Turns out attending gigs doesn’t just make you feel alive – they can increase your lifespan by up to nine years according to a new UK study.
University of London researchers have found just 20 minutes of watching a band can increase your wellbeing by 21 per cent.
In contrast, yoga only increased wellbeing by 10 per cent, while walking the dog boosted people’s mood by just seven per cent.
How did they test this?
A gig a day could keep the doctor away?
The researchers looked at participants’ psychometric and heart-rate readings as they did a variety of tasks. When watching live music, they experienced increases in self-worth (25+ per cent), closeness to others (25+ per cent) and mental stimulation (75+ per cent).
It is worth pointing out the research was conducted with funding from entertainment company O2 – which owns London’s O2 concert arena.
But other research does support the theory. Another recent study showed concertgoers brains’ actually ‘sync up’ at shows – and that leads to everyone feeling more connected with the performers.
So you can’t deny that going to concerts and music festivals leads to a great time – scientifically backed or not.
Unless you’re at a Justin Bieber concert.
