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Does watching a horror movie alone or in a group raise blood pressure higher?

Kolohe Justice

Masters

Physical Science

Period 4

11/9/2020

Word count: 1000

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Kolohe Justice

Masters

Physical Science

Period 4

11/9/2020

Does watching a horror movie alone or in a group raise blood pressure higher?

Why do people like watching scary movies? Is it because it is exciting to see what

happens to the hero or the villain? Some people just like the feeling of being scared and enjoy a

good scream. Scary movies increase heart rate, blood pressure, and the body’s reaction to being

horrified.

The heart responds to fear with a rapid heart beat because it changes the breathing and needs

more blood so more blood comes into the heart. It is identified that some scary things can cause

a person’s heart to hurt or have heart problems (Kee 1). The physical effect of the response

demonstrates that the heart produces more blood that makes the lungs expand for more air. This

causes the pain. Blood pressure rises when something appears that a person fears. For an adult,

the resting blood pressure is 40 beats per minute, and with moderate movement it is 60 plus beats

per minute. The part that makes people worry is when the rate goes to 100 plus for a steady

amount of time and can lead to a heart attack and other diseases (Edward 1). During a scary

movie, it only is that high for a short amount of time. Scary movies also increase how fast your

breath starts to increase because you have a fight or flight instinct which makes your breath

move faster in those moments. This makes your heart beat out more blood and you are not able

to exert movement to change it, so you are stuck with lungs and heart moving faster and not able
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to stop it (Kee 1). When people have more fear, the faster a person’s lungs and heart are

changed because of the horror movie.

The heart rate can be affected by fear from outside and inside influences. In order to

know a person’s heart rate, on the artery under the side of the jaw. The heart rate can also be

found on top of the foot. In order to figure out the heart rate, a person must count how many

beats for 15 seconds and multiply that number by 4 to find beats per minute (Martin 1). It is

difficult to have the exact same answer for each person because it depends upon a person’s age,

physical condition, emotion, medication, or diseases one might have (Edward 1). If a person

who is more physically fit, they will have a slower resting heart rate. They may not have the

same heart rate, but most people will be pretty close to each other. The normal heart rate of an

average adult is 60- 100 beats per minute (Edward 1). It is 40 beats per minute if they are

resting. Being too high or too low can be detrimental to someone.

People react differently to horror movies. Some people feel comfort when watching them

because they can relate to the people in it and the tension and suspense gets them excited. They

know it is not real, but they simply enjoy being scared(Fellizer 1). Mostly they enjoy the feeling

of “living” through a horror movie. We are scared of horror movies because it gets our heart rate

up. It makes us uncomfortable and creates this fear that we do not feel on a normal basis. It is

like we live a life through someone else. What happens is makes someone uncomfortable

because of what they see and it gives an image that is hard to forget (Loria 1). Sound is also a

big contributor to the fear of a horror movie because it leads people to know something bad is

going to happen. It is suspenseful which increases the heart rate. Some people like the tense

situation of what is happening to someone else. Moviegoers are able to relate to the characters.

As an audience, we put ourselves in that same situation, which becomes frightening. Many
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people enjoy watching these movies because it gives them “realism” and they think it is “funny

and cool” (Fillizar 1). Fillizar also stated that the movies trick out brains into thinking what is

happening to the characters, also could happen to the people watching. This affects how we

react to horror movies.

The brain reacts negatively to horror movies if there is not a chance for it to rest. It gets

stressed because of what is happening in the movie and can leave a mental imprint that

negatively affects brain function. Most of the time, the memory of this experience comes from

the creative, right side of the brain, but the left side is trying to bring in logic so it does not get

overwhelmed from the horrors it has seen (Edward 1). Sometimes, so much stress can cause

problems for the brain. It can trigger the lungs to stop working for a few seconds and the heart

can skip a beat which might result in a heart attack (Fillzer 1). Stress from watching a movie can

leave a person overwhelmed with what they have seen that it creates more anxiousness.

In conclusion, a person’s heart is in danger of being pushed to the limit when sitting in a

scary movie. This can cause heart problems or attacks if the heart rate increases too high in a

short amount of time depending on the individual. However, if someone with a heart condition

decides to attend a horror movie, they should really consider the effects of what happens to their

heart when suspense, scary music, and jump scares make it a possible negative moment. If a

person is too young, they should wait until they are older so they do not get so overwhelmed

with the events in the movie and endanger their thoughts.

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Citation Page

Fellizar, Kristine. “Why Horror Movies Can Feel Comforting, According To Experts.” ​Bustle​,

Bustle, 30 Sept. 2019,

http://www.bustle.com/p/why-horror-movies-can-feel-comforting-according-to-experts-

18814314.

Loria, Kevin. “Horror Movies Tap into a Primal Fear Instinct in Your Brain.” ​Business Insider,​

Business Insider, 31 Oct. 2017,

www.businessinsider.com/why-horror-films-scary-fear-neuroscience-psychology-2016-10

Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. “2 Easy, Accurate Ways to Measure Your Heart Rate.” ​Mayo

Clinic​, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2 Oct. 2020,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/heart-rate/faq-20057979.

Kee, Caroline. “Here's What Scary Movies Do To Your Heart And Body.” ​BuzzFeed News​,

BuzzFeed News, 25 Aug. 2018,

www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinekee/horror-movies-heart-rate-body-health.

Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. “2 Easy, Accurate Ways to Measure Your Heart Rate.” ​Mayo

Clinic​, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2 Oct. 2020,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/heart-rate/faq-20057979.

Martin, G Neil. “(Why) Do You Like Scary Movies? A Review of the Empirical Research on

Psychological Responses to Horror Films.” ​Frontiers in Psychology,​ Frontiers Media S.A., 18

Oct. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6813198/.

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Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. “2 Easy, Accurate Ways to Measure Your Heart Rate.” ​Mayo Clinic,​

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2 Oct. 2020,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/heart-rate/faq-20057979.