Looking back on school, many adults do so with rose-tinted glasses, often proclaiming that those years were the best of their lives. Well, it certainly doesn’t feel like that for students going through academia.
You may not think of it as a working adult, but students are often under much pressure and stress. Be it studying for their exams, making choices about the next steps in their education, and other challenges that children and teens may face, many students need a break occasionally to unwind.
Escape rooms can be a fantastic way to do that and a fun treat to take them away from their studies. Here’s a closer look at how escape rooms can refresh and recharge students and offer them a respite from school life.
1. It’s a literal escape
Stepping into an escape room allows students to step away from their responsibilities for an hour or so. In an escape room, you can entirely focus on the task, forgetting about everyday life’s stresses and issues. Having to focus on a fun, challenging activity creates separation and a release from student life, which can significantly affect mood and academic performance once the escape room is done.
Furthermore, many escape rooms ask you to hand your phones into the game’s master before playing to avoid cheating. However, this also has the benefit of preventing distractions or notifications that can break the immersion, ensuring that students fully concentrate on the escape room and not the issues and stresses in their lives.
Plus, as escape rooms can have multiple types of themes and set designs, it makes it easier for students to break away from the pressure of school.
2. Unique fun activity
Many students, particularly those in higher education studying and working on their GCSEs, A-Levels, and even university degrees, often devoid themselves of fun activities during exam sessions, instead spending most of their time revising to cram in as much information as possible.
Not only can this be pretty boring, but it’s also detrimental to student success, as working this hard can cause burnout and disengagement from their school work. As a student, it’s important to sprinkle in sessions of fun and excitement so that your mind can be engaged and challenged, which keeps you energised and motivated.
Escape rooms offer a unique sense of fun and excitement, primarily thanks to the concept and the time pressure players must overcome to break out and succeed. The experience of an escape room is full of energy and creative thinking, something a studying student will miss out on if they don’t allow themselves the opportunity to have a break.
3. Good stress reliever
Although escape rooms are designed to have their players feel pressure, it’s an artificial, simulated kind of pressure that adds to the enjoyment of the experience. Escape rooms are actually really good at relieving stress. This is because the thrill can help release endorphins, chemicals in your body that naturally make you feel good, rewarded, and much calmer once you finish.
The hour or so inside an escape room can often be filled with chaos and high-adrenaline situations, but once it’s over, students will often feel lighter in their minds and less burdened by their studies. They provide an opportunity to dive headfirst into something that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, which can help take the pressure off.
4. Opportunity to spend time with friends
Many students will become more isolated during exam periods as they spend most of their time studying and revising for their examinations and tests. This can mean that friends may not see each other for a long time, which can harm these relationships and make students feel even worse and isolated during this critical time of the academic year.
No matter how busy students feel during this stressful period, making time for friends is essential, and playing an escape room together is a great way to spend some time. The experience will bring you together, test your collaboration skills, and strengthen your bond, especially if you make it out of the room on time.
Completing an escape room is a much better option than simply meeting up for a meal or a chat, as in these scenarios, you may end up focusing the conversation purely on your studies and student stress. An escape room forces everyone to concentrate on the task, helping everyone relax and take their mind off school work.
Top Escape Room Tips for Students
If you’re a student who has never done an escape room before or who has tried one and failed, here are a few tips to help you become more successful:
Be positive
A positive attitude goes a long way in an escape room. It can be easy to become demotivated if you can’t figure out a puzzle. Stay positive and trust that you’ll be able to figure it all out. You can always work on something else and return to a challenging puzzle later.
Explore the entire room before starting
One of the most prominent mistakes players make is starting a puzzle straight away without first exploring the escape room. By taking a few minutes to investigate the room and its props, you may uncover secrets and hints that can help you further down the line.
Think out loud
There’s no such thing as a bad idea in an escape room. To succeed, it’s best to think out loud and share your thoughts with the group so everyone can contribute to a solution. When you spot something or find a clue, share it with the whole group to enhance the experience and ensure everyone is on the same wavelength.
Don’t take over the room
It can be tempting for someone to become the de facto leader, guiding the rest of the group through the escape room. It’s best to try to remain equal and ensure everyone has a say. Taking over the room and not listening to other ideas can cause a divide and disconnect within the group, limiting your chances of success.
Students need a break from school every once in a while to help them recharge and prepare for more learning and studying. Completing an escape room is a great option to help a student unwind, as it can help relieve stress and is a fun distraction from their day-to-day responsibilities.
The nature of escape rooms is also beneficial to students as they can teach them skills that can help them in their academic work and the future. Take a break, relieve stress, and try an escape room today.