Technology is taking over people’s lives, not least those of children who spend hours every day on their iPads and play computer games.

But while it is easy to despair at the state of modern life, I remember when my 11-year-old stepson won his first bronze medal in archery a few months ago. He was so happy. His big smile and tears of happiness told their own story about what the achievement meant to him. I keep reminding him of that because he will never experience that emotion playing video games, something he admits.

I am sure many parents would agree that when it comes to building children’s self-esteem and confidence, sport kicks video games and technology into touch.

The road to happiness through sport is not easy, but it is achievable. Through Vision 2030 the Kingdom is trying to create happiness and better the lives of its citizens — we need to acknowledge that sport is crucial in that process.

Since women have been allowed to participate in sport the number of options open to everyone on the pitch or in the gym has exploded. Citizens now have various options from participating in a yoga class, martial arts, or football, to attending a swimming race, tennis match, or wrestling championship.

Alongside this, the inclusion of new habits that makes us happy is adopted in many cultures. There is a term for it called “hygge” and it is related to doing or creating things that make us feel cozy or happy. Countries with hygge culture regularly do well in the World Happiness Report — places such as Finland, New Zealand and Denmark. Let’s hope that Saudi Arabia, through increasing the number of leisure activities and sports events, can challenge them one day.

Since women have been allowed to participate in sport the number of options open to everyone on the pitch or in the gym has exploded. Citizens now have various options from participating in a yoga class, martial arts, or football, to attending a swimming race, tennis match, or wrestling championship

Dr. Razan Baker

Tor Anderson and Meik Wiking from the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark and authors of “The Little Book of Hygge,” suggest tips about incorporating hygge into people’s workout routine. Things such as the gear you use, practicing with friends or loved ones, and taking a day off to recharge. This way you help yourself to enjoy sport more and with less pressure.

As a Saudi woman I am happy that sport — in terms of both participation and watching — is now for all. Being able to attend matches and events with the whole family means extra quality time and this adds joy to your lives.

It has been a while since I saw as many happy faces as I did during our first Women Bowling Championship held in Riyadh last week. I was overjoyed to see girls lining up to wear their championship jerseys and each one waiting to find out whether she had qualified for the next round.

It is amazing how almost 100 women showed up two hours before the competition kicked off just to train and get in the mood. I believe if we manage to create more of these championships in more cities, bowling will become one of the top five sports for women in the Kingdom.

The Sport Journal, meanwhile, investigated this and published this year the results from a survey conducted on 514 college students. It showed that those who played sport before college had higher self-esteem and were happier — exercising makes us happy.

So let’s all have fun, let’s get healthy, let’s incorporate hygge into our lives and let’s do that all through sport. The rewards always make the effort more than worth it.

  • Dr. Razan Baker is a member of the board of directors at the Saudi Bowling Federation, a specialist in corporate social responsibility in sports, and a sports columnist/journalist.