In many aspects of life, stress can be a huge roadblock to success. It can be difficult to perform well at work while under outside stressors, you can ‘choke’ while playing sports and stress can make things difficult to even start a task. When it comes to playing escape games, falling victim to the pressure is a surefire way of failing. Fortunately there are ways to practice staying calm so you can focus on the escape. And hey, you can use these escape room tips for day-to-day stuff as well!
Fight or Flight
As long as we’ve been around, people have been hardwired to react a certain way in the face of danger. Called the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism, our bodies surge adrenaline when we feel threatened, causing us to prepare to fight or run away. While your body makes this decision, there is usually a moment where you get tense and pause. In the case of an escape game, any moment you stand frozen with stress is a moment wasted.
As the time ticks down, you need to stay alert and constantly work toward your next goal. The fight or flight response during an escape game is usually triggered the moment the clock starts. The best strategy is to remain calm in this moment by taking a deep breath and mentally preparing for the start of the game. This is one of the most important escape room tips – if you let fight or flight kick in, the adrenaline can hinder your decision making and problem solving processes.
Self Awareness
No one ever said staying calm was easy, but fortunately there’s practice. By practicing emotional self awareness, you can learn what it feels like when you are about to become overwhelmed. When you know things are about to get very stressful, it’s easier to divert your energy in a more positive way. In an escape room, stress often builds, reaching a breaking point when several parts of the puzzle aren’t working out. By learning where your ‘stress breaking point’ is, it becomes much simpler to control your emotions. Use this tip to become the fearless leader of your next escape.
Body Language
Another important one of our escape room tips is controlling your body language. What many people don’t know about body language is that it can be somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not only do your emotions affect your body language, but the opposite is also true. When you find yourself nervous in an escape room and start biting your nails or fidgeting, you are actually perpetuating the stress and keeping yourself nervous. Nervous body language can also psyche out your teammates. By simply trying to appear calm, you can avoid a great deal of extra stress.
Avoid Stressful Teammates
Let’s face it, some people out there simply stress us out more than others do. It may be your parents, siblings or even your best friends, certain people in our lives know exactly what to say and how to act to get our minds racing. These probably aren’t the best choices for teammates. In an escape room, you want to be around other people who can calm you down, keep you focused and are easy to work with. So, when you are picking the perfect team for your great escape, choose wisely.
Escape Room Tips – Making Your Escape
With a boring escape room, you won’t be challenged enough to need these strategies. This is why you need to go somewhere great. Luckily, 13th Hour has the best escape rooms in NJ and is sure to bring any team together. Choose from 3 great escape rooms that have different themes, intricate puzzles, and secret passageways. We even offer an escape room and dinner combo featuring Hot Rods BBQ! Does your team have what it takes to come together in order to escape? To find out, order tickets for the 13th Hour and try out these escape room tips today!