We all have those days where you come home from a long, hard day and all you want to do is rot in bed until it’s acceptable to shower and put on pj’s for the night. Or maybe you’re in the middle of doing homework and all of a sudden you get that awful wave of anxiety about everything you still have to do. And we have certainly all had those days where it’s 2 p.m. and you’re just in an awful mood for whatever reason. It’s a lot easier to just sit there and feel those negative feelings, but you know what’s a lot more fun? A dance party. Yep, you heard me. I’m so serious, next time you’re feeling down, I want you to pop in your AirPods and play your favorite (happy) song and just dance it out for a second. You might be thinking this sounds really dumb, or maybe “I’m not five anymore”. Kick those thoughts out of your brain, throw on some headphones or blast your JBL speaker and dance it out!
It really works
You don’t have to take my word for it, there is endless research on the effects and links between the music and mental health. Without getting too scientific on you: when you are stressed your body has an increased physiological arousal which in simple terms is a heightened activation and physical responsiveness driven by your autonomic nervous system in response to an external stimuli (realizing the test you thought was next week is actually today). Based on neuroscientific studies, listening to music actually decreases physiological arousal, which is shown in a reduction of cortisol levels and a decrease in heart and blood pressure. Music also has been shown to affect stress-related emotional states such as worry, anxiety, and nervousness – which let’s be honest, we all can relate to those emotional states. I mean I probably experience at least two of those on any given day. So, do yourself a favor and listen to some music! Release those endorphins – which are the happy chemicals! These happy chemicals play a huge role in enhancing a natural sense of well-being and evoke happiness and pleasure which ultimately reduces stress levels.
Just get up
Dancing and physical activity in general for that matter, also releases those same feel-good chemicals that keep you happy. So when you feel that midday crash coming, or the overwhelming stress of the day starts to hit – just hop on up out of your chair. Put those AirPods in girl!! When we dance, we signal our body that we are safe and that we can relax and enjoy the pleasure of just rhythmically moving to the beat of the music. This is the time your body can let go of the emotions you are carrying and just be free for the duration of a song. Don’t think about the dancing, it can be terrible but it can also be beautiful. Just feel the music and move however you see fit. For me, these “dance parties” consist of jumping around the room, pretending I’m in an edit, or grabbing my hairbrush as a microphone as I sing in the mirror. So make it your own! Have fun, that’s the whole point!
Now I am not saying that this 3 minute dance party (or longer if you’d like!) is going to solve your problem, however sometimes rather than solving it you might just need to simply interrupt it. Give your brain and body a moment to let go and “reset” before you try and solve whatever the issue is.
Now, go grab your hairbrush as a microphone and put on your headphones and shuffle your favorite playlist or put on your favorite song and just dance it out!
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