If you were glued to the television this weekend watching Wimbledon, baseball, golf or the soccer finals, you may have boosted your sense of well-being, according to research. And if you were lucky enough to attend these sporting events in person, your health benefits are even greater.

People with higher well-being tend to have better physical health and live longer than people with a poor sense of well-being, according to Study Finds. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K. found that attending live sporting events offers the most health benefits because of the social aspect, and other studies confirm that even watching sports on television provides emotional well-being.

For example, research confirms that people who watch sports on TV or online have fewer depressive symptoms.

“We found that people in the U.K. who attended a live sporting event in the last year are more satisfied with their lives, feel their lives are more worthwhile, and are less lonely than people who have not,” noted the study authors who analyzed data from 7,209 adults ages 16 to 85 living in England who responded to the Taking Part Survey commissioned by the government.

While the researchers said they can’t rule out other factors such as having enough money to attend sporting events, or the friends to go with, brain imaging suggests that watching sports is the primary reason for improved feelings of well-being.

“The positive effect of watching sports is likely about social identity,” say the authors. “We seek connection through the formulation of in-groups: communities of people with whom we share something in common. These communities form part of our identities, and through them we find social and emotional support.”

Research has also shown that people who identify with a particular team perceive higher levels of emotional support from other fans. The caveat is that when our teams win, we collectively “bask in reflected glory” note scientists at KU Leuven in Belgium, but when they lose, we tend to distance ourselves from our team, so we don’t suffer negative and psychological consequences.

Japanese researchers used brain imaging to demonstrate how watching popular sports like baseball activates the areas of the brain associated with psychological reward and feeling good. Watching less popular sports, like golf, resulted in less activity in this area of the brain.

“Whether you support your team from home or at the game, you can enjoy the highs and lows of being a sports fan in the knowledge that it’s good for you — as long as you’re sharing that experience with others,” noted the study authors.