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56 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JANUARY 2019 Tennis Club Wow, it's 2019 already — so Happy New Year. With the November and December holidays behind us (except the bills), we're ready to have another great year at The Courts. And if overindulging in merriment and sustenance during the holidays isn't enough to motivate a renewed enthusiasm for getting out to play some tennis, how about the opportunity to add years to your life. According to a New York Times article shared by Robin Low, playing tennis can add 9.7 years to your life, compared to more sedentary folks. The most interesting part of the research is that tennis provided the greatest number of years of additional life, more than other activities such as badminton and significantly more than the benefit of participating in more solitary exercise such as jogging, swimming, and cycling. The researchers attributed the difference in additional years to the social nature of tennis. The research was based on studying Danish men and women over a period of 25 years. The lesson for us is that to live a longer and healthier life, try going back 25 years, becoming Danish, and playing tennis with friends. While rolling back the calendar a quarter of a century and changing your national origin may be unlikely, you can do the playing tennis piece. And while we may not be quite as social as our Pickle Ball friends (Pickle Ball was not mentioned in the study), we can enjoy the social engagement we get playing doubles, and if we can catch our breath, singles. Live long and prosper! Free lessons and practice are held at 10 am on Saturdays that are not Play Days or other planned Club events. Play Days are open to all residents of Four Seasons Beaumont on the last Saturday of the month starting at 8:30 am. Sometimes there are donuts or muffins, but always there's some low-stress tennis (the scores are never reported here, unless by chance someday I actually win) and life- extending camaraderie. ~ Steven Hovey, sahovey47@hotmail.com Ping Pong According to a recent study in Japan, playing ping pong reduced Alzheimer's patients' need for medication, improved long- term memory, and dramatically decreased brain deterioration. Through this study, MRI scans on the participants' brains showed that ping pong can activate up to five different sections of their brains simultaneously. In effect, the subject's awareness of cognitive thinking ability showed great improvement. If you or any of your loved ones are afflicted with this condition you may wish to try this sport. It's also a lot of fun. Our facility is the multi-purpose room located in The Courts building, open every day. Hope to see you there. ~ Don Fant, dlilfant@yahoo.com Live action "medical treatment"

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