By Stephen Beech
Football fever peaks on match day with fans’ heart rate and stress levels soaring, reveals new research.
Fans’ average stress levels hit their highest point in the hours before kick off while their heart rate was also higher on match day, according to the findings.
Heart rate was higher among supporters watching inside the stadium than those watching on telly.
Heart rate was also 5% higher among fans who had consumed alcohol, compared to those who had stayed off the booze.
Researchers monitored more than 200 supporters of German third division team Arminia Bielefeld in the days leading up to last season’s German FA Cup final, and for several weeks after the match.
It was the first time the club had reached the DFB-Pokal final, and the first time a team from the 3. Liga had done so.
The study findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that the mean stress level of Arminia Bielefeld fans was 41% higher on the day of the final compared to non-match days.
The reaction – known as “football fever” – may be driven by the intensity of fans’ emotions towards their team, each other, and the sport, according to the researchers.
The DFB-Pokal Cup final took place on May 24 last year at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
The opposing team VfB Stuttgart, who play in the German top flight Bundesliga, were appearing in the final for the seventh time.
VfB Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 to win the Cup for the fourth time.
Professors Christian Deutscher and Christiane Fuchs and their Bielefeld University colleagues analyzed smartwatch data from 229 adult Arminia Bielefeld fans over a 12-week period, beginning 10 days prior to the big match and concluding 10 weeks afterwards.
The team analyzed changes in participants’ heart rates and stress levels – inferred from a combination of heart rate and heart-rate variability.
The researchers also investigated influential factors using survey data from a subset of 37 participants, 54% of whom were male and had an average age of 39.
The team found that the mean stress level of participants was 41% higher on the day of the Cup Final compared to non-match days.
Deutscher said: “Stress levels rose in the hours prior to the match, peaked just as it began, and remained elevated after it ended.
“Participants’ mean heart rate increased from 71 beats per minute on a non-match day to 79 beats per minute on the Cup Final day.”
When the research team compared the smartwatch and survey data, they found that the average heart rate was 23% higher among participants watching the match in the Olympiastadion than among those watching on television or at public gatherings.
Fuchs said: “The findings highlight the strong physical reactions of football fans to major matches.”
The researchers notes that elevated heart rates in combination with alcohol can increase the risk of potentially deadly cardiac events such as arrhythmias.
Deutscher added: “Future studies should investigate physical responses to intense events in greater detail across different types of high-stress situations.”
