Listening to any pop song that references ‘flying like a bird’ and you’ll soon realize that the main message is a feeling of freedom. The weightlessness of being off the ground is equated to the weight of your worries just floating away.

Finding yourself, and seeing your family, bouncing through the air can have the same effect. Trampolining can be good for mental health as it helps to reduce anxiety and put a smile on anyone’s face. OK, that may sound a bit too simplistic, but there actually is some science behind it, and it’s always a good idea to follow the science.

Happy yoga lotus pose trampoline jumper in a Lapland landscape

Feel-good factor

Jumping up and allowing gravity to bring you swiftly back down again – and repeating this movement – is a great way to get some aerobic exercise. As well as burning calories and improving lung capacity, this kind of exercise helps to release endorphins.

Endorphins are known as the “feel-good” hormones and are released when we exercise. However, the repetitive bouncing up and down of trampolining allows these hormones to get released quicker than other forms of exercise – kind of like shaking a sauce bottle.

Endorphins flowing through the body help to lift your mood and promote a positive feeling.

Serotonin is another chemical that can be produced while trampolining. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, which helps reduce anxiety. When our bodies have low levels of serotonin, we are more prone to feeling low and depressed.

To give you an idea of the kind of feel-good chemical serotonin is, a form of it can also be found in chocolate, although we don’t recommend chewing on chocolate while bouncing on a trampoline!

The heart of the matter

Have you ever jumped on a trampoline and tried to get that little extra height with each bounce? Depending on your level of expertise or experience, you may start with a few easy bounces, and before you know it, you’re scraping the sky.

This gradual feeling of excitement happens when the activity itself triggers the production of adrenaline.

Adrenaline helps us feeling energized and excited. It helps to get our heart pumping, which sends blood around our bodies, carrying oxygen to the brain and giving us a sense of exhilaration.

That excitement that we feel helps to lift our mood and gives us a positive outlook. Adrenaline can contribute to better focus and alertness. It stimulates the nervous system and provides a greater general sense of awareness.

Striking the right balance

Trampolining requires the ability to balance and control your body position. OK, this might take some beginners a little while to master, but once you do, you’ll be able to improve your motor skills. You’ll see your whole family develop better balance and agility.

Although trampolining, on some level, can help you experience a feeling of weightlessness, it can also help improve things such as balance and coordination.

Improved motor skills and coordination can help to improve brain function. A well-stimulated brain can help improve your mental health because it allows the brain to focus on a range of different thoughts and challenges.

Keeping your brain active can prevent the onset of anxiety and depression because it will not allow you to dwell on negative feelings. Whether it’s you or a family member doing the bouncing, the stress is more likely to fly away on a trampoline.

The whole family jumps

Jumping for joy

Although there is a lot of science behind the mental health benefits of trampolining, one undeniable reason is that it’s fun. You have very rarely seen someone jumping up and down with a glum look on their face.

Bouncing makes you smile, and the act of smiling can be a trigger to feel joy and contentment.

And it’s even better when you do it as part of a group as having fun together can prevent feelings of loneliness, so start your family jumping for joy today.

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