Recreational activities or leisure is a very important aspect of senior welfare. It plays a crucial role in the well-being and quality of life for seniors. The benefits of participating in leisure activities for seniors range from socializing, improved health, mental alertness, and an engaging pastime. People generally take to many things for their recreation depending on their own interests, access to it, health, as well as affordability. Golf is usually something many seniors consider, but it is definitely not a cheap hobby. You need to be a part of a golf club to practice it unless you live in an apartment complex which has its own golf club, which is rare.
However, many senior living communities are coming up in the Delhi and NCR region that are keeping in mind such needs for seniors and making it a part of their planning. So, tennis courts and golf areas are included in these projects considering that there is an increased need for such activities.
Benefits of golf
Join Now >
Golf is said to keep your heart healthier as it involves some physical activity that can keep the blood pumping. A good heart rate can have some many other positive benefits on your body. In fact, it was noted by the Norwegian Golf Federation (NGF) that an 18-hole round, over a two to five hour period, will give a player an average heart rate of 100 beats per minute. This leads to reduced blood pressure that reduces chances of stroke and provides an overall healthy life.
In golf, people will also need to walk across the golf track to complete the game, and this too helps in the fitness. Typically, we are expected to walk 10,000 steps in a day to stay fit. Playing a full 18-round hole golf game can easily help you cover that unless you use a golf cart to move around. Hence, avoid using a golf cart, unless you really feel the need and walk across. Also, it has been indicated that this can help keep the blood supply to the brain also in good shape and hence there are reduced chances of brain-related issues like Alzheimer’s.
In many ways, golf is recreation as much as a sport, and when you play it with a few partners, you get to talk, chit chat, have fun and socialize. This can bring down your stress levels, and that helps too in maintaining good health. Golf, is, however, good physical activity and hence, it can tire you out, and that can help you get a good night’s sleep too. Good sleep is also essential for seniors, as insomnia is usually an issue with age. When people don’t get good sleep, it can affect them in many ways. Also, even though golf is slightly physical, the chances of an injury during golf is much lesser than that in other sports like tennis, football or cricket, where one can slip and fall or get hurt.
Golfers live longer?
It is rather difficult to believe, but there is one study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, titled, “Golf: a game of life and death – reduced mortality in Swedish golf players”, by B. Farahmand, G. Broman, U. De Faire, D. Vågerö, and A. Ahlbom. This study concludes that a 40% reduction in mortality rates was observed in the studied group of golfers, with an increased life expectancy by about five years. They said that while they could not conclude with certainty that all the 40% decreased mortality rates are explained by the physical activity associated with playing golf, they most likely thought it was part of the explanation. So, it kind of proves that there is another reason to take to golf as a leisure activity.
Kindly check with your doctor once before you start any new activity or exercise regime, as there is a possibility that certain health or medical conditions may restrict that. After that, tee off!
