Headbangers rejoice! Rocking out is good for the brain

Posted by Dave Musson on Sep 1st, 2009 in Fun & Games | 0 comments

God gave rock and roll to us, so the Doctors can stop complaining

It can be confusing and more than a little irritating to keep on top of what scientists tell us is good for our health – coffee, chocolate, red wine… they’re all things about which you can never get a straight answer. But now, thankfully, some research has been released that is easy to follow and, more importantly, will show that you are probably doing fine just as you are.

Yes, according to science now it is good for your health to rock out to some loud music, play video games, drink fizzy drinks, avoid doing the housework, swear, get angry and stressed, being untidy and, best of all, laze around doing nothing – all of which makes this particular reporter a picture of health.
The Daily Mail has put together a handy guide detailing all those occasions where what many would see as a ‘bad’ habit is actually doing us the world of good enabling you and I to go out there and sin with a grin.

Take the first point, and a particular favourite hobby of mine – rocking out to very loud music, which apprently is good for my brain. According to scientists at Manchester Univeristy, listening to loud music stimulates part of the inner ear called the sacculus, which gives the brain pleasure and makes us feel good during and after the music. These happy hormones relax us and make us more responsive, meaning of good dose of heavy metal on a Monday morning could be just the thing to kick-start your week. And it has to be loud, because the part of the ear is only stimulated at 90 decibels or above, meaning the next time you get told to turn it down, you can claim you’re simply brain training.

Meanwhile, across the pond researchers at the University of Miami have concluded that playing video games boosts metabolism, as they increase your heart rate causing you to use more energy. All of which means they could actually help you lose weight rather than the traditional image of them causing you to put it on.

While they may rot your teeth, drinking two cans of fizzy drinks a day can help you avoid Alzheimer’s and improve your memory by 20% – something also helped by getting stressed. Staying with a rage theme, geting angry is good for your blood pressure according to Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, while swearing can help ease pain, making top chefs those with some of the highest pain thresholds around.

If you suffer from allergies or asthma, then put down that feather duster and don’t even think about making your bed, as avoiding the housework can help boost our natural defences while bed bugs are actually quite fussy and won’t visit a unmade bed.

Fidgeters can also now rejoice, or at the very least have a celebratory twitch, as all that extra movement – anything from tapping to yawning – burns off up to an extra 350 calories a day. That means a natural fidget, which I now have no shame in admitting can be applied to myself, may spend up two more hours being active than others, enabling us to burn off between 10 – 30lbs a year.

But finally, the piece de resistence is the fact that sitting around doing sod all adds years to your lifespan. According to health expert Professor Peter Axt those with get up and go are heading for an early grave and that, provided people are otherwise healthy, lazing around is the key to long life and low stress.

Professor Axt – remember he is a real, genuine health expert – said: “Waste half your free time. People who would rather take a midday nap instead of playing squash have a better chance of living into old age. Research shows that people who run long distances into their 50s are using up energy they need for other purposes such as cell renewal and fighting disease.”

So, with that, I’m off upstairs with a can of coke, to laze around on my unmade bed, play video games I’m so bad that they stress me out and make swear whilst listening to Lamb of God, Black Sabbath and Megadeth, or, as I’m now calling it, doing my workout.

The proof: Daily Mail

Photography credit: Dave Musson Photography

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