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Researchers from the University of Leeds analysed 25 fans of the city’s soccer team over three Championship games. They found the supporters’ heart rates increased by around 64 per cent, with some peaking at 130 beats per minute (bpm). A ‘normal’ resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 bpm. This ‘workout’ is equivalent to going on a brisk walk for an hour-and-a-half, the scientists claimed.
Watching their team win also reduced the fans’ blood pressure and gave them a ‘psychological boost’ that for some lasted all day. However, seeing their club defeated had the opposite emotional effect with fans battling a ‘slump’ that one compared to ‘a friend dying.
‘It was clear fans were passionate about the game with heart rate elevated during the match to a similar level to that when going for a brisk walk (generally 20 per cent higher than resting heart rate),’ lead author Dr Andrea Utley said.
‘A goal for either team caused a brief increase in heart rate of an average of 20bpm from the match average. ‘Ultimately supporting your team at a football match gives you a moderate cardiovascular workout and depending on the result of the match, a psychological boost or slump.’
When it came to the fans’ emotions, watching their team win resulted in an ‘absolute high’ that for some lasted all day. The thrill of not knowing the outcome of a match is thought to ‘arouse’ supporters to experience a level of ‘good stress’. ‘There is good stress and there is bad stress and there’s a level of arousal which is actually good for you and the level of arousal that takes you over the edge,’ Dr Utley said. ‘Although people think watching football takes you over the edge, it doesn’t.
‘We found it just kept people at a good level of arousal.’ However, when the fans’ club was defeated, their low mood could become ‘quite severe’. One said watching his team lose felt like a ‘low hum’, while another admitted it was the first thing they thought of the next day. ‘That disappointment of Friday meant the first thing I thought of when I woke up on Saturday morning was, “I don’t believe we lost that game”,’ the fan said. ‘That sort of sets the mood for the rest of that morning until you can pull yourself out of it. ‘Another even went as far as saying the loss is comparable to a ‘friend dying’.
Source: Dailymail