Everyone likes to be healthy, but no one wants to be bored while getting there. Why can’t exercise just be fun?
Well, it can be, if you choose the right activity. And one activity that is almost always considered fun is the inflatable.
Far more than a fun diversion for kids, inflatables are a way to create memorable events of all kinds. As an added bonus, they come with some pretty sweet health benefits, too. Here are some of the ways that inflatables can improve your mental and your physical health.
Inflatables provide an aerobic workout.
Aerobic exercise is any activity that increases your heart rate and breathing over an extended period of time. It is encouraged as a form of exercise because of its ability to strengthen the heart.
That description might sound a little cut and dried and, dare we say, boring. Don’t worry though, getting an aerobic workout can actually be much more fun. All you have to do is jump into some inflatables fun.
The running, jumping, and bouncing you do on inflatables can increase your heart rate and provide you with a heart-strengthening workout. In fact, one study by NASA found that bouncing had a bigger impact on the heart and lungs than running. The best part? You probably won’t even notice because you will be too busy having fun.
Good choices of inflatables that provide you with a heart pounding experience include any of our bounce houses, as well as many of our interactive inflatables. Just try not to get your heart rate up while playing human foosball or our Bungee Run 2.
Of course, the main goal of inflatables is not to give you a heart healthy workout. It is to have fun at small and large events alike. However, the fringe benefit of an aerobic workout means that you can enjoy inflatables and the satisfaction of knowing that your body is enjoying the workout too.
Inflatables improve balance.
Playing in an inflatable might seem like a real life rendition of the last line of “Ring Around the Rosie” (i.e. “We all fall down.”). However, inflatables can actually improve balance, especially for children, who are often still developing their balance and coordination.
It turns out that children are learning how to keep their balance every time they jump and fall. Over time, and the hundreds or thousands of jumps and falls they experience on an inflatable, they improve their ability to keep their balance.
Maybe the best thing for your accident-prone child is to give them a few rounds in an inflatable. Regularly enjoying some bouncy fun certainly isn’t going to hurt their ability to navigate the world. It might just lead to fewer actual bumps and bruises in the long run.
Inflatables improve coordination.
Another beneficial side effect of bouncing in an inflatable is improved coordination. Coordination, or the ability to move your body in a cohesive manner, doesn’t come naturally to everybody (just ask your accident-prone friends or family members).
Proper coordination is often a matter of knowing where your body is in space and how to get the various parts of your body to work together harmoniously. Bouncing might look like randomly flinging yourself through space, but every bounce gives you important information about your body.
This information includes where your body is in space, how certain movements affect where your body is, how to get your arms and legs to work together, and more.
Over the course of some fun bouncing sessions, you get to enjoy some serious improvements in your coordination and your balance. You instinctively learn how to be more aware of your body, its location, and how to move it to achieve certain goals. All of this happens unconsciously. All you know is that you are having a good time at a fun event.
Bouncing improves your mood.
Your physical health isn’t the only aspect of your health that you need to pay attention to and take care of. Your mental and emotional health are important to your overall wellbeing too.
Lucky for you, bouncing in inflatables can help you improve your mental and emotional health, too. In fact, bouncing has the ability to lift your mood and help you feel better about life.
How does bouncing improve your mood? One of the ways it does so is by reducing your stress. As with any exercise, the physical activity involved in using inflatables can take away the pressures of life you may be feeling.
Physical exercise itself can contribute to stress reduction, as can the opportunity you have to think about something else. It is harder to worry while trying to stick yourself to a velcro wall, drop 26 feet onto an inflatable slide, or turn yourself into a human bowling ball, for example.
Inflatables also improve your mood because the physical activity involved in using them releases endorphins to your brain. These endorphins improve your mood and give you a sense of wellbeing.
Any type of exercise will release those endorphins. Inflatables, however, are especially effective at lifting your mood because they are fun. Running our Eliminator Obstacle Course against your boss, colleague, or friend is an exciting challenge in and of itself. Wielding an (inflatable) ax delivers its own satisfaction. Flying down our dry or wet slides delivers an exhilarating punch of adrenaline.
You don’t have to do something boring to get those endorphins flowing. You can give yourself a double dose of mood-boosting activity by combining the fun of inflatables with endorphin-stimulating activity. The result will be a happier you!
Inflatables encourage socializing.
Spending time with others contributes to good health. In fact, regular social interactions can boost the immune system, improve mental acuity, lead to greater happiness, and even extend life.
If you want to enjoy the health benefits of social interactions, you will need to make time to spend with other people. That doesn’t always come easily, though. Small talk can be difficult, and not everyone is confident enough to strike up conversations with people they do not know very well.
The easiest way to interact with others is around a shared activity. One fun and relaxed way to do just that is to enjoy inflatables together.
Inflatables are a good tool for encouraging social interaction in kids because they force kids to take turns, communicate, work through arguments, wait their turn, and more.
For kids and adults who might not be comfortable interacting with others, inflatables also offer a low key way to connect socially. Kids may find themselves bonding with another child at our Castle Bounce House or our Toddler Town.
Similarly, adults might connect with others while waging battle in our Battle Zone, or competing in our Bungee Run. Even if you don’t make lifelong friendships, you may find yourself feeling more comfortable talking with, or interacting with someone in an inflatable rather than sitting around trying to make small talk.
Of course, there are other ways that inflatables contribute to a healthy social life. For example, events that include inflatables make great dates. They encourage teamwork for employees or youth groups. They teach kids how to handle disappointment if they don’t win every game. They can even be a way to spend some time with family that is relaxed and stress free.
Inflatables are an easy way to add extra fun to your next event, whether that be a backyard party or a community festival. It turns out, they are also good for your health. From offering you an aerobic workout to improving your balance, coordination and mood, to encouraging socialization, they can benefit your physical, emotional, and mental health.
If you want to add inflatables to your next event, reach out to Big Bounce Fun House Rentals. We offer dozens of options, from basic inflatables for kids to creative interactive inflatables for everyone. We can help you create the entertainment you need for a successful event!
Sources:
https://blog.herecomesfun.com/kids-can-bounce-their-way-to-health/
https://www.sunjoygz.net/bouncing-everyday-is-a-healthy-way-for-kids/
https://ezinearticles.com/?3-Benefits-of-Using-a-Bounce-House&id=9828738
https://arizonainflatableevents.com/2018/11/surprising-health-benefits-of-jumping-houses/
https://westmichiganwoman.com/blog/1806-bouncing-my-way-to-better-health
https://thezoneactionparktexas.com/3-bounce-house-health-benefits-for-kids/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7429911
