Stephanie G. Mathis Music can be a source of entertainment, and even some research has suggested that music might make you healthier. Music can bring you joy and contentment. But there are other psychological benefits to it. Music can help you relax, energize your body, and help you manage pain better.
It is not surprising that music can influence thoughts, feelings, actions, and behavior. You’ve probably felt inspired to action by live performances or pumped up listening to your favourite rock song.
Music can have powerful and broad-ranging psychological effects. Music therapy can improve emotional well-being, stress management, and psychological well-being. Research suggests that music taste can give insight into various aspects of your personality.
Music can improve cognitive performance
Background music (music played while an older adult is focused on another activity) can benefit cognitive tasks. A study showed that listening to more upbeat music resulted in faster processing speeds, and both upbeat and downbeat music benefits memory.
To improve your mental performance, turn on some music while you work. You might prefer instrumental music to those with more complicated lyrics. This can be distracting.
Music can reduce stress
Music has been shown to help manage and reduce stress. The trend is centered around meditative music that soothes the mind and induces relaxation.
This trend is supported by research. Music can help you cope with stress.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three situations before being subjected to stressors and then given a psychosocial stress test. Participants listened to soothing music while others heard the sounds of rippling waters. The rest were not exposed to any auditory stimuli.
Results showed that music could affect the human response and the autonomic nervous system. Listening to music helped people recover faster after a stressful event.
Music Can Help You Eat Less
Music can be an effective tool for weight loss. This is one of the surprising psychological benefits. Listening to soothing music and dimming your lights can help you lose weight.
Researchers suggest that music and lighting can create a more relaxing environment. Participants who were more comfortable and relaxed may have eaten more slowly, and been more aware when they felt full.
This can be done by playing soft music while you eat dinner. Relaxing in a relaxed setting can make you eat slower and feel fuller more quickly.
Music can improve your memory
Many students love to listen to music while studying. But is this a good idea? While some students feel that listening to music while they study helps improve memory, others believe it is a distraction.
It may be beneficial, according to research. It depends on a number of factors including the music being played, how much the listener enjoys it, and how musically proficient the listener is.
One study found that musically naive students learn better listening to positive music. This could be because the songs provoked more positive emotions and do not interfere with memory formation.
Music-trained students performed better on learning tests when listening to neutral music. This could be because it was less distracting and more difficult to ignore. You may find it easier to learn in silence or with neutral music playing in the background if you are easily distracted by music.
Music can help manage pain
Music can help with pain management, according to research. A study on fibromyalgia patients showed that people who listened to music just for an hour per day saw a significant decrease in their pain levels than those in the control group.
Participants who listened to music every day for four weeks experienced significant decreases in their feelings of depression and pain. These results indicate that music therapy may be an effective tool for chronic pain management.
