Thomas Pesquet with saxophone in Cupola
5 April 2019 Music has long been known to affect people's mood. A certain tune can lift you up or bring you to tears, make you focus, relax or even run faster. Now a study is investigating how the power of music may improve human performance in one of the most stressful and alien environments we know - space. Music can help release a cocktail of hormones that have a positive effect on us: oxytocin, endorphin, serotonin and dopamine. Besides the pleasure we get from it, music can be used to prolong efficiency and reduce anxiety. Stress factors in space can lead to disrupted sleep, impaired time perception and spatial orientation. "Space appeared to me as the perfect testing ground to use anti-stress music," says violin teacher Luis Luque Álvarez, whose 'Music for space' project puts the psycho-physiological research of music at the service of space exploration.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.