[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho reporter] The reason we get so excited about sports events such as the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the KBO League is not simply the thrill of winning or losing.
A study has found that cheering at a stadium or nervously watching in front of the TV can have powerful medical effects that help protect mental health and improve quality of life.
According to TIME, researchers led by Helen Keyes in the Department of Cognitive Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University conducted an in-depth analysis of how watching sports affects mental health, based on survey data from more than 7,000 adults.
The results were striking. Whether professional or amateur, people who had watched sports in person over the past year reported far higher life satisfaction than those who had not, while loneliness and feelings of isolation, common problems in modern life, dropped noticeably.
One particularly notable finding involved the psychiatric indicators of self-esteem and perceived value of life.
The boost in life value felt by those who watched sports on site was even stronger than the psychological stability associated with having a job.
The researchers explained that this is because the powerful sense of community created in a stadium stimulates the brain's reward system and suppresses the release of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Watching games at home on TV or a smartphone also clearly helped increase happiness. However, live attendance had a far greater effect on reducing loneliness. That is because oxytocin, the bonding hormone, and endorphins released when people stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers and cheer or groan at the same moment create a kind of collective healing effect.
Similar findings have been reported in other studies as well.
Daniel Wang, a professor in the Department of Social Psychology at Murray State University, also argues that sports fandom is excellent training for building psychological resilience. Even when the team they support loses, fans repeatedly learn to overcome disappointment and look forward to the next game, naturally strengthening the mental immunity needed to endure everyday setbacks.
In fact, devoted sports fans tend to have stronger social connections, lower rates of depression, and higher self-esteem. That is because cheering satisfies one of the most basic human needs: belonging. In addition, regularly recurring sports seasons give an otherwise stagnant life a steady rhythm and create something to look forward to each week or each year, providing a positive stimulus that boosts dopamine release.
Experts said the study suggests that watching sports can be used not only as entertainment, but also as a means of improving public mental health and as a tool for public welfare. In other words, social connection through sports may be an important prescription for healing the mental struggles of modern life, just as physical exercise is.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
