The effects of everyone coming together to show their appreciation for these groups of people went beyond feeling grateful, says Catherine Loveday.
LONDON: I was immediately worried when I had a call from my mum at just after 8pm on Mar 26. She has early-stage dementia and lives in a remote village in England with very few neighbours.
Like millions of people across Europe, I had. My London street had come alive – despite lockdown – with people cheering from their doorsteps or pavements, and children’s faces appearing at open bedroom windows. In the same way that the sight of food makes us salivate or the smell of grass evokes a sense of summertime, these sensations automatically elicit positive feelings through the basic process of conditioning.But the effects we felt last Thursday go beyond learned association and feeling grateful. What many of us found for those few minutes was a much needed sense of human connection and belonging.
In fact, neuroscientists have now shown that when individuals perform together, there is evidence that brain activity becomes synchronised.For me, one striking feature of this celebration for the health service was the sound of other human voices. Neuroscience has shown that the human voice has an important impact, reducing stress hormones and raising levels of the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin. In fact, research shows that a mother’s voice can offer similar comfort to giving an actual hug.
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