Anyone who loves going to the stadium has already realized what a study has now proven: watching sporting events in person improves feelings of happiness and reduces feelings of loneliness, which may have an impact on physical health.
The work, conducted by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, analysed data from 7,209 adults aged 16 to 85 who were part of a research group. Searching From the UK Government’s Department for Culture and Sport.
feeling that life is worth it
The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Public HealthIt showed that people who attended sporting events had better scores on two important measures of subjective well-being: life satisfaction and feeling that life is worth living. Furthermore, they had lower levels of loneliness.
Previous evidence suggests that these measures are associated with improvements in physical health, longevity, and healthy aging.
Current research also reveals that this feeling of “living is worthwhile,” described by those attending the stadiums, was similar to the well-being resulting from having a job.
Any sport is important
This type of work has already been carried out, with positive results, with specific sports and with a limited sample, such as groups of university students.
Lead author Helen Keys, head of the university’s School of Psychology and Sport Science, commented that this was the first study to look at the benefits across a wider sample of adults, and that it covered every type of sporting event, from free-to-play, to amateur, to Premier League matches.
For researchers, offering discounted tickets to certain groups could be useful as a public health strategy, because promoting social interaction and a sense of belonging is medicine for the body and mind.
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