AMP UP YOUR HEALTH
Why live music is scientifically proven to retune your well-being. Mic drop
The show must go on, even in a pandemic. In June last year, the South Korean boy band BTS took to a revolving stage to perform in front of 756,600 fans – none of whom was actually there. The largest ticketed online concert of all time, “Bang Bang Con” gave its viewers multiple camera angles to choose from and the option of broadcasting their applause. Audience members were offered virtual “lighting sticks” to wave around, as well as access to a live chat, presumably to simulate the kind of conversations they would have had with fellow devotees at a brick-andmortar venue. But as successful as the gig was
(it took in more than £14m), was it… well, a gig at all?
In 2018, brain activity measurements conducted by the University of Ontario showed a clear neurological difference between being present at a show and seeing it on screen. There was far more “synchrony” in the brain waves of those who physically attended a live performance, suggesting greater enjoyment and a stronger sense of connectedness with the music and the people around them. But a concert’s impact isn’t limited to short-term sensory thrills, or the pleasurable tricks that live music can play on your mind. A gig will rock your body, and in surprisingly beneficial ways.
According to a joint study by University College London and the Royal College of Music, attending concerts lowers the secretion of cortisol and cortisone – hormones involved in our bodies’ stress response – while increasing levels of a steroid called DHEA, which is associated with enhanced immune function, lower cholesterol and improved muscle deposition. Not only will these combined effects enhance your life, but they could help to extend it, too. In a recent review of gig-going research, Patrick Fagan of Goldsmith’s University concluded that a fortnightly session in the mosh pit could improve your health and sense of well-being by more than a fifth, paving the way for “almost a decade more years of life”.
So, book your tickets and get in line when the venues finally reopen. “Live music is the cure for what ails ya,” the former Black
Flag frontman Henry Rollins once wrote. Consider that your prescription.