"Happy People Don't Kill Their Husbands; They Just Don't""

How awesome is this? Music you love can do more than get you all boppy. Apparently, "In addition to giving you you a bit of a mental rush, believe it or not, it may have been doing your heart some good as well", according to Talk of the Nation Science Friday (11/14). Listening to music you enjoy can dilate your blood vessels. What I find really cool about this study is that it truly centers around music that brings you pleasure personally, and not like that "listening to Mozart when you're pregnant helps the baby's brain development" thought. So if listening to The Cure or Metallica or Nine Inch Nails is what gets you to your happy place, then that is the music you should be listening to for heart health.

What I also found very interesting about the story was the idea of "emotional desensitisation" the scientist talked about, and how a person should rotate favorite happy songs (or albums) so that it is heard only once every two weeks or so for the endorphins to be released at the same intensity. The title of the post, by the way, comes from Legally Blonde and Elle's fabulous defense of the murder suspect (who works out a lot), saying, "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't!" Whenever I hear anything about endorphins, that is what immediately pops into my head. Anyway, to get back on topic here, I find that to be rather apt. I know that I tend to fall in love with songs and albums, and listen to them constantly, getting that "high" off of them, until the high starts to decrease and one day it just stops working. Just this morning on the way to work, I went through about three cds - my Stranger Than Fiction soundtrack, my Disturbia soundtrack (I have a major thing for soundtracks, okay? I'm looking into getting help), and my London Calling cd (which generally always does the trick) - before I finally hit one that didn't leave me listless and ever more disenchanted with my Monday morning commute. That one was Elvis. I listened to "Love Me Tender", "Suspicious Minds", and "A Little Less Conversation" (the remix version) a couple of times before I pulled in the garage this morning, and because it has been a long time since I last listened to Elvis, it did the trick. This whole idea of switching out cds is going to be a bit difficult for me, as I tend to leave one cd in my player until I am absolutely sick of it (as my best friend can attest, having once heard the Disturbia soundtrack about 3 times in a row on one car trip). But I'm going to do my best, because I want the endorphins. I don't exercise and can't eat chocolate, so this is my last, best chance at heart health - aside from the Cheerios, of course.