If you haven't been hearing the late-night shouts of football fans the past few days, well, your apartment must have good sound-proofing.

But among the (say wha-!) 26 billion people claimed to be tuning into the World Cup this year, an expert from the Chengdu Center for Disease Control has identified seven types of people who should not stay up late to watch the World Cup games.

It sounds like a joke, but local media wants you to take "World Cup Syndrome" very seriously, with reports that the "World Cup Syndrome Emergency Department" at the Chengdu People's No. 3 Hospital already took in a 22-year-old female patient earlier this week after she checked into the hospital with acute vomiting and diarrhea that started after a late-night World Cup-viewing session.

In a separate incident, a 32-year-old woman jumped into the Jinjiang [River] after arguing with her husband while watching the World Cup and drinking at one of the bars near Jiuyan Qiao. Her husband jumped in and pulled her out of the water.

The following are the seven types of people who should not watch the late-night football matches:

1. Professional drivers, construction workers, and those who operate heavy machinery at work require adequate amounts of sleep. They should not stay up late to watch the football matches.

2. Clinically depressed and those with anxiety disorders or other psychological conditions are prohibited from staying up late to watch the football matches. Insomnia patients also must not stay up late to watch the matches, as lack of sleep can worsen or cause onset of this condition.

3. Those with dry eyes are advised not to watch the late-night games as doing so can intensify the condition of their eye dryness.

4. Glaucoma patients also should not stay up late to watch the football matches as doing so can lead to additional pressure in the eye and intensify the condition.

5. Staying up late at night can influence the growth and development in children, causing or increasing near-sightedness.

6. Those with high blood pressure, heart disease, and other heart conditions

7. Pregnant women should not stay up late to watch the games.

Share this article