If you love listening to music, you’re in good company. Charles Darwin remarked, “If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.” Albert Einstein declared, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician.” Jimi Hendrix called music his “religion.”
Music Makes You Happier
Research proves that when you listen to music you like, your brain releases dopamine, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter. Valorie Salimpoor, a neuroscientist at McGill University, injected eight music-lovers with a radioactive substance that binds to dopamine receptors after they listened to their favorite music. A PET scan showed that large amounts of dopamine were released, causing the participants to feel emotions like happiness, excitement, and joy.
Music Enhances Running Performance
“If people take anything from my music, it should motivate them to know that anything is possible as long as they keep working at it and don’t back down.” – Eminem
Marcelo Bigliassi and his colleagues discovered that runners who listened to fast or slow motivational music completed the first 800 meters of their run faster than those who listened to calm music or ran without music. To elevate your running, listen to inspiring songs.
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Music Lowers Stress and Improves Health
“I think music heals. It explosively expresses humanity and touches us all, no matter our culture.” – Billy Joel
Listening to music you enjoy decreases cortisol levels in your body, counteracting chronic stress. This important finding reveals that stress causes 60% of all illnesses. One study showed that actively making music by playing percussion instruments and singing boosts the immune system more than passive listening. To stay calm and healthy during a stressful day, turn on the radio, and sing along and tap your feet to maximize healing benefits.
Music Helps You Sleep Better
“Music washes the dust of everyday life away from the soul.” – Berthold Auerbach Over 30% of Americans suffer from insomnia. A study showed that students who listened to relaxing classical music for 45 minutes before turning in slept significantly better than students who listened to an audiobook or did nothing different from their normal routine. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try listening to Bach or Mozart before bedtime to catch some Zs.
Music Reduces Depression
More than 350 million people suffer from depression worldwide. A whopping 90% of them also experience insomnia. The sleep research above showed that symptoms of depression decreased significantly for the group that listened to classical music before bedtime, but not for the other two groups. Another study by Hans Joachim Trappe in Germany also demonstrated that music benefits patients with depressive symptoms, depending on the music type. Meditative sounds and classical music uplift people, but techno and heavy metal bring people down even more. The next time you feel low, play some classical or meditative music to lift your spirits.
Music Helps You Eat Less
Researchers at Georgia Tech University showed that softening the lighting and music while people ate resulted in their consuming fewer calories and enjoying their meals more. If you’re looking for effective ways to curb your appetite, consider dimming the lights and listening to soft music the next time you sit down for a meal.
Music Elevates Your Mood While Driving
That’s what is loved by me. Not being interrupted, sitting in the car by myself listening to music in the rain. There are so many great songs yet to be sung.” – Alison Kraus.
A study in the Netherlands was conducted that found that listening to music can positively impact your mood while driving, which can lead to safer behavior than not listening to music. The next time you feel frustrated in traffic, the tunes should be turned up to improve your state of mind. Your driving performance won’t be hurt – it may even be helped so that you drive more safely.
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Music Strengthens Learning and Memory
Studies demonstrate that certain types of music might enhance memory performance. Music exposure, especially combined with learning strategies like imagery or maintenance rehearsal, can improve recall and retention of information. Research links listening to music with an optimal tempo to better performance in free recall tasks.
Furthermore, the brain’s response to music, emotional ties with melodies, and rhythmic patterns contribute to music's effectiveness as a mnemonic device. In education and therapy, these insights create avenues for integrating music into learning curriculums and memory disorder treatments
Music Improves Recovery in Stroke Patients
Research at the University of Helsinki showed that significantly improved recovery of cognitive function was experienced by stroke patients who listened to music they chose themselves for two hours a day compared to those who listened to audio books or were given no listening material.
Most of the music contained lyrics, which suggests that it’s the combination of music and voice that bolstered the patients’ auditory and verbal memory. Stroke is the number 5 cause of death in the United States. If you know someone who has suffered a stroke, their favorite songs should be brought as soon as you can. Listening to them can significantly ramp up their recuperation.
