Ever noticed how focused and relaxed guitar players look on stage? Or how some guitarists (think Keith Richards) seem to live forever?
Turns out playing guitar will benefit your body and mind in more ways you could imagine. Let’s take a look.
1. Minimise Stress
We all get stressed out from time to time – there’s no avoiding it. Good news is, picking up your guitar (or any other instrument) can help reduce the detrimental effects stress has on the mind and body. A study conducted by the Mind-Body Wellness Centre and Loma Linda University School of Medicine in the US discovered that playing music could reduce stress levels on a genomic level.
Learn more about how music can relieve stress in our article, Play Music, Relieve Stress.
2. Feel Good
Playing music, as well as hearing music, can make you feel some serious pleasure. A study into neuroscience at McGil University in Montreal, Canada, found hearing music releases the feel-good chemical dopamine into the brain.
3. Improve Your Intellect
Not only will playing guitar make you feel great, it will also improve your intellect. A study out of Scotland claims that guitarists (or any other musician) are more likely to have increased brain function. This can help protect against future mental decline.
4. Reduce Pain
Here’s something incredible. A study from the University of Utah’s Pain Research Centre suggests that listening to music, whether that’s recorded music, or the music you’re playing yourself, can distract, and therefore relieve, you from pain.
5. Make More Money
While you make not hit the big time in the music business, playing guitar can still help you earn more than those who don’t. According to a study done by Michigan State University, individuals who began playing music at a young age and kept it up through adulthood had a greater chance of becoming a successful innovator. That means, if you continue to nurture your musicality, you’re more likely to log a patent, publish writing, and build a business.
6. Become More Creative
Did you know musicians continue their creativity even when they’re not playing their instrument? A study out of Cambridge University claims that musicians are fast learners, and approach problems in a creative manner. This means playing guitar can help you thrive at work or school.
7. Protect Your Heart
Play guitar to protect your cardiovascular system. Researchers in the Netherlands found that individuals who played music for 100 minutes per day has significantly lower blood pressure and heart rate than those who didn’t.
Guitar Lessons
If you want to reap the incredible benefits of playing guitar, sign up for guitar lessons at the Liverpool Academy of Music. Give us a call on 02 9602 9774, or fill out the form on this page. You won’t regret it!
