Many people enjoy watching sporting events in their free time. Now it has been found that watching sports is not just for entertainment, but can also increase well-being and even produce structural changes in the brain's reward system that are linked to long-term health benefits.
New three-study research involving experts from Waseda University in Japan examined the effects of watching sports on well-being. The results can be read in the English-language specialist journal “Sport Management Review”.
Is watching sport and well-being connected?
Many people feel joy and relaxation when they watch sports. But when it comes to the question of how watching sports affects well-being, there is so far little scientific evidence, the researchers report.
The new study should help to identify possible evidence of a connection.
To do this, the team used a multi-method approach that combined analysis of secondary data, self-reports and neuroimaging measures to analyze the relationship between sports viewing and well-being in the general population.
“A major challenge in researching well-being is the subjective nature of measurement methods, which can potentially lead to biased results. Therefore, our studies focused on both subjective and objective measurements of well-being,” explains study author Professor Shintaro Sato in a press release.
Sustained increased well-being
An initial study evaluated extensive publicly available data on the influence of watching sports on participants in Japan. Regular watching of sports was found to be associated with a sustained pattern of increased well-being.
However, the team noted that the study's results cannot provide deeper insight into the connection between watching sports and well-being.
What influence does the sport under consideration have?
A second study used an online survey to examine whether there are differences in the relationship with well-being that depend on the sport considered.
Participants were asked to watch various sports videos and rate their well-being before and after watching. The results of this study show that popular sports (e.g. baseball) have a stronger impact on well-being than less popular sports (e.g. golf).
However, according to experts, the most groundbreaking results came in the third research paper, which examined changes in brain activity after watching sports.
Activation of the reward system
The team found that watching sports triggers activation of the reward system in the brain, indicating feelings of happiness or pleasure.
Structural image analysis revealed another striking finding: people who frequently watch sports have larger gray matter volumes in regions associated with the reward system.
According to the researchers, this suggests that watching sports regularly can cause changes in brain structures over time.
“Both subjective and objective measures of well-being have been found to be positively influenced by watching sports. “By causing structural changes in the brain’s reward system over time, it promotes long-term benefits for the individual,” explains Professor Sato.
Therefore, watching sports regularly can actually be an effective way to improve well-being, especially when it comes to popular sports such as baseball or football, the doctor adds.
The results make it clear how beneficial it can be to watch sports regularly. They also provide a good reason (or excuse) for watching sports on television. (as)
