275: Photography and your Health

Im renaming November to MEvember and focusing on my health. Since photography is a large part of my life I wanted to examine how it contributes to my health. Today I want to share with you the 4 ways that photography is incredibly beneficial to your health and well being and how photography can take care of you.

Memory

Have you ever noticed how you have strong memories of taking photos more so than the event itself? Science may have an answer as to why! Reviewing our photographs builds new path ways from our hippocampus to more visual memory parts of our brain.

Creative

Have you ever wished you were a born creative? According to science, creativity really can be strengthened like a muscle when practiced regularly. The key, the more you do, the more experience you have, the more experience you have, the more you can tweak that experience to apply to the current situation at hand.

Physical

I routinely get 20k steps in at a wedding. While photography is not the most physically demanding job it’s far more demanding than a desk job or video game hobby. Physical exercise also helps in the creative aspect. When you move your body, get your blood flowing to the brain, reduces inflammation, and lowers stress hormones which can help create more connections between brain cells and brain areas.

Feels good to give to others

We all know that when we give to others, the mesolimbic pathway lights up increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex and activating the subgenual area which is also associated with higher levels of social belonging.

Resources:

• Memories, Photographs, and the Human Brain
• The Science behind Gift Giving
• Your Brain and Creativity
• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Community
• 46 Creative Photography Ideas: Free PDF Download

Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets at
http://freephotographypresets.com/

Connect with the Beginner Photography Podcast!

• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Send in your Photo Questions to get answered on the show - https://beginnerphotopod.com/qa
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!