10 Proven Benefits of Listening to Music

Science Proves the Advantages of Music

Scientific research has proved that listening to music can be beneficial by improving a person’s physical health and mental well-being. The benefits are seen to go well past the moment because it directly affects a person’s cognitive functions and hormones for a long time after.

Here’s a list of ten benefits you will enjoy from listening to music:

1. Increased Physical Performance

The tempo and intensity of the music that you are listening to can have a direct relationship on how much energy you put into your workout.

A study conducted on long-range runners showed that those who listened to motivational music, whether slow or fast, completed their runs faster than fellow runners who were looking to calm music or no music at all. The overall performance increase is why gyms prefer to play techno and high-tempo rap music to get their patrons pumped up.

2. Makes You Happier

Scientific research from the University of McGill has shown that listening to music that you like makes the brain release dopamine which is the feel-good hormone.

The study was conducted by injecting radioactive substances into brains of test subjects and then using a PET scan to see which parts of their minds lit up. The results showed that large amounts of dopamine were released, which cause the subjects to feel excitement, happiness, and joy.

3. Increases Your Verbal Cognizance

A study that was conducted on children under the age of 6 showed that they were slightly better at languages after a single month of music lessons.

How Listening To Music Benefits Your Brain https://t.co/PuFq8PDkCW#music #brain #mentalhealth #anxiety #depression #stress #ADHD #autism #memory pic.twitter.com/QBzbf55dJs

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The music lessons were based on rhythm, voice, melody, and pitch, and suggested that the music made it easier for them to recognize individual words. A separate study showed that the effect is the same on adults because those with musical training outperformed those without on verbal memory tests.

4. Raises Your Academic Performance

Studies show that young children who take music lessons are destined to perform better in school.

The research to support this theory was done on 6-year olds who took piano and vocal lessons for nine months. The results showed that these children scored higher on school tests, with those in the singing group getting the best results.

5. Battles Depression

The direct effect that music has on our hormones makes it act as a natural antidepressant. Music has a relaxing effect because it causes the release of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine which all help to raise your mood. Classical and relaxing music tended to be the most effective while techno and heavy metal tend to depress people even more.

6. Reduces Pain

According to Bob Marley, listening to music you love helps to take the pain away.

Studies conducted at Drexel University confirmed this claim when they found that music therapy, in some cases, was more effective than standard treatments for treating cancer patients for pain. The only kind of music that this applied to was classical and meditative music.

7. Maintains Your Cognitive Ability As You Age

Healthy mature adults with a decade or more of professional music experience are found to score higher on cognitive tests than those with little or no musical study.

The theory behind this phenomenon is that studying an instrument and the years of practice involved create new and stronger neural pathways in the brain.

8. Helps You Deal With Road-Rage

The radio may be single-greatest device when dealing with prissy drivers or traffic-jams that won’t end.

Studies run by the Dutch show that the mood-enhancing effects of music also cause you to drive more safely and calm you down when you’re behind the wheel.

9. Aids You to Sleep Better At Night

Insomnia affects close to 30% of the population in the Western world.

Sleeping pills are the preferred solution for most, however, listening to relaxing music for about an hour before going to bed may be a better solution. The caveat is this only works if you listen to classical and calming music, so no listening to Daft Punk right before bed.

10. Improves Your Overall Health

Stress causes about 60% of all illnesses, therefore, listening to relaxing music will reduce your chances of getting sick.

The study that proves this showed that people who played musical instruments and sang often had stronger immune systems than those who just listened.

To Conclude

From what the studies have found, classical music has the best effect on our brains and bodies.

You don’t have to listen to classical music if it’s not your favorite genre however if you feel that you are in dire need of musical therapy then it’s your best choice.

If you only want to enjoy a few tunes on your way to work, then whatever is on your playlist will do the job.