Over the years I've talked about how good drumming is for health. I'll start telling someone about it and they'll usually say: "Well, it's good exercise." That's true, and it's one of the most fun ways to exercise that I know of, but it's more than just exercise.
Drumming is great exercise and although there are more strenuous forms, they don't have the same level of benefits as drumming does, especially when it comes to the immune system. It's a mind/body connection in my opinion. It's primal and it's hardwired in our brains, again in my opinion.
I've told this story before but it still blows my mind. About a year after my dad had a stroke and I'd been keeping an eye on him, I was at Sam's getting a script filled for him. I decided to test my BP while I was waiting. It was 270/190, which is five points away from where they quit measuring.
I thought it was the machine so I took it again with the same results. The pharmacist noticed and took it manually and got the same numbers. He told me that I was about to fall over to the right with a heart attack or to the left with a stroke.
He wanted to call an ambulance but I got someone to come pick me up. My dad was taking a low-dose BP med, and I took 1/4 of a tablet, but that's all I did med-wise.
I got some organic dark chocolate, some Hibiscus, went and patted some animals and stared at aquariums, all of which lower BP. I hadn't been playing drums much, and I knew that drumming lowers BP, so I got on eBay and found a guy who could ship an e-kit overnight.
I set up the kit the next day and played 7-8 hours. Six days later my BP was 112/68. Except for that tiny bit of a pill I took plus the chocolate and stuff, all I did differently was play drums. My BP was textbook, and I still had a cig in one hand and a salt shaker in the other.
About a week ago a friend of mine decided to get a drum kit. I was really glad to hear that. I told her she'd have a blast and I sent her a link to an article about the health benefits of drumming. She was impressed.
I'm going to give her lessons, but in the meantime I told her to start paying more attention to the drums when she's listening to music. She said that the first time she sat down to play she was grinning from ear to ear. She's been tapping around for a couple hours each day for almost a week.
This morning she sent me a photo of her BP reading. She's been having problems with her BP creeping up over the last few months and she didn't want to take meds. She was blown away but it's been proven many times by actual science (SCIENCE).
The great thing about it is that no talent is required. As long as you're moving your hands in somewhat of a rhythmic manner, you'll get the same benefits as a professional drummer. Isn't that cool?
Studies have shown that even if you just bang on a cardboard box for an hour or.more, two to three days a week it increases your T-cell count (immune system) more than anything they know of. How about that?
You can lower BP by taking meds, which can have very bad side-effects, or you can try diet and exercise, and specifically drumming.
The side-effects of drumming are that it causes uncontrollable grins, lowers BP, anxiety and stress, can cause an increase in popularity, is great exercise and who knows...you might like it so much that you join a band and see the world. You might even get laid. Them's some good side-effects. Grab some sticks and get swingin'. You're welcome.
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