7 Ways Music Is Good for Your Health
1. Music will help you stress less
One Study showed that when parents sang to their premature babies in the ICU, it helped improved the babies’ functionality and significantly decreased stress levels of the parents. Pretty crazy, huh?
2. Music amps your workout
Feeling meh, but need to get your workout in? Try reaching for your headphones. This study (LINK: Http://Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/Pubmed/19793214) showed that cyclists biked faster when they listened to pump-up music. Athletes who listened to upbeat music before competing also improved their performance. Talk about awesome!
3. It can put you into a meditative state
If you’ve ever been to yoga, you’ve probably noticed the dim lights and soft music playing. There’s a pretty good reason for that – music can literally alter your brain wave speed. Meditating to music has even been shown to ease symptoms of depression, migraines, and PMS in some people.
4. Music may help you heal faster
Calming music can lower your heart rate and systolic blood pressure. One Study even showed that open heart surgery patients who listened to music post-op needed less morphine to manage their pain than those who didn’t listen to music.
5. Music can help you live longer
A Study from Massachusetts General Hospital found that listening to classical music helped relax terminally ill patients and reduced their levels of interleukin-6, a protein that leads to higher mortality rates, diabetes, and heart problems.
6. It can help with memory
Centuries ago, stories, customs, and tales were sung or chanted to help people retell their history to others. Psychologists believe that, over time, we’ve adapted to associating memories with music. Some people swear that studying to certain music helps them to recall facts during a test. This Article from the Wall Street Journal dives deeper into why our memories can benefit from some tunes.
7. Music makes you happy
Listening to upbeat or catchy music helped frustrated drivers stay cool under pressure in this Study. Next time you’re feeling stressed, it may be time for some carpool karaoke!
