Benefits Of Watching Horror Movies

According to recent studies done by experts and researchers, watching horror movies have positive effects both on our body and mind. 

Sounds like great news for horror lovers. So horror fans, dim the lights, grab a bucket of popcorn and put on the scariest horror flick on t.v or laptop because you don’t have to worry about any “know-it-all” or your parents claiming that watching horror movies are bad for you. Actually it is completely the opposite.

  

Here are some reasons explaining why watching horror movies, are good for you:

1) It helps us to relax

According to some studies done in New York, watching horror movies can actually, soothe your nerves and distracts you from whatever you were stressing about. It acts as a catharsis, which, according to the theory presented by the renowned Greek philosopher Aristotle, purges all the negative emotions from a person’s mind. 

In other words, watching violent movies and playing aggressive video games can actually help in releasing all those pent up feelings and emotions and you might find yourself feeling much better afterward.

2) It initiates an adrenaline rush

This will sound good to those crazy adrenaline junkies out there! When you are stressed, you need to get your adrenaline pumping. It helps us to face our fears, but not in reality, only virtually. It stimulates our fight or flight responses through the release of tension over and over until the end of the whole movie.

So just for a few moments, we enjoy the terror, to enjoy a euphoric sense of relief in the end.

The idea is to enjoy a few hours of high adrenaline rush and inescapable terror while being safe, at the same time.

 3) It is good for the brain(especially for women)

Yes, you heard that right! Horror movies are good for our brain. It results in the releasing of certain feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin in the brain of both men and women, which reduces stress, keeps us in the state of heightened emotions and senses.

It has been scientifically proven that people, who love watching horror movies, become smarter and more mature.

 4) It helps us to face our deepest and darkest fears

Some therapists prefer using horror movies and its setting to help patients overcome their phobias or personal fears. People must eventually face their fears. Some fears can be overlooked or rejected and others need to be confronted to make you stronger and increases our level or confidence.

Horror movies actually cure us of our phobias. Who knew?

5) It burns our calories

Why go to the gym when you possess the easiest means to dump those calories? Based on recent scientific research, watching horror movies burn more calories than walking half a mile or sweating it out in the gym.

Those people who can watch 90 minutes of adrenaline pumping terror can burn as much as 113 calories, close to the amount burned during walking half an hour and eating a whole bar of chocolate.

It has been revealed by further studies that movies comprising of scenes which make the viewers jump in fright, are the best calorie burners.

Watching horror movies is not just a stupid and useless hobby anymore. They are much more than that. They make us braver, stronger and healthier. They serve as an escape from all the unpleasantness, anxiety and stress in our lives. They offer us sweet release and help us to find ourselves. They encourage us not to be afraid of the dark. They make us the master, the conqueror of our own emotions, feelings and also of our own selves.