Turn to Music to Rest and Digest

Turn to Music to Rest and Digest During Holidays

An estimated 55 million Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving, according to AAA. By plane, train or automobile that means hours of seat time and the potential for holiday anxiety to seep in. If you’re feeling in a funk, cue up your favorite playlist.

Research shows that listening to music can reduce stress in calming your nervous system and lowering cortisol levels. So, whether you’re indulging your guilty pleasure of singing with a 24-hour holiday music channel in the car, launching your top mixes on Spotify, or listening to the radio in your old room at your parent’s house this holiday, turn…it…up.

The power of music…

1. Creates happiness with a feel-good boost in the brain
2. Calms the nervous system and heart rate during bouts of anxiety
3. Puts one in the moment, in tune with oneself and in control of something
4. Allows for an emotional cleansing
5. Serves as a distraction from internal and external stress

And creating music can reset your nervous system back to a “rest and digest” mode and return you to a calm state through creativity. So after a generous meal, you may want to digest then rest. But if the dinner table conversation turns not to your liking, maybe a light toe tap under the table or a quick rat-a-tat-tat with the salad tongs can get you to rest and digest…then rest again.

To learn more: https://www.ascap.com/help/wellness/7-ways-music-reduces-stress-anxiety

Here's to safe, calm travelling to the beat of your own drum.