Benefits of Table Tennis for Brain Health Maintenance and Prevention of Dementia

Abstract

Table tennis is an extremely popular sport throughout the world as it requires no expensive equipment, specialized amenities, or physical contact among players, and the pace of play can be adapted to allow participation by players of all skill levels, ages, and abilities. It is an aerobic-dominant sport driven primarily by the phosphagen system because rallies are relatively brief (several seconds) and separated by longer rest periods. Several studies have shown that physical interventions including table tennis can help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Accordingly, the present paper provides an overview of the basic physical and cognitive demands of table tennis, reviews previous studies reporting improvements in physical and brain health across different non-clinical and clinical populations, and critically evaluates the usefulness of table tennis intervention for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia. This review suggests that table tennis intervention could be a powerful strategy to prevent cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.

Preventive Strategies for Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Benefits of Aerobic Physical Activity, Especially Open-Skill Exercise

“…However, as neurodegeneration progresses in dementia, it may be difficult to improve cognitive function through physical activity interventions alone. Therefore, the importance of early physical activity interventions should be emphasized to delay cognitive decline in healthy older adults, patients with MCI, and those with early-stage dementia [ 29 ].…”

“…In our recently published review on the benefits of table tennis for brain health maintenance and dementia prevention [ 29 ], the benefits of table tennis on cognitive function are briefly introduced [ 29 ]. Table tennis is a popular sport worldwide.…”

“…It does not require expensive equipment, specialized amenities, or physical contact among players. In addition, table tennis allows players of all skill levels, ages, and sexes to participate as the pace of play can be adjusted freely [ 29 ]. Thus, table tennis may be a low-cost, easy-to-play OSE that is suitable for the elderly.…”

“…Table tennis is a sport that involves moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. In particular, according to an analysis of its energetics, table tennis was found to primarily rely on the aerobic energy system (approximately 96%), with a minor contribution of phosphagen energy production (approximately 2%) and an extremely minor contribution of the anaerobic system [ 29 ]. Based on these characteristics, table tennis can be used as a moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, as recommended by WHO [ 19 ].…”

“…Several lines of evidence suggest that playing regular table tennis can induce neuroplastic alterations in various brain networks, including motor-related areas, visual cortex (particularly visual motion area), and frontal regions, ultimately leading to improved sensorimotor and executive functions [ 29 ]. These neuroplastic changes in multiple brain networks may maintain or improve cognitive functions and prevent age-related cognitive decline and dementia ( Figure 1 ) [ 29 ].…”