Pickleball is on the rise as one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. I like playing racket sports because they really get your blood flowing and you always feel like you got a good workout in, no matter whether or not you won the game. The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) shared that pickleball players increased by 35% compared to the last research that concluded in August 2022. It’s clear that pickleball is here to stay.
Pickleball is more than just a fun game to play with an interesting name. Recent Apple data highlights a range of benefits for your cardiovascular, mental, and metabolic health. Let’s look at the data.
The Apple data
An Apple report used data from Apple Watch Users who chose to take part in the study. The goal was to assess the health benefits of pickleball, and the results might just make you want to pick up your paddle and play. Let’s take a look at the results.
Depression
The report found that playing pickleball can boost cardiovascular and metabolic health. Here are some of the most interesting results:
- Playing pickleball is associated with lower rates of self-reported depression.
- Self-reported scores of the symptoms of depression were a surprising 60% lower for those who frequently played pickleball compared to the general study group.
- Pickleball games last around 90 minutes on average, which is over half of the recommended guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise every week.
The principal investigator for the study reported that the results could be due to the impact the sport has on neuromuscular coordination, resilience, hormones, and more.
Mood-boosting endorphins
When you move your body by exercising or doing a fun activity like pickleball, your body releases mood-boosting endorphins that have been proven to reduce stress and pain and enhance well-being.
Play outside
Pickleball encourages you to get outside and play in the daylight, which the principal investigator for this report shared could be one of the reasons
