14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re the kind who scares easily and who’s the first to jump from their chair at the movies, you’re in luck. A new study has shown that watching horror movies can burn up to 180 calories.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can replace working out with sitting in front of the TV watching horror films, but at least you know that, when you’re getting the scare of your life, you’re also burning some calories in the process.
The study was commissioned by LOVEFiLM, with researchers from the University of Westminster coming to the conclusion above after performing various tests on people watching horror movies.
They monitored heart rate, oxygen intake and calories burned, the New York Daily News reports, even coming up with the top 10 most efficient movies in this sense.
Cell metabolism specialist Richard Mackenzie explains the findings by saying that fear causes a boost of adrenaline, which ultimately translates into more calories burned.
“Each of the ten films tested set pulses racing, sparking an increase in the heart rate of the case studies,” Mackenzie says.
“As the pulse quickens and blood pumps around the body faster, the body experiences a surge in adrenaline,” he explains.
“It is this release of fast acting adrenaline, produced during short bursts of intense stress (or in this case, brought on by fear), which is known to lower the appetite, increase the Basal Metabolic Rate and ultimately burn a higher level of calories,” the researcher adds.
According to the study, the best movie to watch if you’re looking to lose weight this way is “The Shining” with Jack Nicholson. The Stephen King-inspired horror burns about 184 calories.
Another classic, “Jaws,” ranks second with 161, while “The Exorcist” is hot on its heels with 158 calories.
The top 5 is rounded up by “Alien” with 152 calories and “Saw” (the first one, we assume), with 133.
The rest of the top is as follows: “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (118 calories), “Paranormal Activity” (111 calories), “The Blair Witch Project” (105 calories), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (107 calories) and “[Rec]” (101 calories).