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titleBenefits of being a sports fan

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caption126womensfitnessmagazine.com.au womensfitnessaustralia womensfitnessmag SPORTS FAN Bene ts of being a It’s no shock that sport is good for you – but what about being a spectator? Well, it turns out that being a fan is healthy, too Team spirit Spectators build an instant connection with fellow fans. CHANCES ARE you’re one of three things: a drowning-in-merchandise, yelling-at-the-TV, mad-about-your-team sports fan; a take-it-or-leave-it kind of supporter whose knowledge of ladders is restricted to stockings and the back shed, but you’ll watch the odd game; or someone who’d rather get a ball to the face than have to watch one being passed, kicked or served. But regardless of where you sit on the fan scale, the assumption that you must have a beer belly and a beanie to get in the spirit of spectatorship needn’t apply – being a fan can actually be great for your health. Matching it Remember that sudden urge to take up hurdles after seeing Sally Pearson’s killer abs at the London Olympics? Or your vow to take tennis lessons after watching the copious numbers of svelte arms and toned legs at the Australian Open? Watching these athletes can trigger a response in our brain to mimic the active behaviour. Thanks to the mirror neurons discovered in our brains by an Italian university in the ’90s, many more human studies have further proven that when we closely observe certain activities, the natural – and sometimes involuntary (yawning, for example) – Eva was subtle about her Argentine heritage when arriving at Customs FI0213_ Sport Fit_ Benefit of being a sports fanp126.pdf Page 126 11/12/2012, 2:

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captionwomensfitnessmagazine.com.au womensfitnessaustralia womensfitnessmag 127 WORDS RIKKI HODGE PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES Sport t response is to copy the behaviour. This becomes more prominent when we desire the outcome – a more athletic body or higher fi tness level, for example. The brain is no fool, however. While there may be a lot of ‘I could do that’ being echoed through Olympic events and grand fi nal games, the desire is satisfi ed by simply translating the activity into your own fi tness levels. For example, watching a marathon can trigger a response to run, but to the 5km limit your body is happy to jog. Still, it’s probably best to avert your eyes when the sumo wrestling comes on. Weight watching Right o the bat, the average walk from car to stadium and back, as well as the stairs to your seat, will burn approximately 630kJ. Even for at-home spectating, standing up through the game (or jumping up in excitement, depending on your place in the aforementioned scale) can torch more than 840kJ during a three-hour match. Recent studies have also found that just watching sport heightens your muscle tension, as your motor cortex (the area that infl uences your motor skills) is activated, (stadium or pub) creates a situation of slipping fl awlessly between intense concentration and casual conversation, fl exing di erent emotional and mental muscles that aren’t regularly utilised and strengthening social skills. Also, a US study found that your odds of surviving cancer and warding o colds is doubled with regular social bonding, and a love of watching sport with friends could be the reason you live a long, healthy life – tacking on up to seven years, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Plus, US professor of psychology Daniel L Wann found in his book, Sports Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, that fans of local teams have higher self-esteem, are less lonely and less aggressive than their non-fan counterparts.Other half time Research and relations