Could Getting Scared Be Good For You?
Pittsburgh scientists believe "our brain is taking a break" when scared.
— -- Could getting scared actually be good for you? To find out, and just in time for Halloween, ABC News’ Nick Watt braved one chilling visit with a couple of fear researchers, including Margee Kerr, author of “Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.”
He visited a makeshift lab in the basement of the ScareHouse, a Halloween attraction in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with two University of Pittsburgh scientists who hooked Watt up to a series of pre-ScareHouse stress tests, including holding hands with one of them while listening to ugly noises.
“I jumped so hard I pulled my finger monitor off,” Watt explained of the frightful experience. “I’m not sure it survived or is going to take many good readings.”
The attraction, only open 24 days a year in the days leading up to Halloween, has amazing sets , a pool of around 100 spooky actors and of course, Kerr, one of the designers of the terror fest.
“When we’re scared, our thinking brain is taking a break,” she explained. “All of the worry and the concern gets pushed, it gets to the side because our body wants to prioritize things that will help it survive.”
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