10 HEALTH BENEFITS OF ESCAPE ROOMS
I’m sure the first thing you think about when leaving school or university for the summer is: what am I going to do with my time? To answer this, I’m going to tell you the health benefits of escape rooms.
Wondering this? Look no further…
So, I am going to give you 10 reasons why you have to play an escape room this summer. This blog post will provide you with an idea of one thing you can now do in Southampton. It brings your family and friends together in a cooperative, immersive and educational experience that is being enjoyed by people from all walks of life and all ages.
What is an escape room?
Firstly, I am going to talk to you about a new craze known as escape rooms and how they can directly BENEFIT YOU. In essence, escape rooms are immersive experiences that encourage teamwork, solving puzzles and finding clues to complete an objective.
They are educational, cognitive and learning experiences; escape rooms provide a gaming experience like no other. They provide players with educationally-enriching scenarios, which leave you feeling content, happy and more intelligent.
The top 10 health benefits of escape rooms
1. You may learn a thing or two
As the old-adage goes: we are always learning.
It is human nature to explore, discover and uncover facts, knowledge and information to teach others. This is knowledge that allows you to wow your friends and be an ace at the pub quiz on a Monday night. In times of speed and efficiency, we attempt to move away from reading large extensive texts of information. Instead, in escape rooms, we are transported directly into a tangible and immersive environment. An environment that encourages us to physically interact with the technologies, texts and codes of the time. A truly interactive learning experience like no other. In this post I will talk to you about the health benefits of escape rooms.
2. Piques the senses
The beauty of escape rooms is that you are placed right at the centre of the action. This is where you experience the sights, sounds, aromas, and feel the surroundings of this other world. The moment you enter into an escape room, your senses are piqued. You feel the sudden urge for a survival instinct as you work as a team to find your way out of this unfamiliar place.
3. Develops fine motor skills
We even see puzzles being able to support the development of Fine Motor Skills. This is sometimes known as hand-eye coordination or spatial awareness. As we grow, our knowledge and awareness of the world around us grows, and interacting with unique tasks can develop our ability to judge distances. Taking puzzles into the 3D world, escape rooms bring the physicality of puzzles to you in a tangible and tactile way that few other social activities do.
4. Increases communication and social ability
Humans require social interaction. This is our instinct. When placed in high pressure situations, we are urged to communicate with those around us to overcome challenges. Escape rooms such as the Mayan escape room experience at Other World Escapes, places teams into a situation where communication is essential. As we are fully immersed in the digital world, the physical act of talking may rapidly become a thing of the past. Escape games on the other hand revitalise this inner urge to discuss solutions and overcome the challenges as a team.
5. Supports the development of gross motor skills
Not to be confused with Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills are about large movements such as walking, jumping and running. But, practice makes better (not perfect) with physical movements. Activities such as escape rooms can indeed take us out of our comfort zone and fine tune our gross motor skills through fast-paced and large physical movements.
6. Gives us our recommended daily amount of physical exercise
Lending us neatly to exercise. We all are told that we need to do this exercise but who really wants to go out jogging every day or do 500 burpees? If exercise is fun, you will want to do it more. The 1-hour of exercise during your experience in the Mayan temple can be a perfect way to train your brain, heart and muscles. This training happens through a mixture of reaction, burst and endurance-based training in the game.
7. Increases our memory capacity and ability
As we get older, we all know our memory can sometimes be tested. Puzzles and challenges can be a great way to boost your memory recall and retention, through interacting with the code, symbol or language. Some escape rooms will require you to focus your energy into retaining information and recalling it later in the game. This practice can massively increase our memory capacity and longevity, enabling us to take away something powerful and useful in our everyday lives.
8. Exercises our cognitive processes
A fancy terminology for acquiring new knowledge. As we venture into the unknown of a temple or a science lab, for example, we are taken away from the real world temporarily. We suddenly find ourselves in a situation where we are urged to take on new knowledge, of this alternative world, and apply it in unique and interesting ways. This helps us to think about the new knowledge critically and apply it laterally to achieve our goals. When we conquer the challenge, we are given a sudden boost in our ability to absorb and apply new knowledge.
9. Increases our level of happiness and satisfaction
We also obtain great joy and satisfaction from completing challenges with this new information we have just obtained. As adrenaline increases during the escape room, when we complete it it feels like a true achievement. Team camaraderie and feelings of accomplishment suddenly come to the front of your mind.
10. Creates unique memories
As we exit our first escape room we know that we have achieved something great. We know we have had to think ‘outside-the-box’ and have gone against all odds to work as a team. So we reflect on the good times and hard times throughout the experience. Then we realise that we have made memories which we will never forget. Memories that, as a team, we completed the game. This feeling of achievement is what we take away with us – an unforgettable time with some unforgettable people.
BONUS BENEFIT: a very fun thing to do
Last but by no means least, escape rooms are very fun. With blogs such as The Logic Escapes Me, Brit of An Escape Habit and Escape Game Hub being set-up by self-confessed addicts of the genre, the psychological rewards and satisfaction from completing the games leaves us knowing that we have had fun. A more intense, psychologically-enriching fun experience that remains unchallenged when compared with any other social activity. Forget the cinema, bowling or paintball, get started on your escape room journey and make memories that will last forever.
But where can I start?
The health benefits of escape rooms are unquestionable. Likewise, at Other World Escapes we have many escape rooms designed to incorporate all elements here. So, why not get started on your escape room journey, and book an escape room today.
Want to find out more health benefits of escape rooms?
There are many health benefits of escape rooms. Here is our top 12:
