What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

The prison overcrowding crisis in the UK has shown the public what researchers and those working in criminal justice have known for years: prisons are unsafe for those serving time and working there.

With high rates of violence, drug abuse and self-harm, it is unsurprising that people in prison often suffer from poor mental and physical health. In the UK, 82% of women and 58% of men in prison report mental health issues. In turn, people are more likely to end up back in prison after release. This contradicts the whole point of prison: that punishment will deter people from crime.

One way to improve well-being in prison is through sport. As with those of us outside of prison, sport benefits body and mind, offers a distraction from harmful influences and connects us to others. Feeling that you "belong" has a huge impact on health, a mechanism commonly referred to in psychology and psychiatry as the "social cure".

Prisons are environments where people are, by design, isolated from society and surrounded by strangers. Sports programs have the potential to improve lives by offering, among other things, positive social connection.

We have recently studied the effect of sport on improving well-being in prisons. We found that participating in an organized football program had positive, statistically significant effects on social connections for people in prison, with knock-on effects for their well-being.

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