By: Anna Wang

You might have heard people getting stuck or hurt on roller coasters. But there’s another side to these machines. Roller coasters can save lives !

If you are one of the millions of Americans that suffers from painful kidney stones, you might want to try visiting an amusement park. Research shows that riding on a roller coaster can dislodge the stones. A passenger claimed that she passed out a stone every time she rode on the machine.

Roller coasters can dislodge more than tumors! Sally Dare was on a family vacation in Florida when she rode The Incredible Hulk coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. Upon exiting the ride, she had headaches and blurred vision. The movements of the coaster had dislodged a tumor. Because of the early discovery, doctors were able to remove it successfully as it was only 2 cm in diameter. Without the coaster ride, it could have been another year or two before the tumor was discovered, and removable might have been impossible.

Roller coasters can also help burn away some fat.

Roller coasters can help your health even if youn don’t have tumors or kidney stones. Some may disagree, but riding roller coasters is an enjoyable way to burn off fat! A team of scientists, artists, engineers, and designers known as the Thrill Laboratory conducted a study and determined that certain attractions in Thorpe Park in the UK helped riders burn between around 40 and 70 calories!!

Finally,riding a roller coaster also relieves stress. One theory as to why riding roller coasters is so enjoyable has to do with stress relief.

Dr. Epstein, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts, tells the New York Times that, “Being totally absorbed is in itself pleasurable. Complete concentration that blanks out everything else temporarily relieves you from all conflicts. Even if it’s scary, it’s a way to drive out disturbing thoughts.”

Riding a roller coaster can help you forget all of your everyday problems, even if only for a few seconds. So have fun and enjoy the roller coasters because there are a lot of benefits.