LISTEN: Is sporting success a boost for the nations well-being?
Researchers at St Andrews University have found national sporting victory reduces stress and makes us feel part of a community.
Team GB's outstanding medal haul could be making us all healthier - even if it you have not taken up a new sport as a result of watching the Olympics.
Researchers at St Andrews University have found national sporting victory reduces stress and makes us feel part of a community.
Professor Stephen Reicher’s team carried out research in Australia and New Zealand before and after the World Rugby Cup final between those countries in 2015. It showed that the quality of interactions between New Zealanders, even strangers, improved following their victory.
This led to a stronger sense of community which in turn improved ratings of both physical and mental health.
Professor Reicher said: "After a tremendous success – like winning the world cup or, perhaps, doing so well in the Olympics – there is a sense that you can go up to anybody in your community, even a complete stranger, say ‘wasn’t that wonderful’ and they will not only understand you but agree with you.
"This brings people together, creates a sense of community, and makes us believe that others are there for us. This belief gives us a sense of security and of efficacy, which is at the root of improved well-being.”
Professor Reicher added that a range of new research demonstrates this link between a sense of shared community identity and well-being, whether it is a matter of pilgrims attending a religious festival in India, of workers in highly stressful occupations (like bomb-disposal experts) or of people in old people’s homes.
"The simple but powerful message is that community is good for us, and so anything which builds a sense of community, like the Olympics, improves our well-being" he said.
But will the glow from Rio last?
"In the short term, the Olympics drowns everything else out and so has a major effect on our sense of belonging together. In the longer term many other factors will affect whether we believe we are ‘in it together’.
"The Olympics will remain an example and a metaphor of what can be achieved when there is dedicated teamwork, when there is adequate funding and when it is truly distributed according to need."