We all love to indulge in our favorite TV show after a long working day, but did you know watching movies also boosts your cognitive functions? It can lower your cortisol levels (a primary hormone linked with stress), help you release pent-up emotions, inspire you to act in a certain way, and much more. So, don’t feel guilty if you’re prone to binge-watching on weekends, a whole lot of those films can have a great effect on your brain!
Join us as we examine how watching movies can help students relieve stress and prepare to make the most of your next movie night!
Watching a movie may allow the student to experience emotions that they do not usually feel or express, such as happiness, grief, or rage. These feelings might help the student process what is going on in their life and release repressed feelings. It’s a well-known fact in psychology that bottling up emotions for a long time can seriously harm one’s mental health. This is why expressing a wide range of feelings while viewing a wonderful film is a foolproof way to avoid this problem.
We live in an extremely fast-paced world where the incessant flow of information and hectic schedules have a heavy toll on our brains. Students attend myriad classes in the morning, then consult letsgradeit.com professional writing assistants to skyrocket their skills and study software development in the evenings to prepare themselves for their dream job. That’s a lot of stuff. Watching a movie can distract students from the pressures that they are facing in their lives and provide them with an escape for a few hours.
It Strengthens Your Sense of Community
Remember how you reached for your tissue when watching Schindler’s List? Well, the experience might have had long-term positive effects on your brain by boosting your sense of community. A study conducted at Oxford University shows that viewing melancholic films increases pain tolerance and social bonding by stimulating the release of endorphins and other feel-good hormones. What’s more, traumatic films encourage us to feel empathetic toward the characters, a feeling that stays with us after we finish the film. And yes, it’s true that one feels better after shedding tears.
Watching excellent films is one of the best ways to broaden one’s perspective. Films have the potential to alter our perceptions, inspire us to act, and boost our creativity like no other. The best films always expose our true selves, allowing us to better understand the world around us.
A great character who displays unyielding enthusiasm for something can inspire us to skyrocket our writing skills via regular practice, while an eye-opening documentary about the state of our declining ecosystem can motivate us to tackle the problem. Films have great power, so be sure to watch only the best ones!
Watching a movie is a terrific way to unwind and get away from the worries of everyday life. After just 20 minutes of watching a good film, viewers report feeling less worried and more relaxed. Watching a movie can be a pleasant respite, so be sure to make a list of your absolute favorites and watch them whenever you need a little break!
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Andrew Mazur is a student advisor and blogger. For years, students have relied on him to tackle their personal and academic hardships. Andrew also writes educational blog posts to help students orient themselves in life and leverage as many opportunities as possible.