 What's up Psych2Go viewers, my name is Donna and today we're going to be talking about five benefits to learning the musical instruments all while I learn to play the piano. Number one, it reduces stress. Psychologist Daniel J. Lebtin from the McGill University in Montreal found that music improves the body's immune system and reduces stress. Listening to music was also more effective to reducing anxiety and prescription drugs. Number two, it keeps your mind sharper as you age. A study done at the University of Kansas Medical Center recruited adults ages 60 to 83. These adults were then divided into musicians or non-musicians based on musical experience. They were instructed to perform several cognitive tests. Results show the musicians had higher scores than the non-musicians. Number three, improving verbal memory and childhood literacy. Dr. Nina Kraus and her team at Northwestern University tested children on their ability to read and recognize words as related to musical training. Kraus explains music and reading are related via common neural and cognitive mechanisms and suggests a mechanism for the improvements in literacy seen with musical training. Number four, improves hand-eye coordination. Researchers at Concordia University found that musicians have stronger white matter connectivity in the brain compared to non-musicians. Know who else has strong white matter connectivity? These connections are associated to hand-eye coordination. Number five, inspires creativity. You use both sides of your brain when reading music and playing with your hands. When you do this, you partake in a creative technique called divergent thinking. Because musicians practice this technique a lot, researchers at Vanderbilt University found musicians to be better at problem-solving and thinking outside of the box. So whether you're 7 or 70, it's never too late to pick up an instrument. And with all these benefits, why not? So I'm currently attempting to learn to play the piano with this really cool app called Scoove. And they've been kind enough to sponsor this Psych2Go episode. It's perfect for me because I work from noon to 7 and I just don't have time for the traditional music lessons and things like that. But all you need is your piano and your computer and it gives you really cool feedback and it tells me I suck all the time. I'm just kidding. But um, Yeah, their links will be down in the description below if you want to check them out. Please go show them some love for supporting Psych2Go. Articles will be down there as well. And question of the day, do you play an instrument? And if not, what kind of instrument would you like to play? Bye everyone. I'll see you guys next time.