Researchers have found that…

Listening to Heavy Metal Music May Actually Make You Calmer

…at least according to a study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

While studies like this have to be taken with at least a small grain of salt (there must be some exceptions to the rules, as there usually are), I’m not entirely surprised by the results of this study.

It’s been nothing more than a “hunch” of mine for a while, but I’ve felt that people have to balance their lives in some way.  If you work in a job that involves meeting and conversing with many people, I’ve wondered if in your free time you tend to want to do the opposite and be on your own in a quiet setting with as few people around you as possible.

In my life, this is certainly the case.

Another bit of anecdotal evidence: I enjoy listening to Howard Stern’s radio show, particularly for the in depth interviews he snags out of various celebrities.  For those who have never heard his show, it is essentially a four plus hour long party (one that at times gets quite raunchy) with him at the center of it and various characters and personalities around him.

Listening to him, one might be forgiven for assuming that in his free time Mr. Stern would continue the “good times”.  You would think his showmanship would have to extend to after hours, and he must be the type of person who loves going to parties and hanging around with friends and having fun.  Yet whenever Mr. Stern talks about his free time, he notes how he wants to be alone.  He has stated on many occasions that he doesn’t like going out and wants to get to bed early.  His latest hobby, in fact, is watercolor painting!  Listening to him talk about his free time, one gets the feeling it runs directly opposite to his radio work.

And so we return to the topic of Heavy Metal Music.  Perhaps those that listen to it get their emotions revved while listening to it and that, in a way, uses the emotions up and allows them to be more “steady” afterwards.

An interesting, if not earth shaking, bit of information, if proven true.