Over 25 shooters together with 6 non shooters completed the SAMS research assessments held at Cheadle Village Hall over the weekend of 2/3 December 2017 as part of an extensive research programme being run in conjunction with Ulster University and the Edith Cowan University Alzheimer’s Research Unit in Western Australia.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether shooting has benefits for health. Does the actual act of firing at a target result in a positive effect for health? Actually, firing a shot, results in little if any physical exercise but the research will examine whether participation in shooting improves concentration, refines memory skills and helps curb the effects of stress.
Early results suggest that target shooting does indeed exercise the ‘Working Memory Capacity’, which is the brain function that co-ordinates memory and concentration and allows us to do more than one thing at once.
Results also show that shooters have a lower than normal level of anxiety and depression. Data are now being collected to see if shooters also have a higher resistance to the effects of stress and a better ability to respond positively when the going gets tough!
This northwest event was very kindly hosted by Paul Holdstock and Mike Lappin of Cheadle Rifle Cub and organised by Mike Arnstein (NSRA Board Member/Cheshire & North Wales County Secretary). Thanks also to Paul Duxbury (formerly of Wigan) and Peter Jones who helped with the event registration website.
Further sessions will be held around the UK over the coming months but initially, in 2018, we will be looking into the effect of target shooting in young people. We will be looking to see if there is evidence to support the plentiful anecdotal evidence that target shooting improves concentration and memory, behaviour, and self-discipline in the young. We will also be examining the observations that shooting helps children with dyslexia, autism and ADHD.
Shooting may turn out to be an amazing sport!
Look out for e mails and notices on the NSRA website (http://www.nsra.co.uk/) for future developments!