A new study claims that regularly attending musical concerts makes you a generally happier person.
Researchers at Deakin University of Victoria, Australia surveyed 1000 randomly chosen people and found that those who regularly attend any kind of communal musical experience feel a higher level of satisfaction with their lives.
Any experience involving music and other people seems to improve wellbeing, from stadium concerts to musical theatre to simply a night out dancing.
Being with others is an essential component to improving wellbeing, as the study found regularly listening to music alone did not have the same effect on personal happiness and satisfaction.
Deakin University's Melissa Weinberg, co-author of the study, told CNN that the emotional and social connections made in a communal setting result in greater happiness than music alone can provide.
The researchers behind the report hope that the information can be used to "better understand how music is involved in emotional regulation".
"I think it's interesting that, in today's day and age, everybody's sort of walking around with headphones in their ears and not engaging with others," Weinberg said.
"Yet there's a clear difference between listening to music in isolation, versus listening to music with others or engaging with music."
Weinberg said it was the element of "active engagement" in attending communal music events that was crucial to an increased sense of wellbeing.
"People who intentionally interact with music, they're using an outlet to express their emotions."
Newshub.
