World Cup 2026: Health tips for football fans

SINGAPORE – As anticipation for World Cup 2026 reaches fever pitch, football fans like Ryan Yeo Eng Hong, 44, have already synced match schedules to their calendars.

With a record 48 teams playing 104 matches across 39 days, this tournament will be 10 days longer than the 2022 edition. It will take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 (June 12 Singapore time) to July 19, with most match timings ranging from 3am to noon Singapore time.

“If I need to watch late games, I’ll try to avoid arranging morning meetings,” says the financial consultant at a financial advisory firm.

Educator Amanpreet Singh, 30, an England supporter, plans to watch up to 80 per cent of the World Cup games.

“This year’s World Cup schedule is particularly brutal because some matches are kicking off between 8am and noon, which is usually when I would be asleep,” says Amanpreet, whose work at an enrichment centre starts at 1pm.

He will plan his sleep schedule around the fixture list. On some days, that might mean staying up through the night for a marquee match before squeezing in a short nap later in the day.

“Football fans wait four years for this tournament. A temporary disruption to sleep schedules and routines feels like a small price to pay for the chance to experience unforgettable moments live alongside the rest of the footballing world,” he reasons.

While fans are ready to upend their schedules to catch critical matches, the toll on their health over the weeks could show up in different ways.

Doctors report that they see patients with similar health issues during such major football tournaments. These include persistent fatigue, tension headaches, upper respiratory infections, stress-related complaints and gastroenteritis or stomach issues, says John Cheng, a family physician with Healthway Medical at Novena Medical Centre.

Lim Wee Peng, medical director of Parkway Shenton, says that it is the disruption in routine that is the cause.

“In many cases, it is not a new medical issue but an existing one being aggravated by a few weeks of poor sleep, irregular meals, more caffeine, more alcohol and less movement,” says Lim. Parkway Shenton is a primary care arm of IHH Healthcare Singapore, operating over 50 general practitioner, family medicine and in-house clinics islandwide.

Lim adds that people with chronic conditions should be more careful during this time, as such disruptions have a greater impact on their health.

This includes those with conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnoea, anxiety, migraine and reflux or gastritis.

So, if you want to enjoy the beautiful game without feeling like a zombie afterwards, watch out for these health red cards.

If you are healthy, watching a few late-night matches over a month is unlikely to have long-term effects.

However, losing as little as one to two hours of sleep over several consecutive nights can affect your concentration, reaction time, decision-making and memory, says Fung Chak Yuen.

The ear, nose and throat specialist from Nobel ENT Centre in Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital treats patients with snoring and sleep-disordered breathing.

This will impact those who drive, operate heavy machinery or perform safety-sensitive work more, as it raises the risk of traffic and workplace accidents.

Repeated sleep restrictions may also make you more irritable and tired during the day, and result in poorer recovery after exercise or work.

Yeo says he sleeps by about 9pm so he can wake up in time for a 3am match.

If it is a school day, he will go for a run or breakfast after the match and then drive his daughter, eight, to school. He does not plan to watch all the group stage matches since he needs to be rested enough to focus on work.

“I think the challenging period will be the round of 16. It gets more exciting as the matches enter the knockout stage,” he says.

What to do: Prioritise the live matches you want to watch and catch up on the rest through highlight shows or replays, Fung says.

Avoid social media or watching a post-match analysis, which may delay sleep further.

If your schedule allows, take a 20- to 30-minute daytime nap to improve alertness and reduce fatigue. Anything longer may interfere with sleep at night.

If you are too hyped up, have a short wind-down period, Lim suggests. Put your phone away, dim the lights, take a warm shower and give yourself time to transition from match mode into sleep mode.

Amanpreet says even small habits change during the World Cup. He usually does his chores the night before and heads out soon after waking up in the late morning and having his breakfast.

“During the World Cup, however, a lot more of my free time gets consumed by football content, whether it is reading match previews, watching post-match analyses, discussing games online or setting up fantasy football teams. The tournament almost becomes a temporary lifestyle for that one month every four years,” he says.

That spike in screen time can affect sleep patterns.

Blue light emitted from smartphones or TVs suppresses melatonin secretion and disrupts circadian rhythms, says ophthalmologist Elton Tay Lik Tong from Nobel Eye & Vision Centre at Mount Elizabeth Novena. This is one reason you may find it difficult to fall asleep after a late-night match. The effect is more pronounced if you watch it on a smartphone held close to you than on TV.

Prolonged screen use can also lead to dry eyes and eye strain, Tay says. Your eyes dilate more when you watch matches in a dark room, which potentially increases glare and visual discomfort. You also blink less when you are focused on the screen, which increases the evaporation of tears.

What to do: Watch matches in the living room rather than the bedroom. This helps maintain good sleep hygiene so your body associates the bedroom with rest rather than wakefulness, Tay says.

Choose television screens over smartphones, and watch TV with some ambient room lighting on instead of a darkened room.

Take screen breaks whenever possible. This World Cup will have a new three-minute water break midway through each half, around the 23-minute mark. During these breaks and half-time, normalise your eye blink rate by doing something else that does not involve screen time.

Natural pauses in the match are also a good time to move, family physician Cheng adds. Walk around, and do calf raises, shoulder rolls, neck stretches and gentle back stretches to counter the effects of prolonged sitting.

Yeo reckons his caffeine intake might double during the knockout stage if he is watching late-night games consecutively.

He also likes to settle down with a few cans of beer while watching such matches at home, which he says help him fall asleep afterwards.

While alcohol might make people feel sleepy initially, it often worsens sleep quality later in the night, ENT specialist Fung says. Caffeine, on the other hand, may help alertness during the day, but consuming it late at night can delay sleep.

It is also common for the midnight munchies to strike, but that can affect sleep and digestion, especially if the food is heavy, oily or spicy, says medical director Lim. Plus, the extra calories add up easily.

“Late-night snacking is very common because football watching is long, passive and distracting,” he points out.

What to do: Rather than impulsively ordering fast food, choose lighter snacks and portion them out before the match starts, Lim suggests. Better options include fruit, yogurt, unsalted nuts in small amounts, wholegrain crackers, air-popped popcorn or a simple sandwich.

“Portion control matters because most people do not realise how much they are eating once the game gets tense. If you eat straight from a large packet or box, you will almost always eat more than you intended.”

Amanpreet, who is used to watching late-night matches as he follows the English Premier League and Champions League, says moderation is key.

He reaches for yogurt, fruit or energy bars as his go-to snacks. As he does not drink alcohol at home, he opts for water or the occasional soft drink. He also settles as many chores as possible the night before so that his mornings are less of a rush.

“During the World Cup, even small things like preparing clothes, packing my bag or planning meals ahead of time help reduce unnecessary stress when running on less sleep.”

He adds: “Listening to your body matters. There is no point forcing yourself to stay up for every single game if you are completely exhausted by the second week. I will probably ease off slightly at the gym and conserve energy where needed during the tournament period. The World Cup is supposed to be enjoyable, not something you ‘survive’ through suffering.”