Live Sports Are Good For Overall Well-Being, According To Scientists... BRITISH Scientists

If you needed an excuse to drop some money on sports tickets to catch your favorite team, you now have a scientifically-backed reason.

And remember, there's no arguing with science.

This study into the benefits of hitting up live sporting events comes from across the pond, specifically the folks at Anglia Ruskin University’s School of Psychology and Sport Science. They collected data from more than 7,209 adults ages 18-65, all of them living in England.

How the Scots, Welsh, and/or Northern Irish may have affected the outcome of this study, we may never know...

The study — which was published in the very official sounding Frontiers in Public Health — measured "subjective wellbeing." Subjects who frequently attended sporting events tested high for life satisfaction and a sense of “life being worthwhile."

The jump in "life being worthwhile" was on par with that of getting a new job.

That sounds about right. Although, certain teams can do the opposite to you. There must not have been too many Philadelphia Flyers fans taking part in this study.

He doesn't look thrilled but according to science, this man will probably age successfully. (Getty Images)

There Are Health Benefits To Going To Sporting Events According To The Study

These high scores typically correspond with better physical health, lower mortality rates, and what they call "successful aging." Far be it from me to question scientists — especially ones from the UK where they spell words like "color" with a "U" — but that sounds redundant.

Poor physical health and high-mortality rate tend to lead to what I guess you could call "aging failure."

The more common term for this phenomenon is "death".

According to ARU Head of the School of Psychology and Sport Science Dr. Helen Keyes the next step is to see if different sports have different levels of impact.

“The live events covered by the survey ranged from free amateur events, such as watching village sports teams, right through to Premier League football matches," Keyes said. "Therefore, further research needs to be carried out to see if these benefits are more pronounced for elite level sport, or are more closely linked to supporting a specific team."

These are some interesting findings for sure. That said, I didn't need to read further after perusing tickets to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The last thing my bank account or credit card needs is me viewing a three-day grandstand ticket as a form of self-care.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle