We love a good study that paints metal in a positive light, like how metal can promote scientific thinking, metal fans are more analytical, or that metal fans are less likely to cheat on their significant other. Today, we look at a study that says metal, and live music in general, will make you less stressed.
A total of 117 volunteers attended two performances of composer Eric Whitacre's music at the Gloucester Cathedral and Union Chapel in London. These volunteers gave up saliva samples both before and after the performances where researchers would test volunteers' levels of cortisol and cortisone, according to The Telegraph.
"This is the first preliminary evidence that attending a cultural event can have an impact on endocrine activity," said research lead Daisy Fancourt of the Centre for Performance Science, a partnership between the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London.
Fancourt adds that the results are "in line with 22 previous studies showing that listening to music in the controlled setting of either a laboratory or a hospital can reduce cortisol levels," though the testing was only done with classical music. Researchers believe the effect has to do with simply engaging with the arts as a kind of stress relief, so we're not ruling out that seeing bands like Magrudergrind and Napalm Death isn't a good way to destress just yet!
Plus, doesn't metal just take away all your anger and act as a good catharsis?
[via Brooklyn Vegan]
