Maxed Out Your Sick Days? Scientists Prescribe Happy Dance Tunes to Boost Your Health
By: Bean Jones
Double Benefits. Dancing is already good for you. But who knew that the tunes also brought added health benefits?
When all else fails, happy dance music may just save the day.
Sound Medicine
Calling in sick for the past couple of days has made me realize that popping pills isn't the ultimate cure-all. (Ah! Such irony! I get hit by the flu right after blogging about going to the doctor.)
In this case, all my dear dad said was: "Sometimes all you need to do is rest."
But how about listening to a cheery dance beat to bounce back from a bug?
Upbeat Tunes
Yes, that's right. A dose of infectious dance floor favorites like the cheesy "Macarena" and even classic waltz melodies may just be what you need to fight off the flu and other maladies.
In separate studies, scientists from the UK-based Sussex University and the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany discovered that listening to approximately "50 minutes of uplifting dance music increases your levels of antibodies."
Apparently, after listening to dance-worthy ditties, the subjects' levels of the antibody immunoglobin A were heightened. This was welcome information as immunoglobulin A is the immune system's first line of defense against any threat of infection.
Stress-Busting Melodies
Aside from keeping you healthy, a dose of dance music can reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Dr. Ronny Enk, a neurocognition expert who led the Max Planck Institute research team, explains: "We think the pleasant state that can be induced by music leads to special physiological changes which eventually lead to stress reduction or direct immune enhancement."
In any case, Dr. Enk emphasized that they "did not use relaxing music, but rather exciting music that were joyful dance tunes from different centuries."
Musical Therapy
With such groundbreaking studies about the effects of music on people's psychological wellness, musicians today are more likely to explore this facet of their craft.
Though they don't have a Hot 100 list yet, music created for therapeutic purposes is a growing industry. Indeed, most music therapists promote their tunes online in the hope of enlightening more people about music playing a part in healing people's minds and bodies.
But one thing's for sure...it was not the "Macarena" that made me feel better. I think it was Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear" that did it.
Credits: Photo by Vojko Kalan, courtesy of Public Domain Pictures.
Comments
Music therapy is a great way to not only alter your state of mind, it can truly make you a healthier person. Music has a great effect on people than many realize.
In this time of so much fear and mismanagement of data it is such a welcome relief to get some good news. The world would indeed be a better place if we could involve more people dancing during the work week. What the heck, why not at work?