For most people, horror is not the first genre they look to when choosing a movie. However, there are many proven health benefits to watching scary movies. These may increase your likelihood of choosing horror over any other possible movie choice. Continue reading to find out the health benefits of horror movies.
Burns Calories
If you are looking to skip the gym and burn calories sitting on your couch, watch a horror film. The emotions that your body experiences during a scary movie allows your body to burn off energy. On average, you can burn about 113 calories during a 90-minute movie. Movie such as The Shinning and Jaws can burn about 140 calories. This is the same amount of calories as going for a 30 minute walk. Your body's natural adrenaline and heart rate increases, causing your emotions to fluctuate and burn calories. The blood is pumping through the body faster and allowing calories to be shed quicker. The scarier the movie, the more calories that are available to burn. However if you are someone who does not get scared easily, this will not work for you.
Decreases Anxiety & Depression
People who suffer from anxiety and depression may be able to treat themselves in a non-medicated way. With the high amounts of adrenaline gushing through your body, you get a rush of feel-good hormones that allow your anxiety to diminish. People with anxiety can channel their emotions to something that is not real and also not affecting them. This helps to distract them from what is going on in their life. Most people with anxiety also find horror films to be relaxing. The same can be said for depression. Horror movies allow people to get captivated into the moment and forget about the previous stress that was bothering them. Dopamine and adrenaline are known as the "feel good hormones" and rewards the parts of the brain that may have been suffering before.
Boosts Your Immune System
Would you have ever guessed that horror movies would increase your immune system? Well, they do! After your body experiences the initial shock of fright, it calms down and releases serotonin. This hormone strengthens the immune system and keeps the brain more active. Your white blood cell count also rises during scary movies. White blood cells are increased because they are designed to fight whatever is bothering you. They also enable people to fight off various diseases. With this increased blood cell count, you are less likely to become sick and better able to fend off sickness.
Desensitization
Scary movies actually make desensitization a good health benefit. You do not want to stop feeling empathetic for all people, however those with phobias and strong fears can benefit from these movies. Horror films allow people to toughen up their defenses in real life when watching these movies. When you confront your fears head on, you have the ability to increase your bravery. Your heart rate will begin to increase and your breathing will speed up, you may even sweat. Although this does not sound good, it is actually great for you. Pushing through your fears is a great achievement!
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-Franki
