Tennis is a wonderful game that combines being outdoors, interacting socially and exercising your whole body. It’s excellent for heart, brain, bone and mental health. You determine the pace – playing like a champ in competition or enjoying it socially.
Health benefits include:
- Great for a healthy heart Tennis is excellent for fighting high blood tension, cholesterol, stroke and coronary heart disease. It improves your cardio fitness and is great for a healthy heart.
- Gain a lifetime sport Tennis can be played at any age, including way into your retirement. If you learn tennis, you have a game for life!
- Boosts your brain health Tennis helps regulate serotonin which improves your appetite, emotions and helps you sleep better. It enhances your cognitive abilities, critical and tactical thinking and keeps you alert as you anticipate the ball, its speed and direction. It is therefore brilliant for brain health and reducing the risk of dementia.
- Relieves stress, depression and anxiety disorders Getting active on the court, playing with others and getting a good dose of Vitamin D is good for your emotional and mental health. While playing, your mind is on the game so it's a great way to switch off. It will also improve your sleep, so all-in-all does wonders as stress and mood management.
- Good for bone health Playing tennis reduced your risk of osteoporosis by strengthening your bones and increasing their density.
- Increases agility, balance and flexibility You are constantly moving, stretching, changing direction and pivotting while playing tennis. That desire to run and reach for the ball is excellent for increasing your agility and flexibility, while maintaining your balance.
- It's a full body workout Many sports focus on just part of the body, but tennis gives your entire body a workout. Your feet and legs are constantly shifting and running, your hands and arms swing in all directions, your neck stretches as you watch the ball, and your torso moves in all planes. As such it is great for weight loss or management and toning.
- Manages the risk of type 2 diabetes All that action is great for keeping your blood glucose down and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Builds social connection You can't play tennis on your own and it's great for getting to mix with others and bonding over the game. As such it reduces loneliness and isolation, and helps you build social relationships.
"The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are at their worst."