For those of us who like competition and teamwork, there is some great news in a new study about what kind of physical activity is good for your health.
A Danish study looked at 8,500 subjects who were all fairly healthy. They answered a long list of questions and then were followed for an impressive 25 years. The researchers monitored the subjects long enough that 4,500 of those people died by the end of the study.
The researchers concluded that those who played sports with a team fared better than others. Here are some of the stats, from this article:
Compared to sedentary people, they found that those who reported playing tennis as their main form of exercise could expect to add 9.7 years to their lifespan, followed by badminton (6.2 years), soccer (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years), swimming (3.4 years), jogging (3.2 years), calisthenics (3.1 years) and health club activities (1.5 years).
That is a big win for everyone working on their backhand, though racquet sports can be played as doubles (team) or as singles.Playing singles tennis or badminton is a social activity. The social aspects of sports contribute to making players happier and healthier – unless they get too grumpy and depressed after a loss.
Most competitive sports have a higher injury risk than visits to a gym, so we suggest always going through a dynamic warm up before competing. A gentle cool down with light stretching can help recovery after the competition ends.
