So you spent $1300 to see Taylor Swift. Here's why your health is thanking you even if your wallet isn't.

• Stars including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles have been on tour this summer.

• We all know that concerts are fun, but they could be good for your health, too.

• This is because of the singing, dancing, and group bonding you do at live music events.

From Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to Harry Styles, 2023 is the summer of touring megastars.

And despite the dent shows leave in your wallet — possibly a very large dent, with Taylor Swift fans paying an average of $1,300 to attend her concerts — all the fun and excitement that comes with seeing your favorite artists could have priceless health benefits.

Insider spoke to Dr. Laura Mitchell, former associate professor of psychology at Bishop's University, Canada, who researched music, health, emotion and wellbeing, about the potential benefits of attending concerts.

Singing is good for you

Singing releases endorphins: hormones that help to relieve pain, reduce stress, improve mood, and make you feel euphoric. Research suggests they could also help to strengthen the immune system.

Mitchell said singing can also see us exercising breath control, good posture, and using a variety of muscles, which could improve our physical health over time.

Singing in a group could be even better 

If singing alone is good for you, singing in a group could be even better, because it can help you feel less stressed and more connected to the people around you, according to research.

And psychologists have a name for that intense feeling you get when you're singing to your favorite song in a huge crowd: collective effervescence.

"Music psychology researchers suspect that there's something specific about music that makes it more than the sum of its parts – an overarching positive effect which is the result of various factors coming together. There's a cohesion of people, all experiencing something at the same time, having shared emotions, which you don't get in many other contexts," Mitchell said.

Dancing counts as exercise

Dancing has similar benefits to other types of exercise, according to Medline Plus, with links to better heart health, stronger bones and muscles, and a lower risk of dementia. One Australian study involving 48,000 people found that those who danced often had a 46% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who never did.

Research by the National Institute on Aging and the University of Illinois, meanwhile, suggests that dancing could have the potential to slow down cognitive decline as we age, by keeping people physically and socially active.

Live music could boost your mental health

One study found that watching live music lowered participants' levels of the "stress hormone" cortisol, suggesting it made them relaxed, according to the authors based in the UK. Another study found that live music appears to increase levels of the "feel good" hormone dopamine in the body, which lead the Canadian researchers to argue that going to cultural events like concerts could make us less stressed over time.

Mitchell said that being present in the moment, without distractions, is great for mental wellbeing. She also said that the unpredictability of live music is good for our brains, because it provides mental stimulation and a hit of dopamine when something we don't expect happens amongst the familiarity of our favorite songs.

Read the original article on Insider