Skydiving is one of the biggest adrenaline rushes a human can experience. Free falling out of a plane 15,000ft high and quite literally dropping through the sky takes your body through one hell of a rollercoaster of emotions: Anticipation, nerves, fear, excitement, adrenaline, relief. The overwhelming mix of feelings is indescribable, but what about what’s happening on the inside?
Believe it or not, humans aren’t made to fly and the process your body goes through when skydiving is completely next level cray. Let’s start at the beginning…
Where’s the toilet at?
You’re all set in your skydiving attire, harness strapped on when suddenly… nature calls. This is your body’s way of reacting to extreme levels of anxiety which often causes you to tense your muscles, in turn putting extra pressure on your bladder, creating the need to pee. This feeling can also be caused by high levels of anxiety resulting in your brain explicitly focusing on the sensation of peeing, making it feel like you need to go more than you actually do.
Adrenaline takes over
As you make your way up the altitude levels and take in some of the most insane views you’ll ever see, your nerves switch to adrenaline. The adrenaline glands release mass amounts of cortisol (our stress hormone) into the bloodstream. This is mixed in with thyroid hormones which control our metabolism, creating maybe the highest amount of adrenaline your body will ever reach. This cultivates into a mixture of anxiety and adrenaline filled emotions as you get that one step closer to the main event.
Your heart rate goes sky high
The plane door is opened and holy f**k, shit gets REAL! All of a sudden the reality of what you’re about to do hits, the ice cold air surrounds you, you look down and see planes that look like ants and your mind goes into turmoil about how you ever thought this was a legit idea. At this point your heart rate can reach 170 bpm, nearly triple the average 60-100 beats per minute!
And then you jump
This may be one of the only times in your life when you’re completely in the moment and also completely powerless. Whether you’re screaming your head off, left speechless by the views or having a meltdown about if your parachute is going to work, one thing for sure is that you’re not thinking about anything else other than living in the present. And when you’re free fall is over and the parachute launches, there’s an overwhelming feeling of happiness, adrenaline and pure joy.
Tempted to take your body through the roller coaster of emotions? Check out our very own tandem skydive in Surfers Paradise, Australia.