Why Being a Sports Fan Is Good for Your Wellbeing

For sports fans, following elite football, the Olympic Games or a beloved local side can feel like an emotional rollercoaster.

Victory brings exhilarating highs, defeat can bring crushing lows, and there are plenty of tense moments in between.

Fortunately, the overall effect is likely to be beneficial. Studies suggest that people who watch sport have greater wellbeing than those who do not, probably because of the social side of being a spectator.

Wellbeing refers to a person’s psychological condition - in other words, how well they feel. Those with higher wellbeing generally have better physical health and longer lives than people whose wellbeing is lower.

Sports spectatorship and wellbeing

Our research group at Anglia Ruskin University, led by Helen, analysed data from 7,209 adults aged 16-85 in England who took part in the UK government-commissioned Taking Part Survey.

We discovered that UK residents who had attended a live sporting event during the previous year reported greater life satisfaction, felt their lives had more value, and experienced less loneliness than those who had not attended one.

These results are consistent with other research showing that people who see sport in person at least annually have fewer symptoms of depression than those who do not.

Unable to attend live events? Viewing sport on television or online may also benefit wellbeing.

Research indicates that people who watch sport on TV or via the internet are less depressed than non-viewers. Depressive symptoms were still less likely among those who watched sport more often.

Sport viewers are also more likely to report stronger feelings of life fulfilment than non-viewers, whether they follow sport in person, on television or online.

All of these results are correlational. That means we cannot know for certain which factor affects the other, or whether both may be shaped by something else entirely, such as wealth or the number of friends someone has.

Why watching sport can improve wellbeing

Nevertheless, social identity theory and brain-imaging research indicate that watching sport itself, rather than other influences, could be responsible for the main boost to wellbeing.

The beneficial impact of viewing sport is likely to stem from social identity. We look for connection by forming in-groups: communities of people with whom we have something in common. Such communities become part of who we are and offer social and emotional support.

One example of forming an in-group is the community created by supporting the same sports team. Research has found that people with a strong identification with a team were more likely to feel emotionally supported by other fans, and this increased their life satisfaction.

Our shared social identity also means that we share the social and emotional rewards of our group’s successes. Researchers at KU Leuven in Belgium call this "basking in reflected glory".

Yet when a team is defeated, people are more inclined to distance themselves from it to shield themselves from adverse social and psychological effects: "cutting off reflected failure".

Social rewards for sports fans

A Japanese brain-imaging study demonstrates the importance of social processes in the connection between sports spectatorship and wellbeing.

It found that brain regions linked with psychological rewards - feeling good - were more active when participants watched a widely followed spectator sport, such as baseball, than when they watched a less popular spectator sport, such as golf.

The social advantages of watching sport, then, are not necessarily limited to attending live events with friends or family.

Whether we watch sport in person or in the comfort of our homes, our favourite athletes can provide a sense of community - and, by extension, psychological benefits too.

Whether you follow your team from the sofa or at the match, you can embrace the highs and lows of being a sports fan knowing that it is good for you - provided you share the experience with others.

Rachel K Ownsworth, PhD Candidate in Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University; Annelie Harvey, Associate Professor of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, and Helen Keyes, Head of the School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.