Bridgeside Builds Connections and the Ultimate Summer Playlist

Everyone has that one song that takes them back to a favorite summertime memory. In fact, memory recollection from music is a well-known phenomenon to brain researchers. And with the start of the new season rapidly approaching, we decided to make this summer memorable by curating the ultimate playlist.

Our Cocktail Talk, hosted in the lobby of Bridgeside, invited community members to catch up over complimentary beverages while connecting with others over a shared interest. And as participants swapped songs with one another, they also showed their competitive spirit by playing a giant version of Connect Four. 

As the cocktails flowed, so did the conversations. In addition to the community sharing their favorite song for the summer (the full playlist can be found here!), they also discussed how they find out about new songs in the first place, which varied a decent amount:

On the other hand, it was unanimous amongst attendees that music impacts them both cognitively and emotionally – and there’s data to support those notions. For instance, in a study conducted by AARP, researchers found that “music can be good for your mind, heart, and soul,” adding that music listeners “had slightly higher average scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.”

Harvard Health Publishing did a deeper dive into this same study, notating that “music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain.” More so, “music can activate almost all brain regions and networks and it can help to keep a myriad of brain pathways and networks strong, including those networks that are involved in well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and happiness.”

Whether it’s actively or passively listening to music, the benefits remain just as strong, so take a listen to our curated playlist today!