The well-being benefits of music and dance
Why you should visit The Manly Jazz Festival this weekend.
The Manly Jazz Festival kicks off this afternoon, celebrating 45 years, which makes it the longest running Jazz festival in Australia. More than 70 musicians will be sharing their art with us over the course of the next 3 days and we’ll have an opportunity to listen, dance and play - all for free. Located right next to Manly Beach, 4 official stages will be joined by many more artists filling the streets of the Manly Village and all its magical nooks and corners.
If these aren’t tempting enough reasons for getting out this weekend, you might be interested in reading about some of the health benefits of music and dance in our life…
The healing power of music
Not only has music the power to instantly transport us to a different time and place and boost our creativity, we now know that music has a number of positive effects on our health. Music can reduce our stress and anxiety. When we listen to music, our body produces less of the stress hormone cortisol, while levels of endorphin and serotonin hormones are increased. This results in lowered stress and anxiety and has a positive effect on our overall mood. Neuroscience shows us that music engages the same reward pathways as sex, food and drugs. It can reduce symptoms of depression and has been found to support our healing when recovering from traumatic events. Studies also show that our heart-rate and blood pressure can be reduced by listening to music, positively benefiting those with any heart concerns. Music is often used for pain management, reportedly with greater effect than medication for some. It also has a positive impact on our memory and can decrease fatigue.
Apart from these obvious benefits, music touches our emotions in a way that shortcuts the labyrinth of walls we often build to protect ourselves from feeling them. It can help us connect to our feelings and process them, which supports our overall emotional and physical wellbeing.
Dance like no-one’s watching
Although music and dance come hand in hand, we often feel very self-conscious about moving our body to music in public. I have recently had the pleasure of watching my 3.5 year-old son find his own passion for dancing. The joy he radiates when he’s dancing is infectious and I often join him. I am so grateful for his reminder of how good it feels to just move my body without worrying about what it looks like.
When we dance, we connect with our body. It’s an opportunity to get to know ourselves. We start noticing what feels good and how different parts of our body can move. We connect with the sensations in our body that can help us learn more about our emotions. Being able to identify and acknowledge our emotions helps us process them in a healthy way. Dancing is a fantastic way to process our emotions, because they reside in our body. Movement is a great emotional release and rhythmic movement in particular helps to regulate our nervous system.
In a similar way as listening to music, dancing stimulates the release of mood-improving hormones and lowers our stress and anxiety levels. It reduces depressive symptoms, it’s energising and great for our lungs and heart. Dancing also strengthens our memory and increases creativity. I find that dancing has one more super-power though. It helps us connect to one another and increases our sense of belonging.
Spirit of community
There are many reasons why events, such as The Manly Jazz Festival, are important for our communities. Most of us have become very aware of the importance of community and connectedness thanks to our shared experience of the pandemic. Staying connected and having a sense of belonging is essential for our wellbeing. Isolation and loneliness are directly linked to depression as well as cognitive decline in older members of the community.
Music stimulates the release of the bonding hormone oxytocin. This helps us feel connected to those around us, whom we’re sharing our experience with. Dancing then reinforces the sense of belonging and connectedness by our shared embodied experience of moving together. Even if you choose not to or are unable to dance, being in the presence of music being created and others enjoyment of it will have an impact on you. Sharing our experiences increases the joy and happiness we derive from them. The same way, if there are members of our community struggling, this will have an impact on the rest of us. Let’s enjoy some great music, support local businesses and the performing artists this weekend.
Check out the Event Program on the Northern Beaches Council website.
