SCARE TACTICS
What’s the best way to put the fear of God into seasonal flu?
Fear ye not – a healthy dose of horror has measurable benefits for your wellbeing
At this time of year, the cooling climate portends more than just a faded tan and an end to the acceptability of short sleeves in the office. Indeed, it marks the beginning of wretched man-flu season.
But if your vit D-depleted colleagues are already starting to resemble the hordes of walking dead, you can go one better than relying on a grim mocktail of zinc, echinacea, abstemious eating and early nights. That’s because a far more thrilling way to guard yourself against infection is to settle down to a heart-hammering horror film instead.
In a study by Coventry University scientists, blood samples were taken from healthy subjects in their twenties before and after they watched a slasher movie that they’d never seen before. When retesting them once the credits had rolled, the researchers noted significant spikes in the participants’ count of activated white blood cells, which usually increase in response to viral threats (of the non-zombie kind, naturally). How so? Well, it’s speculated that a rise in adrenaline enhances your natural immune responses, preparing your body to do battle with infectious agents. That’s also why so-called safe or ‘controlled’ stress has been shown to have measurable health benefits, including lengthening lifespan and forming new brain connections. In other words, so long as on some level you’re aware that your night will go undisturbed by an undead horde, this false-fear could give your pre-winter body the booster shot it needs. Of course, the key here is your body’s response to threat, not your movie choice itself. If classic horror isn’t your genre, any film that gets your heart pumping will have an equally beneficial effect (we’re not here to judge). So, if you’re feeling under the weather, go Netflix and thrill: it’s the most stimulating way to ensure you survive the office-flu apocalypse.