and fast breathing. But could these symptoms really --BOO!!!! Scare ya? It’s a full body

experience, and it can even feel dangerous at times, but could you really be scared to

death?

Science suggests that today’s most commons fears stem from the things that most frequently

killed our ancestors. Animal phobias like arachnophobia, natural environment phobias

like the fear of heights, situational phobias like claustrophobia and blood-injection-injury

phobias like the fear of needles are the four most common categories today. And these make

sense as most have been relatively consistent threats throughout our evolution. As a result,

the genes preparing us to instinctively avoid them became more common, while genes that

did not faded away. Chances are, if you have one of these fears, you may have inherited

it from your parents.

Of course, day-to-day learning also helps shape your personal fears. At the end of the

day, it’s not the actual threat, but instead your perception of the threat that controls

the amount of fear you will feel.

So could it kill you? The short answer is yes. Not to scare you...of course! The chances

of being scared to death depend greatly on how healthy your heart is. When you’re scared,

your Fight or Flight response is trigger and adrenaline is released, making the heart beat

quicker to pump more blood and oxygen to your muscles. As a result you become temporarily

stronger and faster. But something really scary can kick this into overdrive. Too much

and your heart simply can’t keep up, which could damage heart tissue and even stop it

from beating all together.

Hundreds of athletes have experienced a fatal rush of adrenaline as a result of simulated

threats during intense competition. And you’re no safer in the stands - studies found the

number of heart attacks during World Cup Soccer matches more than doubled in countries and

cities where the home team was eliminated.

So should you lock yourself away in a closet to avoid all these fears? The truth is, while

scientists don’t know exactly who is most vulnerable, we do know that the incidence

is extremely low for people with healthy functioning hearts. More food for thought is thought itself.

It turns out that training ourselves to think differently about fears can actually reduce

the amount of adrenaline they produce.

But that’s not always easy - and some people have some pretty crazy fears. In fact, our

friend Matthew Santoro just released a video on 10 Extremely Bizarre Phobias People Actually

Have, which you should definitely check out! Perhaps you have a fear on that list! Matt

makes really amazing fact videos that are sure to blow your mind! Click on the screen

to see that video, or you can use the link in the description.

And of course, if you haven’t ordered our book yet - what are you waiting for? We’ll

be doing a bunch of giveaways with tons of prizes to those who have preordered, so get

your copy now if you don’t want to miss out! Asapscience.com/book. And subscribe for

more weekly science videos!