Cinema is one of the great passions of many people, as is the horror genre. These types of horror stories cause various effects on our brain, some that you may not have known about. Know what the consequences are after having enjoyed this type of movies.
When we watch horror movies, our brain is firing on all cylinders, with interconnections between different regions to anticipate perceived threats and prepare to respond accordingly.
The previous statement was raised by the University of Turku (Finland) after an analysis, using magnetic resonance imaging, of how our brain behaves when watching a horror movie. The investigation found that the body is constantly on alert to respond to possible shocks or threats.
Being scared during movies makes your body instinctively react and try to protect itself.
Professor Lauri Nummenmaa explains that when we are watching horror movies, two types of fear occur. The first is the “fear of anticipation”, which is what we feel when we see a scene and begin to feel that feeling that something doesn’t quite fit or is not going well.
This is due to the search of our instincts to find any key that can eliminate fear, or directly activate our body’s response.
“Scary movies are usually the favorites of many people, even aware of the fear they will suffer,” Huffington Post.
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The second type of fear is one’s own response to any type of “real danger” such as the surprise appearance of an evil entity in the film. When this reaction occurs, brain activity changes and the regions that control emotional processes, the evaluation of threats and decision-making in any situation become dominant.
During the movie, the body tends to calm down and focus on what we are seeing, which is why the motor areas of the body go into a state of disconnection, but during the most terrifying scenes of the movie they will make our brain react to it and return. to launch the rest of the bodily functions. That’s when we scream or jump a little.
Does terror benefit or traumatize?
Many times, watching a horror movie may cause some negative effects on our brain. However, there are also several positive effects. It all depends on how we react.
Negatives:
- Fear: The existence of this emotion may be constant when we finish watching the movie, so that we are afraid of being in a dark room or being alone at night.
- Anxiety: Some people may find scary movies causing anxiety, a problem that can persist even into adulthood, if the film has greatly affected us.
- Insomnia: This is the most common psychological effect after watching a scary movie. Closing our eyes is synonymous with seeing the monster that has starred in the story, which makes it difficult for us to sleep without having nightmares.
Positives:
- Exercise our brain: The elements that are involved in a horror movie act as a stimulus for the brain and evoke activity in it, which releases neurotransmitters that, in turn, expand our ability to think.
- Burns the same amount of calories as a 30-minute walk: According to Dr Richard McKenzie, Senior Lecturer and Specialist in Cellular Metabolism and Physiology at the University of Westminster, “As the pulse quickens and blood flows throughout the body faster, the body experiences an increase in adrenaline. It is this fast-acting release of adrenaline, produced during short bursts of intense stress (or, in this case, caused by fear), that is known to reduce appetite, increase basal metabolic rate, and ultimately burn a higher level of calories.”
- Helps you strengthen the immune system: As explained before, when we watch a horror movie, our body secretes a large amount of adrenaline, as if we were running a race, and activates our immune system. A study that was conducted recently showed that people who frequently watched horror movies had an increase in white blood cells.
- Helps deal with stress: Researchers believe that a good scare improves your mood and helps you feel better. According to a study that was carried out in 2012, “the different neurotransmitters and hormones released during the experience could explain that. “Or, by voluntarily choosing to endure a frightening or stressful activity, whether watching a strange movie or bungee jumping, you are likely to experience a sense of success after all.”
- Increase your ability to face extreme situations: When we watch a horror movie, we give our brain various visual stimuli of difficult situations, and urge it to find ways to deal with such scenarios. As we watch more and more horror movies, our brain learns new skills to deal with extreme situations and prepares us for future ones.