Glastonbury has come to another squelchy end, kicking off the festival season with an array of golden oldies giving it welly on the main stage. Whether your particular favourite was an exquisitely corseted Dolly or the shaggy whiplash of Metallica – this celebration of music arguably had something for everyone.

Music is a universal language that has been used as a method of communication for centuries. It can be a powerful tool that impacts our emotions, our brains, our bodies and our actions.

Science and music are often seen as two completely different camps but bring them together and the harmonies can be enlightening.

Science tells us that music helps memory. Not just any old music mind you, some people find music with words simply distracting.

I remember writing an essay for my A-levels that, when I read it back the next day, contained whole chunks of lyrics of Daft Punk.

But it does seem that music with a steady rhythm can help us remember things better. It seems to be a particularly effective technique for people who have cognitive challenges like dementia, dyslexia and autism.

It isn’t just helpful to have the music playing in the background. Giving a dyslexic child verbal instructions as a rhythm is likely to help them remember what you have said.

I tried this at home with my son (he isn’t quite old enough yet to get embarrassed by me attempting to rap his chores for the afternoon) and was astonished to find that he was able to remember a list of five instructions – normally we don’t get past “put your shoes on”.

Music might be good for memory but it is less great when driving. Scientists conducted a study with teenagers seeing how their driving was affected by music.

The teenagers were asked to drive listening to either their own favourite music, music selected by the researchers or nothing at all. The group who listened to their own music were more likely to make mistakes and to drive more aggressively.

Interestingly, the group who listened to nothing at all didn’t do so well either. The group who listened to neutral, unfamiliar music performed best... I hear that elevator music is available to purchase on line.

The festivities of Glastonbury undoubtedly made people feel a huge range of emotions.

Pharrell’s Happy is a great example of a song that induces a “felt emotion” response – you can’t help but feel happiness creeping up when you listen to that beat.

Some music, however, can make us experience a “perceived emotion”. A perceived emotion response, like feeling uplifted by a piece of music that expresses a sad quality is less common than felt emotion but demonstrates how complex our responses to music can be.

So if you missed Glastonbury but feel the need to boost your memory and test your emotional breadth, there are plenty of other great local festivals coming up.

Just don’t drive home listening to your favourite tracks!