:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Health-GettyImages-2236116657-5bec0854e96d472a95fa7c42b8b0c5c3.jpg "Two women laughing while holding pickleball paddles on a court")
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- Social activities like pickleball, tennis, and swimming can improve mental health and help people live longer.
- Playing sports requires a lot of brain power, which can improve mental speed, memory, and attention.
- Cardio-heavy social sports can help improve your heart health, muscle strength, mobility, and balance.
Social sports can help keep you physically and mentally young by combining brain engagement, cardio, and community support. Here’s how frequenting your local pool, court, or field improves longevity by exercising your brain and body.
They Keep Your Heart Healthy
Aerobic exercises—also known as cardiovascular exercise or cardio—increase your heart rate, which strengthens your heart and lowers blood pressure. To keep your heart and body healthy, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week.
Racket sports like tennis and pickleball require quick movements, boosting your heart rate. Team sports like soccer or basketball involve running and bounding, making them a good cardio exercise. Swimming and biking both offer low-impact cardio options.
A 2022 study found that pickleball players around age 62 reach an average heart rate of 112 beats per minute, making it an ideal moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity. Tennis is a more intense sport, and lifelong tennis players are more likely to decrease their risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Swimming is also an effective way to reduce high blood pressure and improve heart health. A 2017 Swim England study, including more than 80,000 people, found that swimming reduced the risk of death from stroke or heart disease by 41 percent.
They Improve Your Cognitive Health
Participating in sports requires a lot of brain power, which helps keep your mind sharper as you age. As you move, blood flow to your brain increases, improving overall brain health and function. This can help slow age-related cognitive decline.
Sports like tennis, basketball, or fencing move quickly, are unpredictable, and always changing. They require brain power as you anticipate your opponent’s moves, track the ball, and strategize your own movements. Research shows that consistently engaging in rapid, strategic thinking during tennis or pickleball stimulates parts of your brain responsible for cognitive functions—like memory, thinking, and learning.
Swimming also requires constant thought processing to coordinate your breathing, strokes, and kicks. A small 2017 Japanese study of female swimmers aged 49-77 found that synchronized swimming improved recall. Another 2012 study of older adults found that regular swimming helped with impulse control, working memory, and problem-solving. Newer research has found that physical activities like swimming may even help prevent brain shrinking linked to cognitive decline in older adults.
Low-Impact Sports Promote Healthier Joints and Mobility
Pickleball is a growing sport that is often more accessible and lower-impact than other racket sports like tennis. But even though pickleball doesn’t require as much running and is easier on the joints, it still demands faster movement on its smaller court. The smaller paddle and court also require additional agility and coordination, which can help improve overall balance and reaction time as you age.
Water sports like swimming and water aerobics are low-impact and can help strengthen your muscles without straining your joints. Water helps support nearly all of your body weight, which decreases stress on your spine, knees, and hips. The constant body extension and twisting during swimming is also great for improving flexibility and range of motion.
Biking is another low-impact activity that can build muscle, increase lubrication around your joints, and improve your range of motion.
High-Impact Sports Improve Bone and Musculoskeletal Health
Although low-impact sports are typically recommended for longevity in fitness, research shows vigorous, high-impact sports are better for building and maintaining bone density. As you age, you start to lose bone density as calcium and other minerals in your bones decrease. Low bone density can weaken bones and increase your risk of fractures.
Court and field sports like tennis, basketball, and soccer are considered higher-impact because they often involve explosive, start-stop movements that bear weight, such as hopping, jumping, or bounding. These movements put enough stress on your bones to trigger cells that rebuild and remineralize bone tissue.
Since the bones and other tissues are an interconnected system (the musculoskeletal system), these higher-impact sports can also improve joint flexibility and health. A 2020 study found that tennis players had significantly better musculoskeletal health and function—like handgrip and knee extension strength—compared to people the same age who didn’t play tennis.
Social Sports Improve Mental Health Through Community and Exercise
Social and team sports combine the mental health benefits of exercise and socialization. In general, exercise can help reduce stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms.
A 2023 study found that adults who participated in sports were more likely to experience improved mental well-being, such as higher self-esteem and life satisfaction. They also had lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. While both individual and team sports had this effect, the researchers noted the benefit was greater among those in team sports.
For example, while swimming alone can improve mood by activating the feel-good neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, swimming as part of a team can also offer a sense of belonging and social support.
As you age, regular social interaction may also help you live longer by improving your well-being. A large, 25-year study found that playing tennis added almost 10 years to participants’ life expectancy compared with those who were not physically active. Researchers noted they weren’t exactly sure why tennis improved longevity, but they suspected that social interaction played a part.
Research shows pickleball players report improved well-being—including life satisfaction, happiness, and reduced depression. A 2025 study found people who played pickleball more frequently and for longer durations had even higher well-being scores. Older adults aged 63-77 had the highest well-being scores.
Look Into Your Local Social Sports
Playing social sports may be the key to keeping your mind sharp, your body strong, and improving your overall well-being. It’s never too late to pick up a sport and join a team. If you’re not sure how to get started, try reaching out to local courts, pools, sports clubs, and fitness and recreation centers.
