Why Live Football Raises Your Pulse: Measured Down to the Heartbeat
Ben Sullivan
Arminia Bielefeld fans knew this season was different. Their third-division club had somehow scraped through to face VfB Stuttgart in the German cup final on May 24, 2025. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. The biggest match in the club’s history, and researchers at Bielefeld University had a question: what does football fever actually do to your body?
Turns out, quite a lot. Over 12 weeks, 229 fans wore Garmin smartwatches that tracked their every heartbeat and stress spike, building a dataset that...