Playland

Heart Rate: how does waiting in line for a ride affect your heart rate?  Did you record your heart rate before and after (any evidence)? How about riding on the ride - what affect did it have on your heart rate?
For most of the rides, my heart rate rate increased considerably, especially when the line started to get smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, I did not get any readings on my heart rate, but it was defnintely faster than normal. During the the beginning of rides, especially the atmosfear, my heart rate stayed at an increased pace, but after a few seconds of riding the ride, it went down to normal.

Why do you think your heart rate is affected?
Heart rate is affected by rides because when under a stressful situation, your sympathetic nervous system activates. Blood needs to pump faster in order to act on your fight or flight responses.

Breathing Rate:  Was your breathing rate affected by the rides?  Which ones?
Again, when waiting for rides, my breathing was fast and short, and got shorter and shorter during the wait, especially for the wooden roller coaster and the atmosfear. Rides like the breakdance and the scrambler didn't affect me too much because the rides werent't focused on height.

What other physiological effects (on your body) did you experience?  Can you explain any of them?
Other physiological effects I experienced were feeling nauseous, sweating, along with the shortness of breath and increased heart rate. All of these symptoms are part of our sympathetic nervous system responses to help us deal with the stressors that were applied.