Darts may seem like an innocent little game.
It may seem dangerous if anything, especially if you are into things like staying close to the dartboard or going in front of people throwing darts.
We tend to play darts in the pubs, again NOT the best place for a healthy living – if you know what I mean – but darts is a sport. And I was wondering as a sport there should be some fairly interesting info about it.
I have been practicing other sports, too, so I had a good general idea, what to look for, so I decided to dig for some information and see what I will come up with.
Contents
- 1 Health Benefits of Darts
- 1.1 Throwing darts improves your math skills
- 1.2 Throwing darts will improve your social life
- 1.3 Improves your concentration
- 1.4 Improves the Hand and Eye Coordination
- 1.5 Promotes logical and strategic thinking
- 1.6 Improves Mood
- 1.7 Relieves Stress
- 1.8 Develops Physical Self Control
- 1.9 A great way to spend some time outdoors
- 1.10 Builds confidence
- 1.11 Keeps you moving
- 2 Should you play Darts?
Health Benefits of Darts
And, YES, in fact, there are health benefits to darts. You may end up relatively surprised as to the positive things darts can do for you.
Throwing darts improves your math skills
The most popular game of darts people play is the 501 (or 301). As you throw your darts, you try to go from 501 points to zero by subtracting the score you have accumulated each turn.
This is an excellent workout for the brain.
I was really good at math in school but later since there was no reason to use it that much I got really bad at calculating stuff. However, with time, I discovered that through playing darts, my ability to calculate (and especially subtracting) was improving. Of course, darts is not some sort of a miracle; it is just the regular practice.
Darts is just a great and healthy way to work out your brain.
Read Next: What are the best soft tip dartboards?
I feel like you will agree with me when I say that today, we are becoming increasingly more separated and alone. And anything like darts may provide for a healthy and enjoyable way to make new friends and strengthen the bonds with older friends too.
Don’t just play by yourself at home. Rather invite some of your buddies and enjoy some nice and fun time playing on your dartboard.
Actually, you don’t even have to be inside the house, if you have a dartboard suitable to be hanged outside you can spend some great time out in the sun, playing darts and while we are at it why not add a barbecue to the mix as well. I know I would!
Improves your concentration
This is a vast topic and a particular pet peeve of mine, but today we are having so much distraction that we have forgotten how to concentrate on a task.
Playing darts may be a great and healthy way to improve our concentration.
Why?
Well, you need to be able to concentrate on each of your throws, almost meditate if you will – so much so you can ignore anything that may distract you. On the other hand, you need to concentrate and always keep in mind the score and what numbers you need to hit during your turn.
And if you miss your target, you need to be able to concentrate and think on your feet what is the next best solution to stay in the game and improve your chances of winning.
Read Next: What are the best self-healing dartboards?
Improves the Hand and Eye Coordination
Hand-eye coordination is one very underestimated skill.
It all happens in the span of a fraction of a second. But your eyes send a signal to your brain about what is happening in the environment around you then your brain sends a response what your next action needs to be.
It has been known that hand-eye coordination becomes worse with age.
By doing physical activities, we can combat that natural course of our lives. A simple hobby like playing darts may keep your hand-eye coordination at better levels for much longer.
Thanks to that, I’ve been able to catch things mid-air as they fall. I know that you will be laughing, but darts can turn you into a small ninja!
Promotes logical and strategic thinking
A game of darts may seem simple enough, but at the same time if player properly it will require a lot of logical and strategic thinking and consideration of how the game may develop depending on your throwing.
Even Winston Churchill has been well known to play a lot a specific game of solitaire that was designed to be especially tough.
Games are known to stimulate and develop the brain and cognitive powers. So why not combine both a fun and relaxing game with better brain health by playing some darts.
Even a simple game of Mickey Mouse is a great way to brush up on your logical thinking. It is a perfect example of a game that is easy to play and yet very satisfying.
Read Next: How to Play Mickey Mouse Darts?
Improves Mood
As I mentioned, darts is a great way to really improve your concentration and socialize.
Just these two will be enough to really help you during some tougher times.
Did you know that socializing has been known to improve your brain health, mental health, and even immune system?
Crazy right?
But think about it. We, humans, are social creatures. A healthy social lifestyle can reduce stress, encourage a healthy lifestyle, lower loneliness, boost self-esteem, improve your emotions, and more.
Relieves Stress
When you play darts, you will maintain higher levels of focus and concentration. Any debilitating external thoughts and feelings are best to be avoided, and thus, you will build a specific mental barrier to negative thinking.
This will allow you to control yourself better, and you will find it easier to keep your mind of everything else that may cause your everyday stress.
Take all this and couple it with the social aspect of darts, and you have a great recipe to relieve stress, tension, and have a more positive outlook. A positive attitude is frequently one of the secrets of success in darts.
Develops Physical Self Control
If you are just starting playing darts, you will know how difficult it may seem to hit your target. It will seem so hard, while if you take a look at the pros – they seem to be spot on, almost all the time.
How do they do it?
Here’s the thing.
They had a lot of practice. No surprise here, you will say. But practicing darts will increase your physical self-control.
You will need to have a better overall feel of your body. And with the time you will learn how to maintain your arms, shoulders, head when throwing darts. Even slight imbalances and inconsistencies in your throwing stance and posture will lead to poorer throws and more misses.
Take a quick look at this video from Winmau about how a little fix in your posture can improve your throwing consistency.
A great way to spend some time outdoors
Darts is not necessarily an indoors hobby. By getting yourself an excellent outdoor dartboard, you can easily hang it somewhere in your backyard and spend some time outside.
This opens the possibility to enjoy the nice weather and sunlight while having a fun time with your buddies and family. And why not make things even better by adding a good barbecue in the mix.
Builds confidence
In the beginning, it may be tough to hit your target. However, the more you practice, the better you will get.
And any competitive sport demands a lot, but also it gives back a lot as well.
One of the things you will start noticing with time is that the better you are, the more confident you will be. And this carries over to almost every aspect of one’s life. You can use that same confidence to tackle your everyday problems and meet them with less stress because you will know that you can deal with anything.
Keeps you moving
Being a darts player is not necessarily going to make you an athlete or a bodybuilder, but throwing darts is a great way to keep yourself moving and active.
Going out for a few games of darts with your buddies can be a lot more refreshing after a long day at work.
Even a game of darts in your home is again an easy and stress-free way to move around and stay active. One of my favorite things is to put on a good show on the TV (as a nice background noise) all while I play darts – beats laying on my couch feeling sluggish all the time.
Should you play Darts?
If you are wondering whether darts will make for a good hobby – my answer will be – most definitely! Do you really need more reasons to play darts?
Darts is a great hobby and a past time activity that will not necessarily place any unwanted stress or demand on your body and mind. It is great for anybody who’s looking to relax after a long day. It is an excellent hobby suitable to be played both alone and with friends and family.
One of the benefits of darts over other hobbies and sports is that it is not expensive to start. You don’t necessarily need expensive darts or expensive dartboard to have some great time.