Thanks to new research done by the University of Westminster in the UK, we now know that people who watch horror films are enjoying a frightening number of positive side-effects.
The university had survey participants watch scary films and monitored their heart rate, oxygen intake and output of carbon dioxide. Researchers found that the scary stimuli caused participants’ bodies to release adrenaline which triggers the nervous system’s fight or flight response.
The researchers hypothesise that when this response is triggered the body starts burning fat stores for energy while also releasing blood sugar. It also forces your body to increase your metabolism, which helps your body burn sugar without the need for oxygen. The result is more calories burnt, and your mood is markedly better.
Dr Richard Mackenzie, a metabolism specialist at the University of Westminster, told the Daily Mail “It is the release of fast-acting adrenaline, produced during short bursts of intense stress, or in this case, fear, which is known to lower the appetite, increase the basal metabolic rate and ultimately burn a higher level of calories.”
The scarier the movie is, the more calories you’ll burn, and researchers surmise that you’ll burn the same amount of calories watching a horror film as you would on a 30 minute walk.
Horror films that help you lose weight
- The Shining burns 184 calories
- Jaws burn 161 calories
- The Exorcist burns 158 calories
- Alien burns 152 calories
- Saw burns 133 calories
- A nightmare on Elm Street burns 118 calories
- Paranormal Activity burns 111 calories
- The Blair Witch Project burns 105 calories
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre burns 107 calories
- [Rec] burns 101 calories
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