“HOLY CRAP, A ZOMBIE! and Other Unusual Health Tips!” | Grin Reaper’s Horror-ible Humor
It turns out fear isn’t just good for our fight-or-flight survival—it’s actually good for you in other ways.
Fear: It’s that primal emotion that makes you scream when a spider drops from the ceiling, or shriek when your cat knocks over a lamp at 2 a.m., or shiver when you see a floating red balloon near a sewer grate. (Is that just me?)
Fear has kept us alive since we were running from saber-toothed brontosaurus wooly mammoth tigers—or whatever prehistoric beast we thought looked at us funny. (I didn’t pay a lot of attention in biology class – or history. Come to think of it, “School” was not my best subject. But I digress.) Today, some people actively seek out fear, like it’s a designer drug on sale at Wal-Mart for Black Friday. We binge on horror movies, or voluntarily walk into haunted houses. What gives? Are we just thrill-seekers or are we health seekers at the same time?
According to some scientists in Denmark who were tired of doing experiments on windmills and studying life-sized sculptures of the Little Mermaid built of Legos, they decided to do a little research on fear.
It turns out fear isn’t just good for our fight-or-flight survival—it’s actually good for you in other ways. If you do fear right (like not getting killed by a saber-toothed brontosaurus wooly mammoth tiger), a healthy dose of fright could be the key to better mental and physical health. Yes, fear is officially self-care now. Move over, bubble baths and yoga mats, we need room to collect our horror novels – now located in the health and fitness section of your local bookstore!
For their study, Danish researchers gathered a group of volunteers and sent them into a haunted house—because nothing screams “scientific rigor” like paying people to be terrified by fake zombies. These haunted houses, for the uninitiated, are theme parks designed to make you regret eating chili before coming. They’re full of jump scares, eerie noises, and people in masks who take their jobs way too seriously. And we love them for that.
Before and after the terror tour, the researchers drew blood from the participants to check for inflammation levels. Because you weren’t scared enough by the rotting corpse in the morbid maze trying to eat your brains – now you have a real-life needing coming at you. Twice. I’d rather have a second dose of those peeled grapes that were supposed to be eyeballs, thank you. But I guess drawing blood, despite being very vampiric, is the best way to check inflammation levels. Inflammation is often linked to stress which is something you should’ve experienced if the haunted house actors were doing their job right.
And the results? The haunted house didn’t just scare the crap out of people (see, I told you you’d regret eating that chili beforehand) —it *lowered* their inflammation levels. That’s right: Screaming your lungs out because a guy with a chainsaw chased you through a fog machine might actually be *good* for you. And isn’t that so much better than a kale smoothie?
Here’s the gist: When you get scared, your body releases adrenaline and other stress hormones. Your heart races, your blood pressure spikes, and your brain kicks into it’s best Gandalf impression and yells, “Run, you fools!” But once the spooky situation ends and you realize you’re not in any real danger, your body hits the brakes. That rush of relief? It’s like your body saying, “Phew, we survived. Let’s celebrate with some feel-good endorphins.” And then you want to do the whole thing all over again.
They say “whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” And while I might take some issue with that proverb, because Christmas shopping at the mall doesn’t kill me, it only makes me wish I was dead – in this case, what doesn’t kill you might actually help you to live longer. Unlike chronic stress, which keeps your inflammation levels sky-high all the time (and not in a fun way), short bursts of fear seem to reset your system. It’s basically like hitting Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your immune response gizmos.
The haunted house effect isn’t just limited to fake ghosts and gory props. It’s similar to what happens when you jump into a freezing lake or take a cold shower—except instead of screaming “Holy crap, it’s cold!” you’re screaming “Holy crap, a zombie!” Either way you get a shock – and that triggers a stress response, followed by a wave of endorphins that leave you feeling, weirdly enough, pretty great. Who knew being miserable for five seconds could have such perks? (If only my ex-girlfriends would’ve understood that.)
The researchers sucked all of the fun out of the study though by writing it out in scientific-y nerdy words, saying: “Fear may be associated with the peak and subsequent resolution of inflammation.” Now THAT’S a tagline to use for your horror movie posters! The translation of that would be: While anxiety likes to linger and make a mess, fear shows up, does its thing, and leaves your body in better shape than it found it. (Extreme Makeover, Goosebumps Edition!)
The study also suggests that fear could teach us more about the adrenergic system, which is the fancy term for the part of your body that handles stress responses. Figuring out how short bursts of fear affect and decrease inflammation could lead to new ways to manage stress and improve overall health. And who wouldn’t want a doctor’s note that says, “Watch more horror movies for your health”? Heyy…. and that would mean your health insurance would cover the cost of a movie ticket! Suddenly, you kinda like your healthcare provider!
For horror buffs this is the ultimate justification. “See, Mom? Read this study! I *needed* to spend $30 to buy the Blue-ray of “Halloween Part 32: Michael Takes On Geriatrics”… It was for my health!
Forget meditation apps—just listen to the Weird Darkness podcast instead!
So the next time you’re feeling stressed, skip the spa day. Instead, find something that scares the pants off you (as long as it’s safe). Whether it’s ghosts, ghouls, or that one co-worker who insists on hugging you at the office Christmas party despite obviously just getting over the flu bug – a little fear might be just what the doctor ordered. “Take two Amityvilles and call me in the morning.”
Source: Unexplained-Mysteries, https://tinyurl.com/mwf5t9m9
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