So, you’re feeling really happy because you just got a promotion at the office? Or you’re really sad because you are suffering from a major heartbreak? Well, the one thing that is common in these distinct situations is that you will turn to music to help yourself.
Yes, we all know how much music can affect our mood and our life in general. It makes us feel happier, lightens up our mood and also enlightens us. There is perhaps no other thing in this world that has an impact on us like music. We’ve all turned towards music in various situations of life and we all know just how much of a difference it creates to our life.
Many people believe that listening makes us smarter. Well, sure it does. However, there is so much more that music can do to a human being other than making them smarter. Here is all the good music can do to you only by casual listening. Take a look:
Music Raises Verbal Intelligence
“Music is to the soul what words are to the mind.”
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A recent study at the York University revealed that 90% of people and especially children had a significant raise in their verbal intelligence after being subjected to only a month of music education. Many researchers have found that music has, what is called a, ‘transfer effect’ on its listeners that enhances people’s ability to understand words and explain their meanings. Another study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania noted that musically trained adult women and men completely outperformed the ones not trained in music in verbal memory tests.
So, on the basis of three different studies, it would be safe to conclude that listening to music and practicing has a deep impact on your verbal intelligence.
Music Increases Your IQ And Academic Performance
“Music can change the world because it can change people.”
A study conducted by Germany’s Hamburg University shows that students who took keyboard and singing lessons had significantly larger increases in IQ and standardized educational test results than students who took either drama lessons or no lessons at all. Listening to music stimulates certain parts of your brain that otherwise remain in a dormant phase and hence, there is a considerable increase in an average person’s IQ upon regular listening to music.
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So, to help your children achieve academic excellence, encourage them to listen to music in their free time and also urge them to learn a new musical instrument like a keyboard or guitar.
Music Strengthens Memory
“Music is the language of memory.”
Researchers discovered that music can help in learning and recall information better. In an experiment conducted at one of Japan’s Universities, subjects memorized many different things that were unknown to them prior to the test. However, it does depend on the kind of music you are hearing. The results showed that participants who were musicians learned better with neutral music but tested better when pleasurable music was playing. Non-musicians, on the other hand, learned better with positive music but tested better with neutral music.
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Music Reduces Pain
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Research at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that music therapy and pre-recorded music reduced pain more than standard treatments in cancer patients. Other research showed that music can decrease pain in intensive care patients and geriatric care patients, but the selection needed to be classical pieces, meditative music, or songs of the patient’s choosing.
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Music Makes You Happier
“I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.”
Research proves that when you listen to music you like, your brain releases dopamine, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter. A neuroscientist at Canada’s 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, which biologically caused the participants to feel emotions like happiness, excitement, and joy.
So the next time you need an emotional boost, listen to your favorite tunes for 15 minutes. That’s all it takes to get a natural high!
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Music Helps You Sleep Better
“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Over 30% of Americans suffer from insomnia. A study showed that students, who listened to relaxing classical music for 45 minutes before sleeping, 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 a little Mozart or Zeppelin before bedtime to enjoy some sound sleep.
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Music Makes You Live Longer
“Music is the true breath of life. We eat so we won’t starve to death. We sing so we can hear ourselves live.”
As you put on the years to your life, you tend to become sluggish both mentally and physically. You have mostly overused your brain, your muscles and as you grow older there are signs all around that your body is not performing at its peak. However, recent studies have discovered that listening to music even for about half an hour a day makes the brain of an average adult, who is over the age of 50, to perform smoother. Business Magnate Warren Buffet has revealed that he is still sharp enough at the age of 84 only because he listens to a lot of music and also because he plays the ukulele. He said he didn’t know about all the enzymes and other things in his body, but, music has definitely helped him to be at the top of his game even at this age.
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So, there you have it. Music doesn’t only make you smarter; it does so much more. The benefits that even casual listening to music can reap are multi-layered and it has visible results on an individual. Backed by scientific studies, here is a solid example of why you should listen to more and more music.
Do you also love listening to music? Kindly tell us how music has changed your life in the comments below. Happy listening!
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