It's not the bracing yourself itself that ruins the fun. . .It's the fact that bracing yourself means your arms aren't being held up. When you hit the positive g forces, they feel stronger if your hands are above your head because you have to work harder to keep them there. That increases the sensation of the g force.


> > Why, I've often wondered, do people hold their hands over their head when riding a roller coaster?
>
> If you don't hold them over your head, you're most likely instinctively using them to brace yourself; roller coaster purists believe bracing yourself lessens the fun. famous tried to get us to do that when we visited New Hampshire's local teeny weeny roller coasters at Canobie Lake Park. I'm undecided about whether it made a difference or not, but the wind felt good, so I kept doing it anyway.