Anger, full happiness, stress, despair, the most absolute sadness… all feelings fit when you sit in front of the television to watch the important game of your favorite team or you are in the stands of the stadium. Have you ever wondered why sports fans are transformed when they see their team? It is not that they lose their heads (which some do), but that there is a scientific explanation. These are the effects on your body when you watch football.
These are the effects on your body when watching sports
You feel part of the team
- Surely you have ever heard from the mouth of a football fan that of “How badly we played today” or “We have to pass the ball more”. No, it is not that he has been running on the field of play with the footballers, and it is very likely that he has been at his house shouting from the sofa. In fact, according to science, it is common for those who watch football to use ‘we’ to refer to the team.
- As told to NBC by the director of the American clinic Darien Wellness, Dr. David Ezell, human adults have a type of neurons known as mirror neurons that allow them to put themselves in the shoes of another or understand points of view foreign to themselves. “Feelings are magnified when we are watching a football team or player we are a fan of, because we know them (…) When we see them on the pitch, we experience part of what they are feeling thanks to mirror neurons.”
Your heart is racing
- According to Dr. Jason D. Hanks, director of anesthesia at NYC Surgical Associates for NBC, people who give themselves a lot at sports games live the moment in a state of excitement caused by the high level of adrenaline secreted by the brain. As a consequence, “the heart begins to beat faster, the blood pressure rises and the blood reaches the most important parts of the body, the heart and the muscles, as a response that prepares you to run or fight”.
- A study conducted by the Canadian Journal of Cardiology concluded that the most passionate spectators of professional hockey could reach a heart rate comparable to that produced by sports exercises. All this could become dangerous for people whose physical health is not in top shape.
Your brain reacts to the football game
When your team loses, your brain produces cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. However, when your team wins, your brain releases dopamine, which is related to pleasure. On the other hand, a drop in serotonin is related to a change in mood that includes anger or sadness.
And your body does not remain impassive
- Faced with these chemical reactions in your brain, your body does not remain impassive. In an anxious situation, such as a decisive match of your favorite team, you could perceive certain physical signals related to stress such as sweat.
- As neuroscientist Daniel Glister, from King’s College London explains for the BBC, the main area of the brain that is activated while we are watching sports is one that is related to movement, even when we are sitting on the sofa. As he explains, when we watch athletes on TV “we simulate their movements as if we were executing them ourselves so that we can better predict and actually see better and better anticipate what they are doing”.
Hangover the next day
If that exciting game you’ve devoted yourself to is late at night, the level of excitement experienced will make it more difficult for you to sleep well. If you have to get up early the next day, you will have to try to calm down before going to bed.