 108(7), 3017-3022.
[5] Stajkovic, A. D., &Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 124(2), 240.
[6] Luszczynska, A., Gutiérrez‐Doña, B., &Schwarzer, R. (2005). General self‐efficacy in various domains of human functioning: Evidence from five countries. International journal of Psychology, 40(2), 80-89.
[7] Eisenberger, N. I., Taylor, S. E., Gable, S. L., Hilmert, C. J., &Lieberman, M. D. (2007). Neural pathways link social support to attenuated neuroendocrine stress responses. Neuroimage, 35(4), 1601-1612.
[8] Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., &Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS medicine, 7(7), e1000316.
Planning and production
Author丨Creator of ACC psychological science popularization
Review | Fan Chunlei, associate researcher, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, member of the Chinese Psychological Society
Planning丨Wang Mengru
Editor in charge丨Wang Mengru
Reviewed by Xu Lai and Zhang Linlin
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Original title: “Undervalued for too long!” This affordable exercise can not only lose weight, but also get rid of your bad mood》
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