Can heavy metal make you happier?
A new study says the loud music leads to more positive feelings.
Have you ever put on heavy metal when you want to be in a better mood?
You should, according to a new study by The University of Queensland.
“We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions,’’ UQ School of Psychology student Leah Sharman said. “Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt.’’
The study was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and involved 39 regular listeners of extreme music, aged 18-34 years. The participants went through an “anger induction’’ where they described angering events in their life through prompts around relationships, employment, and finances.
They then listened to 10 minutes of songs of their own choosing, followed by 10 minutes of silence before being monitored again.
“It was interesting that half of the chosen songs contained themes of anger or aggression, with the remainder containing themes like—though not limited to—isolation and sadness,’’ Sharman said. “Yet participants reported they used music to enhance their happiness, immerse themselves in feelings of love and enhance their well-being.’’
Bam Margera was happy about the findings. He wrote a blog post about the study, encouraging readers to “share and headbang for positive inspiration.’’
Last week we wrote about how cat videos make you happy, too. These heavy metal cats are pretty much the most hardcore happiness cocktail.
[fragment number=0]
Fall 2015 Boston Calling line up
[bdc-gallery id=”115619″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com