Watching Football Is Good For Mental Health, Harvard Psychologist Says

BOSTON (CBS) – Here is a good excuse to spend your Thanksgiving watching football - a Harvard psychologist said it is good for your mental health.

Dr. Natalie Dattilo, a clinical health psychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said watching sports helps to teach us how to regulate emotions.

There is delayed gratification if your team wins, and anger if they lose.

Dattilo said there is also collaboration when it comes to things like fantasy football.

And all those close games? They're good for your nervous system thanks to spikes in adrenaline.