4 Reasons Why Men are Drawn to Watching Sports

4 Reasons Why Men are Drawn to Watching Sports October 19, 2021

The Game Nurtures Your Husband’s Sense of Well-Being

I used to think that watching football (or basketball or baseball…) was a massive waste of time. But for him, it is not! Neuroscientists have found that watching a competitive activity that you are emotionally invested in stimulates the brain in almost the same way as actually playing it! Our husbands may be years beyond those high school linebacker days that they loved, but as they watch football, their brain quite literally goes right back to that same feeling that they loved back in the day!

In the male brain, there is also a stronger release of testosterone and adrenaline than in the brains of most women. Thus, getting into the game feels good in a way many of us as women just don’t understand.

Certainly, this sense of feeling good is no excuse for him making you feel bad because he has completely checked out of life! There is a balance. Just as he wouldn’t have been able to play football 24/7 without causing himself serious consequences (like flunking high school), he can’t invest in football now 24/7 without serious consequences. Most men of goodwill understand this. (More on what to do about it, at the very end of this article.) But it also makes a huge difference when we understand the important emotional nature of this season.


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