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Music improves your health and wellbeing. Music stimulates the brain which in turn helps with pain relief, reducing stress and memory. A study from Harvard has shown that relaxing music...
- Overview
- Music connects us
- Music’s effects on the mind
- Music’s effects on mood
- Music’s effects on the body
- The takeaway
In 2009, archaeologists excavating a cave in southern Germany uncovered a flute carved from a vulture’s wing bone. The delicate artifact is the oldest known musical instrument on earth — indicating that people have been making music for over 40,000 years.
Although we can’t be sure exactly when human beings began listening to music, scientists do know something about why we do. Listening to music benefits us individually and collectively. Here’s what research tells us about the power of music to improve our physical, mental, and emotional health.
Researchers think one of the most important functions of music is to create a feeling of cohesion or social connectedness.
Evolutionary scientists say human beings may have developed a dependence on music as a communication tool because our ancestors descended from arboreal species — tree-dwellers who called to one another across the canopy.
Music remains a powerful way of uniting people:
•national anthems connect crowds at sporting events
•protest songs stir a sense of shared purpose during marches
•hymns build group identity in houses of worship
It can lead to better learning
Doctors at Johns Hopkins recommend that you listen to music to stimulate your brain. Scientists know that listening to music engages your brain — they can see the active areas light up in MRI scans. Researchers now know that just the promise of listening to music can make you want to learn more. In one 2019 study, people were more motivated to learn when they expected to listen to a song as their reward.
Listening has limits
A note of caution: You may want to withhold the earbuds for some students. Researchers who tested students with lower working memory capacity found that listening to music — especially songs with lyrics — sometimes had a negative effect on learning. Was this helpful?
It can improve memory
Music also has a positive effect on your ability to memorize. In one study, researchers gave people tasks that required them to read and then recall short lists of words. Those who were listening to classical music outperformed those who worked in silence or with white noise. The same study tracked how fast people could perform simple processing tasks — matching numbers to geometrical shapes — and a similar benefit showed up. Mozart helped people complete the task faster and more accurately. Mayo Clinic points out that while music doesn’t reverse the memory loss experienced by people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, music has been found to slow cognitive decline, helping people with mild or moderate dementia remember episodes from their lives. Music memory is one of the brain functions most resistant to dementia. That’s why some caregivers have had success using music to calm dementia patients and build trusting connections with them.
A number of researchers have interviewed groups about why they listen to music. Study participants vary widely in terms of age, gender, and background, but they report strikingly similar reasons.
One of the most common uses of music? It helps people regulate their emotions, researchers found. It has the power to change moods and help people process their feelings.
It can help your heart health
Music can make you want to move — and the benefits of dancing are well documented. Scientists also know that listening to music can alter your breath rate, your heart rate, and your blood pressure, depending on the music’s intensity and tempo.
It decreases fatigue
Anyone who has ever rolled down car windows and turned up the radio knows that music can be energizing. There’s solid science behind that lived experience. In 2015, researchers at Shanghai University found that relaxing music helped reduce fatigue and maintain muscle endurance when people were engaged in a repetitive task. Music therapy sessions also lessened fatigue in people receiving cancer treatments and raised the fatigue threshold for people engaged in demanding neuromuscular training, which leads us to the next big benefit.
It boosts exercise performance
Exercise enthusiasts have long known that music enhances their physical performance. A 2020 research review confirms that working out with music improves your mood, helps your body exercise more efficiently, and cuts down on your awareness of exertion. Working out with music also leads to longer workouts. In clinical settings, athletes who listened to high-intensity, fast music during warmups were motivated to perform better competitively. You don’t have to be a world-class competitor to benefit: Research shows that syncing your workout to music can allow you to reach peak performance using less oxygen than if you did the same workout without the beat. Music acts as a metronome in your body, researchers said.
Music exerts a powerful influence on human beings. It can boost memory, build task endurance, lighten your mood, reduce anxiety and depression, stave off fatigue, improve your response to pain, and help you work out more effectively.
Working with a music therapist is one effective way to take advantage of the many benefits music can have on your body, mind, and overall health.
Jun 28, 2016 · Jill Suttie explains why we love music. Discover how playing music together can help kids develop empathy. Explore how singing together makes us healthier and more connected. This tendency to synchronize seems to become only more important as we grow.
- Music Bridges Cultural and Linguistic Gaps. Music is often hailed as a universal language. Regardless of one’s geographical origins or linguistic capabilities, the essence of a song can be felt and appreciated.
- Human History is Rich with Musical Connections. 40,000 years of music explained in 8 minutes | Michael Spitzer. From way back when to now, music has always been a big deal for us humans.
- Music Offers Both Entertainment and Art. Aside from its function of bringing people together, music is also used for entertainment and art purposes by some cultures.
- For Many, Music is a Source of Solace and Relaxation. Everyone gets stressed or anxious from time to time, even if it’s not about school or work pressure.
Feb 26, 2020 · Chal Ravens explores the etymological evolution of “UK club music” and speaks to some of its key players: about how regional roots are growing into digital ecosystems, and powering new conversations about globalisation in club culture
Apr 24, 2024 · Listening to music can be entertaining, and some research suggests that it might even make you healthier. Music can be a source of pleasure and contentment, but there are many other psychological benefits as well. Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and help people manage pain better.
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Dec 16, 2022 · Key points. Music has mathematical structure, so your brain has to figure it out, making for a mental workout that creates and strengthens neural pathways. Music can also benefit overall health...
