Scientific evidence and medical experts around the world acknowledge that even recreational Table Tennis increases concentration and alertness, stimulates brain function, helps with the development of tactical thinking skills, hand/eye coordination, provides aerobic exercise and social and recreational interaction. In summary, Table Tennis can induce neuroplastic alterations in multiple brain networks including motor-related areas, visual cortex (in particular, visual motion area), and frontal regions, ultimately leading to improved sensorimotor and executive functions. This fast-paced game is challenging and equally rewarding. Clinical Neuroscientist and Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen calls table tennis “The Best Brain Sport” and he explains how the body’s main organ can benefit from a friendly game of table tennis. Regular exercise boosts hormones in the body that keep your brain young. Physical activities increase circulation to the brain and promotes cell health. So, what set’s Table Tennis apart from other sports in terms of mental health? Table Tennis is a game of strategy, focus, coordination, reflexes and concentration. Table tennis requires a developed sense of strategy and the game starts well before the serve. You study your opponent and learn their tendencies so that your next move becomes a calculated reaction. Noting potential weaknesses, you plan your game accordingly.
Wendy Suzuki, a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at New York University, explains that Table Tennis stimulates parts of the brain that control fine motor skills. The list below explains which specific activities influence each part of the brain.
- Hippocampus – This part of the brain allows you to formulate and retain long-term information. When heart rate increases, so does stimulation of the hippocampus.
- Prefrontal Cortex – Stimulated through strategic game plans and matches require focus.
- Primary Motor Cortex & Cerebellum – Control hand-eye coordination.
- Basal Ganglia – Ability to maintain composure.
- Temporal Lobes – Associated with focus and concentration.
Family-practice physician Danine Fruge, MD, medical director at Pritikin Longetivity Center says racket sports (like tennis, badminton, pickleball, squash) have been proven to be one of the top categories of sport for increasing lifespan. But playing Table Tennis, involves many of the same motions and thought processes as other racket sports and then some, given it can be fast-paced at certain level, requires no training or particular level of fitness to start playing. And you can even play it on practically any table with an extendable net. The barrier to entry drops even further when you consider that Table Tennis is generally thought of as a leisure activity or game, and not as exercise. It’s really a surprise to people when we share with them that Table Tennis can support their longevity, because they think, how could something so fun be so healthy? Interestingly, that enjoyment is actually part of Table Tennis’ activity’s benefits. Table Tennis is also a brain- and body-supportive game. It involves doing multiple actions at the same time, quickly and in succession. For example, moving your leg is activating one part of the brain, using your wrist is another; judging the distance of the ball coming toward you is yet another. And doing all of that practices integrating several different brain circuits at once, which we know is tied to longevity.
Here are 3 ways that playing table tennis can boost your longevity, according to science:1. It works out out your brain
Scientists have known since the early 90s that table tennis is linked with greater mental ability , at any age, and playing Table Tennis regularly may be able to help preserve your mental capacities. In comparing table tennis to other forms of exercise like dancing, walking, and resistance training, a study in 2014 found that it had a stronger effect on cognitive function. That mental benefit is likely due to the sport’s use of multiple brain regions at once, as described above.
Prefrontal cortex—the strategy and thinking part of the brain—which is involved in memory retention and recall, in a game of table tennis, you’re tapping this area of the brain every time you plan your next strike or anticipate your opponent’s move, even if your execution isn’t as great as you planned. Where the ball goes doesn’t matter as much as the fact that you had the thought about where you wanted it to go,” says Dr. Fruge. “That’s key to how the brain works. By activating the prefrontal cortex with table tennis, you may actually boost memory retention and cognition.
The more you focus on fielding your partner’s hits throughout the game, the more you’re “flexing” that prefrontal cortex, which can strengthen with time kind of like a muscle.
There is evidence of something called neuroplasticity, where the brain actually gets used to and gets good at whatever you repeatedly do. By activating the prefrontal cortex with table tennis, then, you may actually boost memory retention and cognition. That’s why there are now table tennis programs made specifically for people with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia…
That’s still not all the brain activity involved in a Table Tennis game. While playing, your brain is also firing up large and fine motor skills (aka moving your extremities and hand), as well as your visual and hearing systems. Hearing the ball contact on the racket and table activates the part of your brain that processes sound, while watching the ball fly toward and away from you is challenging your depth perception. Utilizing all these sensory inputs at once in order to hit the ball (aka hand-eye coordination) requires these various brain processes to happen in sync.
At the same time, your brain may also be engaging in non-direct communication. You don’t actually have to be looking at someone or concentrating on what they’re saying during a match, but you’re likely hearing them say, ‘Good shot,’ or ‘You missed’ which is allowing for socialization and connection. The more you’re laughing and enjoying the back-and-forth, the more you’re supporting your brain health and longevity, too.
2. It improves your agility
Scientists say Table Tennis makes major use of fast twitch muscle fibers — fibers in your muscle that provide lots of force for short bursts — in a way that walking or lifting weights does not. Why? During game play, you only have a few seconds to react and move your body in the direction of an in-coming ball. Every time you’re lunging to one side or throwing an arm to hit a high ball, you’re putting these quick-responding fibers to work.
Once you’ve practiced those movements enough times and strengthened those fast-twitch fibers along the way, there’s a higher likelihood that you’ll avoid bad slips and falls, further safeguarding your longevity. Anytime you’re on an uneven surface, if you have strong fast-twitch muscles, you’ll automatically navigate pushes and shoves more effectively. The same goes for stepping over a curb or over a threshold, or catching yourself if you misstep. The more responsive your fast-twitch muscles, the less likely you are to fall.”
3. You’ll get your heart rate going
Sure, it’s not exactly a five-mile run, but that doesn’t mean Table Tennis can’t be an aerobic activity. In fact, research conducted by the Mayo Clinic in 2012 found that Table Tennis can support brain health not just because it involves all that juicy brain coordination noted above, but also because it gets your blood pumping. And any time you’re elevating your heart rate with physical movement, you’re also boosting your longevity.
Table Tennis has proven benefits to mental health and has been used to rehabilitate individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, after stroke patients and it proved to be an excellent sport for ADD (attention deficit disorder) & ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This racket-sport intervention improves behavioral and cognitive performance in these disorders. Why?
Looking at the kids that play in our table tennis club www.nsttc.ca , I came to conclusion that regular practise, and competition improves not only their smashes but their attention, concentration, and ability to focus better and for longer. They focus on the ball in a way, that some of them never have during the day. As well, i have noticed that they are concerned in the positive way in this sport because of their perseverance and compromise. So are their teachers and educators saying at schools. This demanding sport increases blood flow to the brain along with oxygen, nutrients, vitamins, and other essential chemicals that keep the brain healthy. High levels of concentration and attention to detail create a challenging mental exercise for those suffering from these conditions.
As a Table Tennis sport club, table tennis is much easier to reach compared to other sports. It is built on skills that require long-term attention and focus, and these skills develop as people continue to play. 6-week regular table tennis training has been found to have a positive effect on primary school children’s attention levels.
NSTTC KIDS and YOUTH in Table Tennis program
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