A Healthy Haunt!

While haunted houses and horror movies may seem like mere seasonal thrills, they can offer surprising benefits for your heart. When you experience fear—like walking through a haunted maze or watching a suspenseful movie—your body responds with a temporary surge of adrenaline. This “fight-or-flight” response causes your heart to beat faster, blood vessels to dilate, and circulation to increase. These reactions mimic the effects of light cardiovascular exercise, giving your heart a brief but beneficial workout.

Heart-Healthy Scare Benefits:

• Temporary Heart Rate Elevation: Scares often raise the heart rate to a similar level as light jogging.

• Adrenaline Boost: Fear triggers adrenaline release, which actually promotes healing and calms the nervous system.

• Improved Circulation: Blood vessels expand to deliver more oxygen, enhancing overall energy levels and body function.

• Stress Reduction: The post-scare release of endorphins and dopamine helps lower stress, which is a major contributor to heart disease.

• Calorie Burn: A single scary movie can burn an extra 150 calories due to increased heart rate and metabolic activity.

Skip out if you have a heart condition:

An important note, if you suffer from any heart conditions, arrhythmia, or high blood pressure, these adrenaline spikes may pose a risk. Play it safe in that case and skip out on the scare.