Tennis extends life
From a young age, we’ve been taught that the only way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is through sports. Exercising—whether it’s going for a run, riding a bike, or hitting the gym—is essential for preventing diseases linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
In fact, a regular exercise routine practiced several times a week can help your heart age more slowly. Furthermore, playing sports has positive effects on our mental health: it alters serotonin levels, increases endorphins, and reduces cortisol, which helps us relax and feel happier.
In fact, if you regularly play a specific sport—tennis—you could live up to ten years longer. According to researchers, it’s the sport that extends life the most, but why is that?
A 2018 Danish study, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which followed 8,577 people over a quarter-century (of whom 5,674 played at least one sport and 1,042 did not play any sports), revealed that physically active individuals lived longer than sedentary ones.
And, among those who played sports, they found impressive variability, with the expected increase in longevity varying depending on the sport played:
- Tennis: 9.7 years
- Badminton: 6.2 years
- Soccer: 4.7 years
- Cycling: 3.7 years
- Swimming: 3.4 years
- Jogging: 3.2 years
- Calisthenics: 3.1 years
We see that if you play tennis regularly, you can live nearly ten years longer. According to researchers, it’s the sport that extends life the most, but why is that?
Physically speaking, tennis combines explosive movements with anaerobic exertion. This creates an oxygen deficit that must be balanced by at least an acceptable level of physical and aerobic fitness. Unlike other sports, which require constant effort and pace, tennis demands bursts of intensity over a significant period of time.
However, the essence goes beyond the physical well-being that comes from playing the sport; it lies in the mind, since the health benefits depend as much on physical activity as on the social aspect. Interacting with others makes us feel connected, accepted, and part of something. When we share our positive feelings, we feel more optimistic and happy; when we share our negative ones, we feel relieved. In fact, loneliness increases the risk of cardiovascular and cognitive problems.
Therefore, it could be argued that team sports are the key to a long and happy life, if playing tennis prolongs life and having an active social life does as well.
This does not mean that one should play tennis compulsively; it is advisable to always practice in moderation, because people who exercise regularly, but without overdoing it, achieve better results than those who train or play more than five times a week. I believe it is very accurate to convey the idea that the body, at its core, is a cyclical system and responds better to brief, changing episodes than to continuous, repetitive actions.
An obsession with sports is a real problem and can have negative effects on our bodies.
