Recent research shows that listening to music improves our mental well-being and increases our physical health in a surprising and amazing way. If we take a music lesson or two, that music training can help increase our IQ, and even keep us lucid in old age. Here are 15 amazing benefits of scientifically proven music listening:
1. Music makes you happier
Scientific studies show that when you listen to the music you like, your brain secretes dopamine, the neurotransmitter in charge of happiness. Valore Salimpoor, a neuroscientist at McGill University, injected eight music lovers with a radioactive substance that binds to dopamine receptors after listening to their favorite music. The CT scan showed a large amount of secreted dopamine, which caused participants to feel emotions such as happiness, excitement, and joy.
So you know, the next time you feel depressed, put on the songs you like best for a few minutes, and you will see how it improves your mood.
2. Music improves your running performance
It is proven that people who run listening to motivational music can travel a greater distance in less time than people who run without listening to music.
So if you want to take your career to a higher level, listen to songs that inspire you!
3. Music reduces stress and improves health
Listening to the music you love lowers levels of cortisol, the hormone produced by stress. This is an important discovery since 60% of our illnesses and diseases are generated by excess stress in our lives. A study showed that if people actively participate in making music, whether playing instruments or singing, their immune systems can become considerably stronger.
So when you get tired from work, turn on the radio! even dance a little or hum the songs. You will see how the stress of the day goes completely.
4. Music helps you sleep better
More than 30% of Americans suffer from insomnia. One study showed that students who listened to classical music to relax for 45 minutes before going to sleep slept much better than students who listened to an audiobook or did nothing different from their normal routine. So if you’re having trouble sleeping, listen to a bit of Bach or Mozart before bed to relax more.
5. Music reduces depression
More than 350 million people suffer from depression worldwide. 90% of them also experience insomnia. Asleep investigation found that symptoms of depression decreased significantly in the group that listened to classical music at bedtime, but not in the other groups. Another study by Hans Joachim Trappe in Germany also showed that music can benefit patients with depressive symptoms, depending on the type of music. Meditative sounds and classical music lifted people’s spirits, but techno and heavy metal further depressed participants.
The next time you feel down, play classical or meditative music to lift your spirit!
6. Music helps you eat less
A Georgia University of Technology study showed that softening the lighting and music while people ate led to fewer calories and more enjoyment of their meals. If you are looking for ways to control your appetite, try dimming the lights and listening to soft music the next time you sit down to eat.
7. Music improves your mood while you drive
A study in the Netherlands indicates that listening to music while driving has a positive impact on your mood. That is why it is essential to have music on when you are in traffic so that you do not arrive in a bad mood at your destination.
8. Music strengthens memory and learning
Researchers discovered that music can help you learn and remember information. But it depends on how much you like music, and whether or not you are a musician. Subjects memorized Japanese characters while listening to music that seemed positive or neutral to them. The results showed that participants who were musicians learned better with neutral music, but performed better when listening to pleasant music. Non-musicians, on the other hand, learned better with positive music but performed better with neutral music.
Remember these results. Now you have a strategy to study more effectively for your next exam.
9. Music relaxes patients before and after surgery
Studies show that listening to relaxing music before surgery decreases anxiety, even better than some relaxing medications given before an operation.
Worldwide, 234 million major surgeries are performed each year. If you or someone you know is about to have surgery, be sure to bring some calming tunes to ease anxiety. It will surely work better, and it will certainly have fewer adverse side effects than the medications doctors give.
10. Music reduces pain
Studies conducted at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that music therapy reduces pain more than standard cancer treatments in patients. The selection should be classical music, music for meditation, or any song chosen by the patient.
Bob Marley was correct: listening to the music you love takes your pain away.
