I have been playing pool billiards for about 15 years – last 5 of which with professional focus. That’s why I consider it as the best hobby in my life. Believe it or not hobbies influence a lot your life. They can even benefit work performance and daily habits. In this blog I want to share with you how my hobby improves my work and healthy lifestyle. This doesn’t mean I push you to play exactly billiards. Every hobby challenges you somehow giving you this way the opportunity to develop your skills.

Here are 8 benefits of playing billiards which improve my work performance and make my life healthier:

1) Helps build focus – Playing pool requires a great amount of focus and concentration. Your ability to focus on a given object is essential for achieving happiness and attaining goals. In billiards players must focus on their targets (the cue ball and the target ball), the angle of their own cue, the angle the cue ball will move once it is hit and if the cue ball will strike the target ball.

This helps me develop the skill to concentrate and focus on my tasks (both work and personal).

2) Burns calories – There is a surprising amount of beneficial walking involved into a round of pool: a typical 2-hour 8-ball or 9-ball session often provides 100 trips around the table’s perimeter, which is equal to walking about 1 km. Playing multiple games of pool will stack up these distances and burn even more calories!

In my work activity in 95% of the time I sit in front of the computer and playing billiards helps me remain in good physical condition.

3) Enables stretching and balance – Playing requires a lot more stretching than a person would normally do in everyday life. Having to bend across the table top to reach the cue ball at a desired angle requires a player to be moderately flexible, especially with complex shots. Pool also enhances balance as the game requires you to stand on one foot at certain time, promoting stability.

This aspect is very important for the healthy life. I am always short on time and I skip this important part in my everyday activity, but I catch it up with my hobby.

4) Helps building control – Studies show that individuals who play cue sports which rely on being calm and keeping your mind under control are less disposed to panic or to act nervously. Those who play concentration games are able to think clearly and logically which enables them examine the most pertinent facts and details and encourages them to go into action without becoming hysterical.

This feature helps me maintain my mind clear and calm while having stressful situations during my working process or in my personal life. I often become quiet and stable, instead of panicked or angry in critical moments and this is a very important skill.

5) Sharpens the mind – Those who frequently play billiards and pool often have sharper minds. Pool requires performing mental mathematical estimates and calculations, such as basic geometry and physics. These skills are necessary to calculate precise angles and trajectories and to determine how much force to apply during a strike in order not to under or overshoot a target. Having a sharp mind enables to think faster and pick up the little details.

This helps me easily find the best solution when trying to solve a problem.

6) Fun for all ages – Plауіng рооl is еаѕу fоr аnуоnе no matter the age. It’s оnе оf thе rаrе ѕроrtѕ thаt аllоw аn elder tо рlау with their grandkids and hаvе fun at the ѕаmе time. Thе combined health аnd ѕосіаl benefits оf рlауіng mаkеѕ pool оnе оf thе top gаmеѕ to рlау with all your family.

It’s almost impossible for me to get depressed at all, because I am always socialized and this way I neutralize the negative energy if such is gathered in me.

7) Improves cognitive skills – The mental stimulation of pool is rich and variable, due to the fact that every broken rack presents an unique table layout at the beginning of a game. These layouts challenge the player’s imagination, visualization and creative problem solving skills and require constant improvisation in order to pocket balls and achieve good position on further shots as skills increase.

This helps me to always search for more than one solution of a problem and to find the most adequate from all the possibilities .

8) Improves Life Skills – Wе can dеfіnе life ѕkіllѕ as “nесеѕѕаrу ѕkіllѕ needed іn daily life.” Life ѕkіllѕ are tеаmwоrk, hand-еуе coordination, ѕtrаtеgіzіng, рlаnnіng, соmреtіtіvеness, and ѕо on. Plауіng pool rеquіrеѕ planning, dесіѕіоn mаkіng, hand-eye coordination, tеаmwоrk (іf playing dоublеѕ) аnd the will to win and become соmреtіtіvе. Studies proved that playing рооl helps іn thеѕе essential lіfе ѕkіllѕ.

This helps me for everything I do in life in general.

You can see how many benefits I get only from my hobby playing billiards. I am curious to learn if this blog was interesting and useful for you. Share as well what your hobby is and how it improves your work and personal life

Dreamix Ltd.