Wellness Wednesday: Let Music Soothe Your Soul
Throughout the winter term each Wednesday, faculty members from our department will share a wellness tip with you, based on their area of expertise and research.
Today’s wellness tip comes from president Benoit-Antoine Bacon: My field of research is sensory perception – how our brain processes signals from neurons in our eyes and ears to build our perception of what we call ‘reality’. What we see and hear deeply influences our thoughts, actions and moods. My wellness tip is to be fully conscious of how sensory environments affect us, and to take active steps to spend more time in sensory environments that are conducive to well-being. Classic examples include the stillness and beauty of nature, or the elevating effect of outstanding architecture. An easy way to leverage this effect to is to close your eyes to take a bit of a break from the onslaught of visual stimulation, and put on your favorite music. Music has been shown to help sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress and elevate mood – research is clear that music chosen by the listener works best, so whether you like Beethoven or Metallica, let your favorite musicians soothe your soul! Read more about this at Time.com and Psychology Today.
In the Department of Psychology, we want to bridge the gap between education and service to raise awareness on mental health and promote the importance of individual well-being.
