Music is a fundamental attribute of the human species with all cultures in human history from the most primitive to the most advanced cultures having their types of music. Often, everyone has at least that one song that triggers an emotional response when played.
The deep connection to music is because it is hardwired in our brains and bodies through musical elements of rhythm, the human brain and nervous system have been hardwired to distinguish music from noise and respond to tones, repetition, and tunes, hence creating beneficial health benefits to the body. Researchers, clinicians, and psychologists have in numerous clinical trials shown how music can improve your health.
- Strengthens Memory
Music has a positive effect on your ability to memorize and recall information. Researchers discovered that music could help you learn and recall information better but that will depend on how much you love music. Certain songs can remind us of certain events that have occurred. By listening to pleasurable music, you increase the amount of dopamine, the feel-good hormone released by the brain. Dopamine affects the episodic memory hence enabling you to recall certain events in life, overall, strengthening your long-term memory.
- Weight Loss
One of the psychological benefits of music is that it helps you in your weight loss journey. If you are trying to lose weight, listen to mellow music and dimming the lights to help you achieve your goals. It is estimated that people who ate in restaurants where soft music played consumed 18% less food as compared to those who ate in other restaurants. Music and lighting create a more relaxed and comfortable environment where you will consume food more slowly and become more aware of when you begin to feel full.
- Stress Reliever
Music can help reduce and manage stress by decreasing the levels of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body. Stress is believed to cause 60% of illnesses and diseases in the body. If you are experiencing a stressful moment in your life, music provides a backdrop for you to find increased enjoyment of various activities in your daily routine. To stay calm and healthy during a stressful day, turn on the radio and be sure to sing along and tap your feet to the beat of the maximum healing benefit.
- Stroke Recovery
Stroke ranks as the fourth leading cause of death across the globe. While music does not reduce the incidences of stroke, it helps patients in their recovery process. In a study conducted in 2008, stroke patients were assigned to receive standard stroke care. In addition, a third of these patients were randomly assigned to listen to music for at least one hour in a day while the other group received audiobooks. After three months, verbal memory gad improved in 60% of the patients who listened to music as compared to 18% of those who listened to audiobooks. From the research, music was seen to promote the brain’s plasticity and its ability to form new connections between nerve cells.
- Improved cardiovascular functioning
Listening to music improves your cardiovascular functioning since music stimulates the release of endorphins from the brain. These endorphins give you a heightened feeling of excitement that lowers your blood pressure. Furthermore listening to music relaxes arteries especially during workouts, which helps increase blood flow to all parts of the body.
- Improves the Quality of Sleep
Insomnia affects a majority of the people of all age groups. Where there are many approaches used in treating this problem, listening to relaxing classical music is a safe, effective, and affordable remedy for insomnia. In a study conducted among college students, one group listened to classical music while another listened to audiobooks during bedtime for three weeks. Participants who listened to music had significantly better quality sleep as compared to those who listened to audiobooks. From this research, music can be used as an intervention method to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders you may be experiencing.
- Reduces pain and anxiety
Bob Marley, renowned global artist sang that one good thing about music is that when it hits you feel no pain. In studies conducted at Brunel University, music was seen to reduce pain and anxiety among patients who had undergone surgery. The assignment of music from these patients reduces sensation pain since it reduces the need for opioids in recovering patients. Furthermore, by improving your mood, your brain is stimulated and your ability to deal with pain.
- Music as a Science of Art
In ancient Greece, Apollo was in charge of both medicine and music. Today, medics and researchers tell us that music can enhance the function of neural networks, improve cardiovascular functioning, lower blood pressure and reduce the levels of. In literature, Shakespeare considers music as the food of love while psychologists view it as the shorthand of emotion. In the days when Apollo reigned, Plato viewed music as a moral law that gives soul to the universe. By listening to music, you will be promoting your health well-being.