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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | JUNE 2024 | 55 POP Tennis POP Tennis, formerly known as Paddle Tennis, is a fun, fast sport that can be enjoyed by people at all fitness levels. Though played on a smaller court with a different paddle and 20 percent deflated tennis balls, POP Tennis is otherwise scored and regulated like traditional tennis. POP Tennis is played on the courts to the left of the Main Clubhouse on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8 to 10 am (spring/summer hours). Additionally, there is a group that plays Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 3 pm and Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 pm. People are free to come and go as their schedules permit. All are welcome and there are always friendly folks to teach beginners the game! Paddles and balls are provided too. For more information or to be on a decision-making committee, please feel free to contact Carl Miller at (951) 512-3131. **All regular POP players are asked to get their $10 membership fee to Jeanne McGuire. The dues are used to plan parties, tournaments and buy balls and paddles. Hope you'll POP by! Well, it's official. Pickleball players are not only the friendliest, most enjoyable-to-play-with and kindest of all recreational companions, we are SMART! You don't have to take your scribe's word for it. While working at the Salk Institute in San Diego, Dutch scientist Henriette van Praag discovered that exercise spurred growth of brain cells in mature mice. Henriette took her lab work to heart and increased her already rigorous exercise regimen. This isn't the space to get into all the stuff about the brain releasing neurotransmitter molecules to improve "working memory." We'll leave that to the NY Times report of van Praag's findings. Suffice to say, it is now well established that exercise benefits mood and mental health in general. And here's the kicker: "Physical activity is one of the health behaviors that's shown to be the most beneficial for cognitive function and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia," per Michelle Voss of the University of Iowa. All of the findings seem to agree on one key factor. When we increase our blood flow, we increase circulation and grow blood vessels in the brain, says Dr. Voss. Adults naturally lose brain volume with age, and physical activity actually replaces at least some of the loss. Dr. Marc Roig of McGill University observes: "And we know that if we exercise regularly, we can prevent this decline." There it is, picklers. You know you love the sport. You know you're drawn to the social whirl of the Sun Lakes Pickleball Pavilion. But now we can trust that we are doing ourselves and our loved ones a huge solid by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that will benefit our old age. While the medical reports concentrate on body chemistry and great technical detail, there are other factors at play. Pickleball is one of the few sports that is multi-generational. Not often can the over-80 crowd enjoy competition with people a fourth or half their age. This interaction with young people has to be a huge benefit to staying young as well as fit. For all the amenities of age-restricted communities such as ours, a drawback can be the tendency to cocoon among our cohort. Pickleball is an antidote to age-segregation. Our members have great connections, whether young family members who visit regularly or friendships forged on neighboring pickle venues. These younger folks get invited to play with our club and that is just one more plus that elevates pickleball from many other pastimes. Our club VP, Judy Luna, can direct you to the best times to try our game. Give her a call at (949) 929-2390. See you on the courts! Pickleball Club

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