Alexander de Bree asked me to share his research. So, here it is. Cheers!

Research: These Are The Real Effects Of Rock Climbing On Fear Of Heights

Data collected in a survey amongst 4600 climbers and aspirant climbers, show that climbing reduces acrophobia, also known as ‘fear of heights’. The climbers were asked to rate their fear of heights on a scale of 1 to 5.

One Year Of Climbing Reduces Acrophobia By 36.7 Percent

The benefits of climbing on one’s fear of heights manifest themselves most profoundly in the first year of climbing. People who have climbed for six months, rate themselves as being 20 percent less scared of heights than aspirant climbers do. After an entire year of climbing, this number has dropped to 36,7 percent.

Every consecutive year, climbers fear of height drop lower. There’s a slight uptick around the 4th year. 

Alexander de Bree, who has conducted the research on climbingblogger.com, tells us that: “this could be explained by the fact that this is usually the time when climbers raise the bar and climb more difficult, more dangerous routes. It is also consistent with what climbing coaches tell me they see with their students.”

Nevertheless, even the most experienced climbers remain significantly less scared of heights than beginners.  

Age And Fear of Heights

Further results show that age plays an important role in one’s fear of heights. Youngsters under 18 are significantly less scared than the average. Elderly people are in turn slightly less scared of heights than their younger, fellow adults.

Gender and Acrophobia

Lastly, men are slightly more scared of heights than women, namely by 6 percent. They are, however, more likely than women to see their acrophobia decrease as they learn more about how climbing equipment works. 

You can find more information about the relation between climbing and acrophobia on the fear of heights research page: https://climbingblogger.com/fear-of-heights-research/.