According to a new study, watching sports not only entertains but also improves your mental and physical health.
Associate Professor Shintaro Sato of Waseda University’s Faculty of Sport Sciences worked with his colleagues to investigate the relationship between an individual’s well-being and sports viewing.
Watching sports over time can improve our brain structure
The study, published on March 22, 2024, in the Sports Management Review, found that watching sports over time can improve our brain structure.
Three main studies were carried out by the researchers. In the first study, the team examined data from 20,000 Japanese citizens to determine a link between sports viewing and well-being.
The second study included 208 individuals, whose well-being was measured before and after watching sports videos of their choice.
The third and most significant study employed neuroimaging techniques to measure changes in brain activity as participants watched sports.
It was discovered that people who watched sports had more grey matter volume in regions connected with these reward circuits.
“Both subjective and objective measures of well-being were found to be positively influenced by engaging in sports viewing. By inducing structural changes in the brain’s reward system over time, it fosters long-term benefits for individuals,” Professor Sato said.
“For those seeking to enhance their overall well-being, regularly watching sports, particularly popular ones such as baseball or soccer, can serve as an effective remedy,” Sato added.
This study emphasizes the psychological advantages of watching sports and how they contribute significantly to the field of sports management.
Historically, sports management literature has focused on the behaviors and demographics of individual sports enthusiasts.
Sato and his colleagues, on the other hand, widened their focus to include the broader community, looking at how sports viewing affects the mental and social well-being of a larger audience.