NY TIMES
A growing body of scientific research and some compelling empirical evidence suggest that sports fans, even the foam-at-the-mouth variety, are less prone to depression and alienation than people who are immune to such maladies as March Madness and pennant fever.
In the 1990s, researchers began finding that “highly identified” fans experienced higher levels of arousal — measured by heart rate, brain waves and perspiration — and had fewer bouts of depression and alienation than nonfans. Contrary to popular belief, this research suggests, hard-core fans even have higher self-esteem.
“It’s a source of validation for their self-conception,” said Susan Krauss Whitbourne, a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who has written extensively about the mental states of sports fans. “For the really true fan, it can become a problem if they shut out other things in life. But the positive side is that it’s fun and exciting. It’s a cheap high. It’s not that they don’t have a life.”
Whitbourne’s writing is laced with terms describing sports fans’ behavior, like BIRGing (basking in the reflected glory of a team’s success) and CORFing (cutting off a team’s reflected failure). A native of Buffalo, she has endured years of disappointment as a Bills fan, though she has lately found herself siding with the nearby New England Patriots.
“It’s actually fun to win for change,” she said. “I like being happy.”
Less Sleep Leads to Weight Gain
Excuse us, we’re going to go to bed now. While research has long existed that less sleep can lead to weight gain, a new study released on Monday has found that the results are immediate and dramatic—that just losing a few hours of sleep a few days in a row will lead to an immediate weight gain. Getting less than five or six hours as an adult can put you at a higher risk of being overweight, while children who get less than 10 hours of sleep are more likely to be overweight. In this study, University of Colorado researchers found that less sleep actually caused participants to burn more calories—but they ate much more, presumably to help stay awake.
Less Sleep Leads to Weight Gain
Excuse us, we’re going to go to bed now. While research has long existed that less sleep can lead to weight gain, a new study released on Monday has found that the results are immediate and dramatic—that just losing a few hours of sleep a few days in a row will lead to an immediate weight gain. Getting less than five or six hours as an adult can put you at a higher risk of being overweight, while children who get less than 10 hours of sleep are more likely to be overweight. In this study, University of Colorado researchers found that less sleep actually caused participants to burn more calories—but they ate much more, presumably to help stay awake.