Listening to music means that you are in good company. It’s always nice to see people who can play the guitar and can sing. Some people love to listen to music in their bedroom while others listen to music while doing their chores. Listening to music can make you feel great afterward.
According to research, listening to music can help in improving your mental health and boosting your physical health in amazing and surprising ways. By taking a music lesson, that musical training can help in improving your IQ and can even make you sharper in old age. The following are fifteen incredible benefits of listening to music, according to science.
Music Improves Your Running Performance
Researcher Marcelo Bigliassi and his team discovered that those runners who choose to listen to slow or fast motivational music were the ones who completed the first 800 meters. They ran faster compared to the runners who were listening to calm music or did not listen to music at all. If you want to take your running to a higher level, then you should listen to songs that can motivate you.
Music Can Make You Happier
According to research, listening to music that you like will enable your brain to dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can make you feel good. A neuroscientist at McGill University, Valorie Salimpoor wanted to prove this by injecting eight people who are music lovers with a radioactive substance that connects to dopamine receptors after listening to their favorite music. Based on a PET scan, huge amounts of dopamine were released. Biologically, the participants feel great emotions such as joy, excitement, and happiness.
So, if you require an emotional boost, then you should listen to your favorite music even for just 15 minutes. This is all it takes to give you a natural high!
Music Improves Health and Reduces Stress
Listening to the songs that you enjoy can help in reducing the stress hormone cortisol, which can help in preventing the effects of chronic stress in your body. This is a relevant finding since stress is the major cause of about 60% of all our diseases and illnesses. One study indicates that if you actively participate in making music by singing and playing different percussion instruments, then it can boost your immune system more than if you are passively listening.
If you want to remain healthy and calm during a stressful day, then the best thing to do is to turn on your radio and listen to music. To obtain superior healing benefits, you can tap your feet and sing along.
Music Can Minimize Depression
All around the world, over 350 million people are suffering from depression. Also, 90% of them might be experiencing insomnia. According to the sleep research, the symptoms of depression were significantly reduced in a group of participants who listened to classical music before going to bed, however not in the other groups.
According to the study conducted by Hans Joachim Trappe in Germany, music can be beneficial to patients who are suffering from depressive symptoms, but this will depend on the type of music that they listen to. Classical and meditative sounds can help in lifting you up. However, heavy metal and techno music can make you feel down even more.
So, when you are feeling low, try to listen to meditative or classical music to lift your spirits.
Music Can Help You Sleep Better
More than 30% of Americans are currently suffering from insomnia. Based on a study, students who tend to listen to relaxing classical music for at least 45 minutes can sleep better compared to those who listen to an audiobook or have not done anything different from their regular routine. Hence, if you are having trouble sleeping, then you could try listening to Mozart or Bach before going to bed so you can catch some good night’s sleep.
Music Can Help You in Eating Less
Based on the research at Georgia Tech University, listening to music and softening the lighting while you are eating can make you enjoy your meals more while consuming fewer calories. If you are searching for ways to curb your appetite, then listen to soft music and dim the lights when you are eating your meal.
Music Can Strengthen Your Memory and Learning
Researchers found out that music can help you in recalling and learning information better. However, it will all depend on whether you are a musician or how much you love the music. Participants were listening to music that is either neutral or positive to them while memorizing Japanese characters. The results indicated that subjects who were musicians improved their learning while listening to neutral music, but better results were obtained when they listened to pleasurable music. On the other hand, non-musicians improved their learning with positive music, but a better performance was observed with neutral music.
So, next time if you are looking for a way to study more effectively, listen to your favorite music.
Music Boosts Your Mood While Driving
A study conducted in the Netherlands showed that listening to music can provide a positive impact on your mood while driving. This can result in safer behavior than never listening to music at all. If you get frustrated with the traffic, then simply turn on the music to elevate your state of mind. Ultimately, this will not affect your driving performance, instead, it can make you drive more safely.
Music Can Make You Relax Before and After Surgery
Researchers discovered that listening to relaxing music prior to surgery can help in reducing anxiety. The fact is, it is even more effective than taking oral medications such as Midazolam, a medication usually used for making pre-op patients feel sleepy. However, it has side effects that include vomiting and coughing. Other studies reveal that patients who listen to soothing music while resting after having an open-heart surgery feel more relaxed.
Every year, about 234 million major surgeries are performed all over the world. If you know someone who is going into surgery, then let them listen to soothing tunes to relieve their anxiety. This can work better and most of all, it has fewer or no side effects than taking medication.
Music Can Improve the Memory of Alzheimer’s Patients
Music & Memory, a non-profit organization helps patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia in remembering who they are by making them listen to their favorite songs. Most often, the awakening can be dramatic. For instance, after listening to music from his generation, a wheelchair-bound dementia patient who can barely speak will sing some songs and will cheerfully reminisce about his life.
Music Minimizes Pain
Research conducted at Drexel University in Philadelphia revealed that pre-recorded music and music therapy can greatly help in reducing pain than other standard treatments most especially for cancer patients. Other studies indicated that music could reduce pain in geriatric care patients and intensive care patients. However, the music should either be meditative, classical, or songs that are chosen by the patients.
Music Accelerates Verbal Intelligence
A study at York University revealed that after having music lessons for one month, 90% of kids who are between 4 years old and 6 years old had a significant improvement in their verbal intelligence. According to Researcher Sylvain Moreno, music lessons have a transfer effect which improves the child’s capability to understand words and allows them to explain their meaning. Other researchers discovered that musically trained children and musically trained adult women excel on verbal memory tests than those without any musical training.
Whether you are a child or an adult, you can improve your verbal skills by taking music lessons!
Music Can Help Stroke Patients Recover
Research conducted at the University of Helsinki revealed that stroke patients who were listening to the music that they chose for at least two hours a day showed some significant improvement in the recovery of cognitive function than those who only listened to audiobooks or were not provided with any listening material at all. The music included lyrics that often boosted the verbal and auditory memory of the patient.
Music Can Improve IQ and Academic Performance
According to research, taking music lessons can improve the IQ and academic performance of young children. Based on one study, children who took singing or keyboard lessons for 36 weeks showed a significant increase in their IQ and educational test results compared to those who took drama lessons or had not taken any lessons at all. If you want your kids to excel in their academics, then you should encourage them to take up an instrument or sing.
Music Can Keep Your Brain Healthy Especially in Old Age
A study shows that healthy older adults who have musical experience of ten or more years have higher scores on their cognitive tests compared to those who only have one to nine years of musical experience. Those who have the lowest scores are the non-musicians.
Even at the age of 84, business magnate Warren Buffet remains sharp by playing the ukulele. This means that if you want to keep on top of your game, then it is never too late to play an instrument.
If you want to experience joyful and prayerful music, then visit Angelus Music at https://www.angelusmusic.com/.
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