Adrenaline Rush: What Happens to Your Body During an Escape Room Experience

March 21, 2016 Blog 0 Comments

Over the past five years, real-life “escape the room” adventure games have exploded in popularity, with new escape room facilities cropping up all over the world. According to the Escape Room Directory, there are now more than 3,400 escape room facilities in 676 cities and 65 countries across the globe, with more being added all the time. And it’s not hard to see why the demand for this unique form of entertainment is reaching critical mass; just ask anyone who has ever done it, and they’ll tell you that it’s a complete adrenaline rush.

So when you’re racing against the clock in an exhilarating escape room experience, what exactly is happening to your body during this time? Below are some of the common “symptoms” you can expect to experience during this heart-pounding challenge.

1. You’re going to be more physically and mentally alert.

When the door locks and the timer starts ticking, all five of your senses are going to “wake up” and become super-sensitized. You’re going to have a keener sense of awareness, and you’ll be more attuned to the various sights and sounds that surround you. As your senses begin to absorb this information, your brain will begin to take notes of every detail of your environment in rapid-fire fashion. At this point, you couldn’t feel tired if you tried.

2. Your heart will start beating faster.

As you’re scrambling around and searching for clues, your instinctive “fight or flight” response kicks in, which means that adrenaline, the body’s hormone for stress response, gets released into your bloodstream. Your heart begins to beat faster, pumping more oxygen to your muscles and organs for improved breathing and blood flow.

3. Your body’s systems will begin to operate with outstanding efficiency.

When the adrenaline is pumping, your body instinctively begins to marshal all of its physical resources to enhance your performance. Your pupils will dilate to give you improved vision, your digestive function will slow down to conserve energy, and your muscles will feel a greater sense of strength. In other words, you’ll be in “beast mode” as you’re racing against the clock.

4. You’ll have a greater sense of focus and concentration.

You won’t be thinking about whether you need to do laundry this weekend, or if you should get the lawn care guy to come out on Monday or Tuesday. The only thing that’s going to be on your mind is figuring out how to escape this room you’re in before the time runs out. Your concentration and focus will be superb, because you really only have one mission to accomplish while the clock is still ticking, and that is to ESCAPE.

As you can imagine, the thrill and adrenaline rush of an escape room experience is quite addictive, which is why most people who have tried it once want to do it again and again. If you’re in the Greater Cincinnati area and you would like to try your hand at this unique challenge, Houdini’s Room Escape is the “escape the room” Cincinnati venue of choice for thrill-seekers looking for a new adventure. Try any one of their three mind-bending escape rooms, and see if your skills are up to the test!