Heavy metal fans cope better with pain

BarcelonaHeavy metal music festivals serve as endurance tests for attendees, to the point that they modify their pain tolerance. This is according to a study published in the journal "Scientific Reports, revealing that metal fans suffer temporary increases in their pain threshold during these music festivals. The research explores how metal, a genre "associated with negative emotions such as anger", could help manage the discomfort of patients with chronic pain. The work, done by theMax Planck Institute for Cognitive and Human Brain Sciences (Germany), compares two groups of 60 people, one of which is made up of attendees of Wacken Open Air, one of the most important heavy metal festivals in the world, based on measurements such as pain tolerance, sensitivity, and heart rate variability.

Researchers calculated the time volunteers could hold their arm in a tank full of ice-cold water while their heart rate was measured with an electrocardiogram. The analysis results conclude that there is no difference between participants in pain sensitivity, but an increase in tolerance does occur during the festival. The work also considers possible confounding variables such as personal sensitivity and anticipatory joy. However, the study excludes individuals who exceeded certain indicators of excessive alcohol consumption.

The clinical potential of heavy metal

According to the research, the metalheads were able to withstand the cold for longer than the control group. “We see that they became more resilient, and that they could have accepted unpleasant sensations and focused on the factors they could control,” explains Lydia Schneider, author of the study, in an article from the German institute. Tom Fritz, the other researcher, assures that “it is important to accept unpleasant emotions,” and highlights “the preventive role that metal can play with patients who have a lot of repressed anger due to chronic pain.”

Other recent scientific works have also investigated the clinical potential of heavy metal. A study developed by researchers from the La Princesa Hospital, in Madrid, investigated the effects of three different musical genres on patients with disorders of consciousness: classical music (Mozart), dodecaphonic music (Schönberg), and heavy metal (Volbeat). The results showed that metal was the genre that provoked the most cerebral stimulation. Another analysis from the journal Scandinavian Journal of Pain explored the impact of this musical genre on pain perception. The researchers subjected 45 people to cold resistance tests, while they first listened to thrash metaland then relaxing music. The work indicated that heavy metal helped to experience less pain in extreme temperatures.