Five Facts - Music Makes you Happy

Regular visitors to my blog know that I love music, but not everyone is as fanatical about music as I am, so this is my attempt to convert any non-music loving people with a few facts about the benefits:

1.  Music can help reduce your blood pressure and heart rate. (So much for the GP telling me I had to do lots of exercise to reduce my blood pressure! I joke. I'm still swimming.)

2.  Even if you listen to sad music, it will still lift your mood and reduce your stress levels. (I love sad songs. I have playlists full of them.)

3.  Making music, either singing or with instruments, is a recognised method of improving people's cognitive functions. (I play piano and guitar - badly - but I still get great satisfaction from it.)

4.  Music therapy has been shown to help stroke patients, especially with emotions and social interaction.

5.  Both playing and listening to music can help patients with dementia and amnesia.

The arguments in favour of music as therapeutic seem to be pretty decisive. In which case, why isn't music therapy offered by GPs instead, or alongside, anti-depressants?

My favourite way of listening to music right now is on Spotify. Below is a section of one of my favourite playlists. I can spend hours scrolling through all the songs on Spotify. It's my idea of musical bliss.

What is your idea of musical bliss?

Leicester Writes

"Leicester is a spicy cauldron of creativity!" This is what fellow Leicester writer, Siobhan Logan, said on Twitter this morning. I love it! And she's spot on!

As a writer living in Leicester UK, I consider myself to be very lucky. I have a fantastic support network around me because Leicester has proved itself to be a real hotspot of writing talent. Not only that, local writers are keen to support others, to share contacts and to pass on skills. There are writers’ workshops, writers’ clubs and spoken word events. There are University Courses catering for new and prospective writers as well as MA courses in Creative Writing. 

If you are a new writer and you live in the East Midlands then I expect you will be going along to the Leicester Writes Festival of New Writing on the last weekend of June 2015. It will be covering all areas of writing from poetry to writing novels, from short stories to screen writing. It even includes blogging.

One of the speakers is Jacob Ross. He will be giving a masterclass in the art of writing short stories on Friday 26^th June. It all sounds very exciting and it's excellent value for money.

If you want to find out more then visit Leicester Writes Website.

Did I mention that I will be on a panel of writers for a discussion called ‘New Technologies, New Directions’ on Sunday 28^th June at 3 pm? It will be taking place at the LCB Depot Courtyard Room which is just round the corner from Curve Theatre. Well, I've mentioned it now and I may well be mentioning it again! 

Hope to see you there.