One of the benefits of playing pool is that it will help to keep your mind sharp. The improved alertness generalizes to many situations.
An article in the Washington Post titled Short Mental Workouts May Slow Decline of Aging Minds, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121901431.html.
Several research studies lead to the conclusion that challenging your mind is one of the better ways to stay mentally fit as you age. If you are in your 50s or if you know someone who used to play, encourage them to continue to play. The important aspect is to truly challenge you. At the practice table or in a match one should keep pushing the envelope. You can continue to improve many aspects of your game if you work at it. There are not many places in life where on can have fun and improve their mental condition.
If you are one of the younger people, take your Dad to the pool hall on a regular basis, it is good for him.
The mind-body connection is real. "... muscle activity is a cue to keep a synapse stable, and synaptic inactivity is a cue to disassemble a synapse," says Lichtman, a professor of neurobiology see http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html#mentalexercise. Mental exercise creates new connections all of the time and you can actually make your mind stronger with physical / metal exercise. The fine motor coordination coupled with the mental processing builds a better, longer lasting mind.
See also http://www.asaging.org/at/at-204/Thompson.htm. Use it or lose it applies to many aspects of life.
Playing pool is one of the few places where we can get better as we age (assuming you were not a pro early in life). The physical requirments are not excessive. If you have minor nervous system anomolies playing pool may help to regain or improve some functions.
I think that one can continue to improve into their 80s if they stay with the game and do not have any other physical or mental problems that come with age that affect mobility.
An article in the Washington Post titled Short Mental Workouts May Slow Decline of Aging Minds, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121901431.html.
Several research studies lead to the conclusion that challenging your mind is one of the better ways to stay mentally fit as you age. If you are in your 50s or if you know someone who used to play, encourage them to continue to play. The important aspect is to truly challenge you. At the practice table or in a match one should keep pushing the envelope. You can continue to improve many aspects of your game if you work at it. There are not many places in life where on can have fun and improve their mental condition.
If you are one of the younger people, take your Dad to the pool hall on a regular basis, it is good for him.
The mind-body connection is real. "... muscle activity is a cue to keep a synapse stable, and synaptic inactivity is a cue to disassemble a synapse," says Lichtman, a professor of neurobiology see http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html#mentalexercise. Mental exercise creates new connections all of the time and you can actually make your mind stronger with physical / metal exercise. The fine motor coordination coupled with the mental processing builds a better, longer lasting mind.
See also http://www.asaging.org/at/at-204/Thompson.htm. Use it or lose it applies to many aspects of life.
Playing pool is one of the few places where we can get better as we age (assuming you were not a pro early in life). The physical requirments are not excessive. If you have minor nervous system anomolies playing pool may help to regain or improve some functions.
I think that one can continue to improve into their 80s if they stay with the game and do not have any other physical or mental problems that come with age that affect mobility.
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