Table tennis, or ping pong, as it has come to be known in this part of the world, is one of the more popular sports around residences on campus. What students don’t realize is they are giving their brain an excellent workout while they play. Along with being one of the safest sports around, table tennis also offers players mental benefits.
A simple game of table tennis stimulates a great portion of one’s brain all at once. Studies have shown table tennis improves alertness and concentration. A recent study out of Japan has shown playing table tennis for just 10 minutes increases activity in one’s cerebellum and prefrontal cortex. Table tennis is sometimes used to help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Terry Bradshaw, an NFL quarterback, has even said playing table tennis helped him with his concussion issues.
Table tennis helps the brain because it requires precise hand- eye coordination as well as quick reflexes to return the ball, which stimulates your cerebellum and parietal lobes. The game’s intensity requires complete focus, activating the prefrontal cortex so players can keep track of the tiny ball flying at high speeds. Along with benefiting your brain, table tennis helps your mind. It’s a great way to relieve stress or simply get together and do something with friends. It also helps with depression because endorphins are released when the ball is struck, triggering a sense of pleasure.
Table tennis is great for your body and has a low risk of injury, while improving your reflexes. Table tennis also helps with flexibility.
With players vigorously hitting the ball, they both have to stretch their arms, lower back, and even their legs to make those hard-to-reach plays. This also relates to weight loss. When one is moving from side to side, and striking the ball with less than a second until return time, it is more of a workout than many imagine.
So next time you want to engage in a causal workout, meet up with friends, blow off some steam, stimulate your mind, or master a sport, perhaps try table tennis. York top seed in the West division heading into the playoffs.
Dakota Gregory
Contributor
