Adrenamag - Adrenalin Activities

Adrenamag has got activity vouchers to the value of hundreds of pounds to be won.  All you have to do is answer this simple question: Had he lived, Brazilian motor racing legend Aryton Senna would have been how old this year: A) A 50? B) 60? C) 55?

Send your correct answer – either A, B or C to: info@adrenamag.co.uk Closing date for entries is August 31 midnight GMT.

Without adrenalin the human race may have died out quicker than the dodo. It was adrenalin that helped our cave-dwelling ancestors to deal with the grisly hazards of daily life. When a sabre-toothed tiger started poking its jaws into an ancestor’s cave, the hormone, also known as epinephrine, kicked in: a neurotransmitter it is released into the blood preparing the body for ‘fight or flight’.

Dane Fletcher is an author and athletic coach, he says: ‘We have all heard the stories about how adrenalin can give the average person freakish strength in emergency situations, such as a small mother being able to lift heavy objects like a car to free a trapped child.’

He explains: ‘When the adrenalin is released into the bloodstream, the body reacts instantly. Your heart starts racing, things that run normally such as your digestive system cease to function, glucose levels increase in the blood stream and the oxygen to the brain and the muscles increases drastically. A lot of people have also reported a heightened sense of awareness of the situation they are in and their surroundings. Life or death decisions are usually made with faster than lightning speed and extreme clarity.’

Epinephrine temporarily goes up when we do extreme sports or intense exercise, giving us a buzz. Of course, some people can become addicted to this – the so-called adrenalin junkie.

Derek, a 43-year-old aero-space engineer, has often been called an adrenalin junkie. ‘I need to do things that put me on the edge in order to feel alive. Friends go to the gym but I prefer to test myself. I sky dive or parachute jump most weekends as well as climb mountains,’ he says.

Does he see the tag of adrenalin junkie as a negative or positive? ‘Some people think I am mad. But for me it’s about not taking stupid risks. If we go off on a serious climb we prepare for weeks, even months.  It’s potentially dangerous, so we need to prepare for that and respect it. It’s the same with sky-diving, all my friends are very safety conscious. For most of the people I know it is more about challenging and stretching yourself than anything else. I certainly don’t have a death wish, more of a life wish – to live it to the full,’ he says.

If adrenalin can help lift moods, can it help with depression?  The UK charity the DepressionAlliance states that depression is one of the most common reasons patients end up in the doctor’s waiting room.  Worse still, nearly one in six people will suffer some form of mental problem in their lifetimes. While the DepressionAlliance doesn’t advocate suffers go out and dive into extreme sports, it believes ‘light exercise and outside interests are strategies for coping with depression’.   Last year, the government launched New Horizons – an initiative to promote health care and wellbeing and take a more rounded approach to mental health. Employment is a big factor in mental health but so too is physical exercise.

Paul Farmer chief executive of the mental health charity, Mind , says: ‘Good mental wellbeing isn’t just about treatment, it’s also about prevention and by focusing on the factors that take their toll on our wellbeing in the first place, we have a chance at achieving better mental health for everyone.’

There’s no doubt that adrenalin is at the core of what makes us function as humans. Our ancestors roaming the plains of Africa needed it to survive. And, maybe, we aren’t that much different. If you wish to try an adrenalin activity – both light and more extreme – click here.

The extreme sports people dream up.  This guy has created his own extreme sport courtesy of the local building site and a parachute. Will it catch on? Perhaps not. For a more conventional range of extreme sports and adrenalin-fuelled activities click here.

The image of the over 60s sitting by the fireside with their slippers and a blanket over the knees is wrong and patronising according to a number of recent reports. Age UK – a charity which champions the issues faced by older people – identifies a rising trend in the number of over 60s taking up extreme sports.

The charity puts the increased participation in adventure activities of older age groups down to a number of factors, saying: ‘Reduced working hours, retirement and fewer financial and family responsibilities mean that the opportunity for experiencing new thrills has suddenly become more accessible.’

According to The Activity People – the UK’s largest network of adventure sports – enquires from the over-60 age group are up 19 per cent in 2010 on the previous year. ‘Water sports, hot air ballooning, zorbing, skydiving and quad biking are all activities that are popular with this age group,’ said a spokesperson for the company.

Alongside the rising numbers of over 60s taking part in extreme sports, there has been an increase in the number of injuries in this age group. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported that more than a third of the 212 people in British scuba diving incidents requiring medical treatment last year were over 50.

But Aged UK believes the benefits of a more active retirement far outweigh the potential injuries. ‘The more active we are, the more strength and balance we have, and the lower our risk of heart disease and raised cholesterol. Combine physical activity with the great outdoors – where most extreme sports take place – and you’ve got two fantastic ingredients for a happy, healthy lifestyle,’ states the charity.

The charity also highlights the social benefits of extreme sports: ‘Another great thing about getting involved in extreme sports – no matter what age you are – is the social aspect. Widening your friendship group by linking up with other like-minded thrill seekers can be hugely rewarding – especially as meeting new people can become challenging as we get older.’

Activity People’s advice to its older customers is: ‘A lot of activities like hot air ballooning are less strenuous than others. But if you do want to do a strenuous activity such as scuba diving we advise that you get a doctor’s note declaring yourself fit.’

Janet, who’s a retired teacher in her 70s, joined a group of friends to celebrate her birthday with a skydive. ‘It’s something I have always wanted to do and it was wonderful. We had a terrific time,’ she said.

But she discovered they weren’t the oldest skydivers. ‘Our instructor told us he had a woman in her 90s skydiving,’ she said.

According to the New Scientist, the things that make you happy can extend your life by up to ten years.  Clearly, skydiving does it for these women.  Check out a range of activities for all ages and fitness ranges by clicking here.

Put a paintball gun in someone’s hand and the natural urge is to knock an opponent’s block off. Well, a new craze has taken this quite literally. Paintball Lego seems to have inspired a young generation of junior paintball enthusiasts and budding filmmakers.

Shot using a Lego webcam, this new genre of movie is a hit on YouTube as fans create and shoot combat scenes with mini Lego figures.  Who knows, it may produce a new generation of blockbusters.

Many of the filmmakers are ten and under. Too young for paintball, laser combat offers these filmmakers the chance to experience the action first hand. Teenagers and adults can try out the grown-up version by clicking here.