If you’ve ever experienced an electric atmosphere while attending a live sporting event, that feeling could be making you happier in ways you never thought of before. According to a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, attending live sports could be another tool to boost your happiness and longevity. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University’s School of Psychology and Sport Science used survey data from more than 7,000 adults in England between the ages of 16 and 85 and concluded that watching sporting events in person increased life satisfaction and decreased feelings of loneliness.
Existing research already suggests that actively participating in sports increases happiness and well-being. However, this is the largest study that suggests that just watching sports in person—or passive sports engagement—allows social interaction and bonding that can lead to meaningful connections, even for a short time. Commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the insights from the report found that attending live sporting events and identifying with a team fostered connections with other people and made people feel that life was more worthwhile.
Dr. Helen Keyes, a lead author of the report and the head of the School of Psychology and Sport Science at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), says that “watching live sport of all types provides many opportunities for social interaction and this helps to forge group identity and belonging, which in turn mitigates loneliness and boosts levels of well-being.”
Lonely No More
Loneliness, as described by the study, is a “modern behavioral epidemic” that can have negative impacts on mental and physical health. The Healthy Minds Monthly Poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that one in three adults in America say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week this year and 10% say they are lonely every day. Even younger people are not immune to feelings of loneliness, with 30% of Americans aged 18-34 saying they were lonely every day or several times a week.
According to Gregorio Lozano III, a licensed professional counselor with the online mental health platform Grow Therapy, our need for connection is hardwired and is rooted in survival. Connecting with others is a basic human need “The root cause of loneliness tends to be a sense of disconnection from others, more specifically, emotional disconnection,” he says.
Researchers are optimistic that the results from the ARU study can lead to social interventions that can help mitigate the growing loneliness problem, such as offering reduced ticket prices to certain groups that may need a well-being boost.
