I almost quit football for NEET prep. A class 11 girl's case for not doing that.

When school restarted this year, I made a list. Yes, I'm also a list person, but not like Aarav. My list was titled "Things I Will Cut To Become A Doctor." It had four items: Instagram, TV series, guitar practice, football.

I crossed off three in the first week without much trouble. Football was the last one, and I stared at it for ages. I've played since I was nine, in the lane behind my house in Goa where the boys never wanted to pass to me until I scored a goal from the halfway line and then suddenly I was the first pick. Football is the one thing in the world where my head goes completely quiet.

And I still crossed it out. Because that's what you do, right? Everyone around me said "class 11 is the foundation, you can't waste time." My coaching teacher said, "Sports are for after the exam." My neighbour auntie said "doctors don't play football, beta." (She has never watched a doctor play football.)

Six weeks without it

For six weeks I studied more than I ever had. I felt very serious. I felt very productive. And I got steadily worse.

I started to get headaches around 4 pm. I'd sit on the same Physics problem for 40 minutes, and each time I'd come back to it, I'd have forgotten where I'd been. My shoulders were stiff, I was sleeping badly, and I felt cranky, like I was constantly one inch away from snapping at someone. My mother noticed before I did. "You used to come home from the field red-faced and hungry and happy," she said. "Now you come home from the desk grey."

Grey. I laughed, but she was right.

What I tried next

I put football back, but with a plan, because I didn't want the exact thing I loved to eat my study time. This is the plan I follow now:

Day	Activity	Time
Mon	Football with friends	5:00-5:45 pm
Tue	Walk/jog + stretching	30 mins
Wed	Football	5:00-5:45 pm
Thu	Rest / light stretching	15 mins
Fri	Football or skipping rope	45 mins
Sat	Long walk or cycle	45-60 mins
Sun	Full rest or just play for fun	flexible

On test weeks, I shrink it to 20-30 minutes, usually a jog and stretching. On very heavy weeks I skip a session and I'm okay with it. It's not a punishment system.

What changed

I'm cautious about claiming too much. Let me be clear that I'm one student writing about her own experience, and that I haven't done an experiment. But here are the differences I noticed:

• My focus came back in the evening. The 4 pm headaches mostly disappeared, though some of that might be that I started drinking more water.
• I fall asleep faster. On days I play, I'm physically tired in a good way. I'm out by 11.
• The panic feels smaller. When I feel an exam coming, I go for a run, and my chest loosens a bit. Running doesn't solve the syllabus, but it changes how I meet it.
• I'm better at starting. After football, the desk feels like a fresh page, not a punishment.
• Guitar is back too, 20 minutes before dinner. It's good for stopping my brain from circling.

There are scientific reasons exercise can help mood and sleep, and I won't pretend to explain them better than a doctor could. But I know it works for me, and many of my friends say the same.

Biology of it (a tiny bit, because I can't help myself)

When I run, my muscles need more oxygen, so my breathing rate and heart rate go up. Blood flow to the muscles increases. That's why I feel hot and my face turns red. After I stop, my breathing slows down gradually. It's called the "oxygen debt" recovery, and it's a lovely thing to remember while panting on the field.

Also (and this is something I read in my textbook and found cool) the lactic acid that builds up in muscles during intense exercise isn't a poison. It's just a product of anaerobic respiration, and the muscle cramps and soreness aren't only because of that. So stretching and water matter. I'm summarising badly, so please check your NCERT chapter on Breathing and Exchange of Gases and the one on muscle contraction rather than trusting my paragraph.

The limits (because I don't want to be preachy)

• Don't overdo it. If you play for two hours and then can't study, you've swapped one problem for another.
• Injuries are real. I twisted my ankle once, in the third week, and had to take two weeks off. Warm up and stretch.
• If you've got a health condition, a heart or breathing issue, ask your doctor what's safe for you.
• It doesn't have to be football. Skipping, cycling, swimming, yoga, a brisk walk with headphones, dancing in your room with the door closed. Anything that gets you moving counts.
• It's not a "fix". If you feel low or anxious for long stretches, running alone isn't the answer. Talk to someone.

What my coach and my auntie said

My coaching teacher saw me at the field one evening and I thought I was done for. He looked at me, laughed and said, "You play well. Make sure you study well too." That was it. No lecture.

And my neighbour auntie? I told her I'd be a doctor who plays football, and she said "hmm." I'm counting that as a win.

Take 30 minutes. If you're afraid it's a waste of time, try it for two weeks and write down how you feel at 4 pm. If it makes things worse, stop. If you feel greyer without it, it's probably not time wasted.