Are you feeling stressed? Too much to do at work, or you’ve put off your laundry for far too long and now it’s going to take you a month to do it all? I’ve got good news. The feeling of being stressed all boils down to the hormone cortisol, and according to new studies, attending live music helps lower your cortisol levels. What’s that mean? Live music has been scientifically proven to lower stress hormones.
That’s right. Live music makes you a happier person. Why?
Going to concerts will help lower stress.
There were two recent significant studies that support the conclusion that concerts help your stress levels which, in turn, makes you happier!
In March of this past year, researchers from Imperial College London decided to take the results of 22 previous musical studies conducted in regards to how music affects your brain in a lab or hospital and push it one step further: how does live music affect your mood?
The study took 117 volunteers of all different types of music lovers (ranging from obsessed to hardly listens to music) to a live music concert. They took saliva samples from all the participants before the concert began and again 60 minutes into the concert. Researchers found that cortisol had been reduced across the board. Lower cortisol = lower stress.
There’s even better news.
Researchers found live music had the same effect on every individual, regardless of how familiar they were to the live music being performed.
That means it’s going to be so much easier to convince your friends to see emerging artists because, scientifically, the stress level result is pretty much the same as seeing your favorite band.
The second study found something one step further than mere lower stress levels.
Participating in live music makes you happier and healthier.
Researchers at Deaken University in Victoria, Australia did an extensive study on “habitual music engagement and subjective well being.” What do either of those mean? Habitual music engagement was defined as not simply listening to music, but engaging with music by dancing or attending musical events. Subjective well being (SWB) is the individual evaluation of life satisfaction, or how happy you are with your life experiences.
The study was a polling of over a thousand Australian citizens and it found that those who regularly go to concerts and participate in dancing resulted in higher SWB. Yes, that means what you think it means. Individuals who go to concerts were found to have higher happiness levels.
Moreover, they found something even more interesting. Those who not only engage with the music at concerts, but engage with others at concerts resulted in even higher SWB. Interacting with others at concerts makes you the happiest of all. Why?
Human nature says that “synchronized movements ultimately make an individual feel like they are part of a collective.” That’s why it feels so good to dance with your gig buddies.
So what does that mean for you? You deserve a night out. Go out to a show, and bring a friend. It’ll make you happy, we promise—it’s science.
Go out tonight, and any night. Jukely is a concert subscription that gives members guestlist access to hundreds of music events – for one price. Whenever you want to go out, you’ll always have something to do. Learn more and sign up at jukely.com.
