When you sense danger, your stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol kick in to make you more alert, both mentally and physically. This heightened state, when prolonged, can cause stress and take its toll on your mental and physical well-being. However, a short-lasting adrenaline rush is a whole different thing. Not only is your body equipped to deal with it, but it can actually be enjoyable. Here’s how adrenaline can be beneficial for you and how you can take advantage of it.
It clears your vision
Once your adrenal glands release the stress hormones into your bloodstream, your body is actually preparing to fight or flee. This is called the fight-or-flight response, and it has you ready to act at any moment. One of the effects of this is related to your vision. As a part of this response, your pupils become dilated and when they expand, they allow more light in. This means that your vision becomes better and clearer so that you can get a good view of your surroundings and catch even the slightest movement instantly. Therefore, the role of adrenaline here is to enable you to deal with any presumed threat more easily.
It eases your pain
Everything your body does makes sense, whether you’re aware of it or not. So, it’s no wonder that, during the time of a crisis, when adrenaline kicks in, you don’t really feel pain. So, for example, if you get hurt and the fight-or-flight response is set off, you’ll still be able to run away from danger, without being held back by the pain of your injury. It’s basically the body’s way of staying alive, which is all it really wants. Of course, this is something that’s temporary. As soon as you calm down and your body gets back to normal, you’ll definitely feel the pain, but when things get scary and tense, adrenaline will do a great job of blocking it for you, so that you can react the best way possible.
It improves your mental health
Some people love the adrenaline rush they get from doing dangerous things, things others would be too scared of. Well, that’s why extreme sports aren’t really for everybody. Those who try them usually benefit greatly from it. For instance, sports like skydiving can make you face the fear of heights. It isn’t uncommon for the fear and the adrenaline boost you experience when engaging in this particular extreme sport to turn into overwhelming joy or euphoria. This can do wonders for your mood and even enhance your self-esteem. However, it’s important to know your limits and not to be reckless. If you’re going to try such extreme sports as motorcycle racing, you should make sure you’re always protected. That’s why you should invest in high-quality Alpinestars motocross equipment to stay safe. After all, there’s only so much adrenaline can do for your safety, the rest is entirely up to you.
It helps you breathe
Another thing adrenaline is good for is your breathing. Namely, when you have an adrenaline rush, it relaxes the muscles in your body, including the bronchioles. These are small tubes in your lungs that get expanded due to the adrenaline release. This makes breathing easier and faster. So, whether you’re watching a horror film or you’re on a roller-coaster ride, you’ll experience rapid breathing as the levels of adrenaline rise in your blood. It’s for this reason that adrenaline is sometimes given through an injection to people having an asthma attack.
It provides you with extra strength
You need that extra ounce of strength to get out of a dangerous situation? Adrenaline can help you. It can be the Hulk to your inner Bruce Banner, without you even having to get angry. It’s one of the reasons why people do extraordinary things, like lifting cars to save their loved ones after an accident. It blocks the thoughts in your mind telling you that you can’t possibly do something, and you just go on and do it because you have to. It enables you to access more of your strength, even the bits you normally can’t, which is your body’s response to a stressful occurrence. Even after the initial stress and the consequent surge of adrenaline subside, you’ll still be able to use these unusual levels of strength for a while, and up to an entire hour.
It doesn’t take long for your adrenaline glands to get adrenaline into your blood. In fact, it only takes about two or three minutes after the stressful event that triggers this whole process. And if after those first few minutes you feel like a superhuman, you should know it’s the adrenaline making you more powerful and doing its best to keep you up and running when it really matters.
