Haunted house attractions could provide an unexpected health benefit
Robert Stainforth/Alamy
They say laughter is the best medicine, but a bit of fear might be a strong contender. This is according to researchers who found that getting spooked in a haunted house attraction seemed to lower some people’s levels of inflammation.
Hyperventilation stimulates the nervous system in a similar way to fear while reducing inflammation, which prompted Marc Andersen at Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues to wonder if being scared has the same effect.
To…
Article amended on 29 November 2024
The headline and article have been changed to clarify the level of inflammation the participants had at the start.